Four people are running for two seats on the Hermon School Committee in the June 11 election.
Chairperson Stephanie Oiler is running for reelection. Anthony Reynolds, a former school committee member and town councilor, is vying for a seat again, while Regina Leonard and Gregory Newell are running as newcomers.
Committee member Jesse Keith is not running for reelection, leaving his seat open.
On Monday, the committee hired Patricia Duran as an interim superintendent. Duran replaces Micah Grant, whose resignation takes effect at the end of the school year. Duran worked for Hermon schools for 45 years, 17 of which she served as superintendent before retiring in 2017.
Vice Chair Christopher McLaughlin resigned from his position this spring and a special election will be held for his seat later this year.
The candidates discussed their positions during a forum moderated by the League of Women Voters on May 30 in advance of Tuesday’s election.
All candidates said they supported the continuation of the contract between Regional School Unit 87 and Hermon High School, which is set to expire this year. The contract sends students to the high school after they complete middle school in RSU 87. It makes up a significant portion of the high school budget and means the school can offer more opportunities to students.
The candidates are presented in alphabetical order.
Regina Leonard
Leonard has lived in Hermon for 19 years. She and her husband have two children, one who has graduated from Hermon High School and another in middle school. Leonard worked as a hairdresser for years, before recently graduating from college and starting a new job at Penobscot Community Health Care.
“I just chose to run because I’ve been involved the last three years speaking out to issues and for those people that felt uncomfortable to speak,” Leonard said. “I just see that our process was broken and it’s time to fix it. I decided I would run so I can facilitate and help us come together and communicate.”
Students’ mental health is a pressing issue for the schools, as well as declining standardized testing scores, she said.
She wants to make sure the committee and community can work together.
“All voices need to be heard and welcomed,” Leonard said.
Gregory Newell
Newell is originally from southern Maine. He moved to Hermon in 2021 with his wife and two kids after 22 years in the military. Both of his children attend Hermon Middle School.
He serves on the middle school’s parent advisory council, has worked as a substitute teacher in all three schools, and assisted the information technology department with hardware organization and clean up, Newell said.
Some of the most pressing issues students face today include drugs, alcohol, vaping, mental health and cyber bullying, he said.
“I really love being part of the school and the community and looking now at the next step and hope to be a part of the school committee,” Newell said.
Stephanie Oiler
Oiler was elected to the school committee in 2021. She ran because she wasn’t impressed with the education her children were receiving from Hermon schools during the coronavirus pandemic. Her first term has brought about changes, but there are more things she said she wants to accomplish.
She’s worked in the financial industry for 21 years, and graduated from the Bangor Regional Leadership Institute this year.
“[Leaders] set an example for the children in our district,” Oiler said. “I’m a proven leader and I look forward to the opportunity to continuing and moving forward. I’m not perfect. I will admit that there’s lots of opportunity for improvement. I’m really looking forward to taking those next steps.”
The pressures of social media and the use of electronics are main issues facing students, Oiler said that school administrators told her. Making sure students aren’t overusing electronic devices and combating any effects such use has on reading comprehension is important, she said.
Anthony Reynolds
Reynolds previously served on the school committee and on Hermon Town Council. He’s lived in Hermon his whole life, and his kids matriculated in the school system. His daughter is now a teacher in the department.
“I want the kids of Hermon to get a great education,” Reynolds said. “I even consider Carmel and Levant kids [to be] Hermon kids, as far as I’m concerned. Always have since I’ve been on board.”
Food insecurity is another problem facing Hermon students, Reynolds said, while agreeing with the other issues raised by candidates. Finding ways to help students further their education and determine what they want to do, whether it’s college or trade school, is important.
He said he helped create a lot of the policies the committee has when he was a member in the 2000s. A new policy that Reynolds did not help create but does support is how students check out certain books from the library. It sounds like it is a fair policy, he said.
Hermon High School implemented a permission slip policy to check out 81 books this school year after a group of parents pushed for parental consent for books with mature or sexual content. The list of books includes titles such as “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl,” by Jesse Andrews, Stephen King’s “Gerald’s Game,” and Kurt Vonnegut’s “Slaughterhouse Five.”
“Please vote for me and I’ll do the best thing I can for the kids in this town and Carmel and Levant and surrounding towns,” Reynolds said.
