Greetings, Union residents. In April, Ed Weber contacted me to ask questions about and to gain insight into the responsibilities of serving as a school board member for the RSU 40 school district. As it happens, we were able to meet at our local coffee shop on Union Common, where we had a productive conversation about being a steward for student outcomes, the inner workings of a school board, and the importance of a school board member’s responsibility to consider the whole district, not just the town a board member or candidate is from.

Furthermore, Ed asked about how committees functioned on the board. I was impressed with Ed’s inquiry because, in my opinion, a good portion of Board work happens in committee.

During our conversation, I did not sugar-coat the time commitment or resiliency it takes to be a board member, to which Ed’s demeanor communicated he is up to the challenge!

I came away from our meeting with an understanding of Ed’s commitment to serving our school district with integrity, courage, and common sense. Ed is a service-minded individual who is no stranger to making time commitments to foster community engagement and growth.

As a current RSU 40 Board member, I would be honored to work with Ed to continue building a world-class school district. On June 13, please join me in voting for Ed Weber for RSU 40 School Board.

Matthew Speno lives in Union