Leah Shipps grew up in in Stillwater, a village inside Old Town. She attended Bangor Christian for most of those years. But in eleventh grade, she followed her favorite teacher (someone who saw and believed in her) over to Old Town High School, from which she graduated. She went on to Orono and completed a double major in Childhood Development & Family Relations, and Women's Studies. It was also where she met the man she married. When her parents moved to Arizona, they followed – Leah and her husband were up for something new. They had two children there, and Leah worked as a social worker and then at a birth center. COVID brought the family back to Maine. And a friendship with one of the midwives at the birthing center brought them to Waldoboro itself, because that was where her friend had moved. Their old house here is what brought Leah to Les Fossel. He gave her a job as a beginning carpenter which she did for a year before becoming a project manager for the company. In 2024 Leah was elected by Waldoboro to the RSU40 School Board, less than two weeks before that Board’s repeal of the ACAAA, a highly contested school policy that had protected the rights of trans and gender-expansive students. (Two months later, the new School Board rescinded that vote.) In the piece below, Leah speaks as an individual who sits on the School Board, and not on behalf of the School Board.
I think I was nominated by process of elimination. After the School Board meetings proposing the repeal of the ACAAA, a small group of people formed with the idea of trying to stop its repeal and getting someone on the Board for the future who would support trans-kids and more progressive policies. Alexa Stark threw her hat in as a write-in for the election but withdrew. There was no one else stepping up to the plate, so I did. And I had the time and wherewithal.
People came out and voted, and I was elected. It wasn’t me. It was that I represented what they wanted. The community recognized the need and urgency to resolve what was happening to the ACAAA.
Before the election, I knocked on doors and talked with people. I found that people were very motivated to support and protect trans-kids. They were supportive of our schools, and they wanted all our students to succeed.
I really believe in public education. There’s something about it and its place in the community, and how it represents community inside the school, that I feel is important. Schools’ primary functions are academics and education. But there are important other things they offer. At the elementary level, children learn how to deal not only with their own emotions but the emotions of others. Throughout their years in school, as they get to know their fellow students, they learn about all kinds of people in their village. Public school is a place that teaches you how to be part of your larger community. At its best, it gives everyone there a sense of belonging.
I feel we no longer have central places where we gather, such as places where you can see yourself as being part of a town, where you see people you recognize and where you have a sense of place on a larger scale. And to me, this the added importance of what school can give to students. If I could do my own schooling again, I’d choose a public school. I feel this right to access public education, no matter who you are, no matter what your abilities are, is incredibly important.
RSU40 is a large district with five different towns and, with each, its own elementary school. To me, the value of that is that it’s the first time these students are all together. And there, they learn about their town and their identity.
On the other hand, I understand that it can mean certain inequities. Miller, for example, was really crowded because it was seeing a lot of growth. So, the Board moved Miller’s 6th grade to the Middle School. I felt it helped balance those needs of the district.
At this point, I could probably rattle off lots of information that I never knew about before. I’ve learned about transportation and the physical facilities, and they’re all unique to the individual towns.
Board meetings are twice a month. And then there are committees. I’m on four: learning; policy; negotiations and personnel; and a new one that’s about the sustainability of the district and finances – that is, all the things that pertain to the budget because, like all districts, RSU40 is seeing huge increases in costs. In the last budget season, I asked, “How do we make cuts to the budget without reducing the quality of education that we’re providing?” One of things I’m hoping that comes out of the sustainability committee is the opportunity to hear from the community itself about their priorities and values. And then, the committee would work to find fiscally responsible ways to achieve those goals.
To me, the School Board is incredibly transparent. School Board meetings and committee meetings are all open to the public. Most of the time, very few members of the public attend except for people from the schools and administration.
Our new Technology Director has vastly improved the quality of our recordings, and they are streamed live. If you need to catch one another day, they are all on YouTube. The negotiation committee meetings are the only ones that are closed, for obvious reasons.
It might feel that there is a lot of change because this year the district has hired a new District Superintendent and new principals at Miller and Medomak High School. But much of our district is made up with long-time teachers, administrators and staff. Kids are being greeted by so many familiar faces.
I’ve really appreciated the people on the Board and seeing how much they care about the future of our kids. In meetings I feel that sense of purpose. I feel kids are always the focus of the District and the Board. I appreciate the way that everyone in the district works so hard to make it work, from administrators to teachers, to bus drivers to the cafeteria workers to the custodians.
Before school started, all I was hearing is how excited everyone was about getting the kids back in the buildings. All summer the custodians worked to make them beautiful and ready to welcome them.
For me, being on the Board and learning about all this work, learning about and witnessing everything that goes into making our schools work — that is meaningful.
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