FARMINGTON — The Select Board appointed a new director Tuesday to the Regional School Unit 9 board, filling a one‑year vacancy.
Director Lance Harvell resigned effective April 1, citing his wife’s potential employment within the district and his own application to work as a substitute teacher.
The RSU 9 board of directors accepted the resignation, with Chair Matthew Smith thanking Harvell for his service on the board.
According to state law, vacancies on school boards are filled at the next municipal election. In Farmington, that would occur at the 2027 town meeting. Until then, an appointed director serves out the term.
Two residents applied to fill the roughly one‑year vacancy: Christina Lynch Bobrow and Iris Morgan, both of whom were candidates in last month’s municipal election.
Following a recount, the election resulted in two other candidates winning three‑year seats: incumbent J. Wayne Kinney and newcomer Ruth Gauvin.
Kinney and Bobrow had returned nomination papers for the two open seats, while Gauvin and Morgan ran write‑in campaigns.
Bobrow, who also serves on the town’s Budget Committee, told the board she had recently retired and wanted to continue serving the community. When asked why she was interested in joining the school board, she said Maine’s schools have fallen in national rankings.
“That is a concern to me,” Bobrow said. “I think it’s important that all the members of the school board be earnest stewards of the institution and show an interest in learning from the administrators, from the students, from the teachers, from the community about what is needed for improvement.”
Resident Bill Crandall told the board that Morgan, who was working and could not attend the meeting, had received more votes than Bobrow in the recent election. He said it would be “inappropriate” not to appoint Morgan to the one‑year term.
Vice Chair Richard Morton said both candidates submitted strong applications and were clearly capable of serving as school board directors. However, he noted that the recent election, in which many voters believed Kinney and Bobrow were running unopposed, was not necessarily a reflection of the community’s broader will.
Board member Dennis O’Neil said an election in which residents knew the seats were contested would have offered a better indication of whom voters wanted on the board.
“I just think that doing it in a stealth mode, there’s a lack of transparency, and I don’t necessarily think that is what I would consider to be a fair — although legal — election,” he said.
The vote to appoint Bobrow was 3-2, with Morton, O’Neil and Scott Landry in favor, and Smith and Randall Gauvin opposed.
The board also unanimously appointed Emile Richard as an alternate to the Planning Board.
The board then opted against a previous plan to require teams using Hippach Field and Philbrick Field to submit $250 deposits, reversing course after receiving pushback from coaches.
The deposit system was intended to reduce trash left on and around the fields. The issue has become more pressing since the 2023 floods, which led to rats moving into the area. Trash left in overflowing cans or near the fields has worsened the problem, according to pest control experts.
Coaches at the meeting said the deposit would place too heavy a burden on teams, which already operate on shoestring budgets.
As a compromise, Landry proposed a $25 fee for any team that failed to leave a field in acceptable condition. Fees would be collected at the end of the season, and teams that did not pay would not be allowed to use the fields the following year.
The board also approved a mutual aid agreement between the public works departments of Farmington and Wilton. The agreement covers work performed on each town’s roads during emergency events.
Farmington and Wilton have had a mutual aid agreement since 2021, created in response to manpower shortages during the COVID‑19 pandemic.
More recently, Wilton assisted Farmington along Wilton Road during the 2023 flood, when Farmington’s crews were cut off by floodwater.
Public Works Director Philip Hutchins said the agreement allowed the towns to receive Federal Emergency Management Agency reimbursement for that assistance.
