Janet Beaudoin, Ed Jawor and Jami Lynn Simpson vie for Lewiston School Committee Ward 2 seat

Janet Beaudoin Submitted photo

Name: Janet Beaudoin

Age: 38

Occupation: Preschool teacher

Community engagement: Ward 2 School Committee member, Androscoggin County Republican Committee secretary, Lewiston Republican Committee vice president, former McMahon parent teacher organization vice president, Lewiston Public Schools redistricting committee and district data team, Lewiston High School basketball boosters

Question 1: Do you believe students should be required to wear a mask in school to prevent the spread of COVID-19 under current pandemic conditions?

I believe that parents and students who wish to wear masks should be free to do so, but I have concerns about the efficacy and fairness of mandates. If a single positive case in the classroom will still result in forced quarantine, then it does not seem to be an effective policy. Furthermore, I question the fairness of forcing our students to wear masks all day when the rest of the community can go everywhere without mandatory masks.

Question 2: Do you feel that issues of equity and race are being appropriately addressed in Lewiston schools?

In order to address these issues appropriately, it is important to engage parents and community members. I voted in favor of the Educational Equity Action Statement, and we can all continue to improve our awareness of the steps we are taking in the community to understand and act on the composition of our community, while raising our children to judge not based on the color of one’s skin but on the content of one’s character.

Question 3: What are two specific issues you would address as a School Committee representative?

Given the teacher and staff shortage, I will listen to the concerns and suggestions of our teachers and school employees to understand the impacts of the shortage and provide them with the support they need. Additionally, I want to make sure that the unprecedented level of state and federal funding available for our schools is being used most effectively to benefit our students, while also protecting our taxpayers, particularly those with fixed incomes.

Ed Jawor Submitted photo

Name: Ed Jawor

Age: 50

Occupation: Operations manager

Community engagement: More than two years on the board of directors for Common Ties; 10 years of Impact Council work for United Way of Androscoggin County; over seven years of volunteer coaching, from Lewiston Recreation youth through Bates College Division III.

Question 1: Do you believe students should be required to wear a mask in school to prevent the spread of COVID-19 under current pandemic conditions?

I am passionate about personal freedom, and freedom is inseparable from accountability. We are accountable for the health and welfare of our families, friends and neighbors. The greatest good is our work to keep kids healthy and in school. Given current pandemic conditions, we need to follow Center for Disease Control guidelines to keep our students and staff healthy. Masking prevents the spread of COVID-19 and keeps kids in school!

Question 2: Do you feel that issues of equity and race are being appropriately addressed in Lewiston schools?

We are on the right path, and we need to keep working at it. I applaud the city of Lewiston hiring Melissa Hue as the director of diversity, equity and inclusion. This is the right direction, and I look forward to working with Melissa and the administration to continue work toward diversity and inclusion.

Question 3: What are two specific issues you would address as a School Committee representative?

First, revenue. We need to get creative and find resources for our schools and students that don’t automatically trigger property tax increases. Second, teacher and staff retention. Our district’s reputation is directly related to the quality and passion of our educators. We need to support them, so they can do the best work possible supporting student success. I look forward to helping make this happen in partnership with our community.

Jami Simpson Submitted photo

Name: Jami Lynn Simpson

Age: 44

Occupation: No response provided

Community engagement: I am an active participant in my neighborhood watch, and I seek daily to be a positive influence in someone’s life.

Question 1: Do you believe students should be required to wear a mask in school to prevent the spread of COVID-19 under current pandemic conditions?

I feel masks should be optional for the children and the teachers, not forced upon anyone. People are testing positive even while wearing a mask, they do not work and are proven more harmful than helpful to the people wearing them. We need to learn to live with COVID vs. being fearful of COVID.

Question 2: Do you feel that issues of equity and race are being appropriately addressed in Lewiston schools?

No. There are already books in the Lewiston High School that lean toward the critical race theory and books in the high school that suggest white people are bad.

Question 3: What are two specific issues you would address as a School Committee representative?

My two main goals would be keeping the kids in school and addressing and preventing the leftist ideology and indoctrination that is already occurring in our schools.