A Newcastle father and small-business owner is the sole candidate for a three-year term on the Great Salt Bay School Committee and Newcastle School Committee.
Joshua Jacobs would replace Susan Glueck, who will step down after a year on the committees.
Jacobs has a son in fourth grade and a daughter in kindergarten at Great Salt Bay Community School. He has been involved in their education and spent time in the classroom with his son.
“Now that I have two kids there, it seemed like a good opportunity to help support the school and their education,” Jacobs said of his candidacy.
Jacobs speaks highly of the school.
“One of the measures we use is just, ‘Are kids enthusiastic about going to school?’ and they wake up every day excited about going, so I think that kind of speaks volumes on its own,” Jacobs said.
Jacobs said he was “inspired to be more involved during the budget crisis” in 2013.
An increase in the Great Salt Bay Consolidated School District budget that year was compounded by reductions in federal and state funds and in the balance the school carries from year to year.
Parents like Jacobs turned out in droves to support positions and programs in danger of cuts. The feedback eventually contributed to a compromise budget with most programs intact.
Now, Jacobs is preparing to join the school committee and play a more direct role in making those decisions.
“I would say I don’t have any real agenda,” Jacobs said. “The only agenda is helping to (provide) the best educational experience for the kids.”
“I think the school is really important for the children, obviously, but that having a school of a high caliber also attracts people to the community and makes it a viable place for people to raise their families,” Jacobs said. “I think that’s good for the whole community.”
Jacobs expressed interest in learning more about standardized testing at the school, a topic of discussion at recent school committee meetings.
“Taking a test is a measure of what’s been learned, but it’s not an educational activity in itself,” Jacobs said. “I would be for designing the curriculum around the most educational activities.”
Jacobs, 39, is originally from Massachusetts. He studied English and sculpture at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., where he met his wife, Anne, who grew up in Nobleboro. He left Cornell in 1996 to start his business, Mandala Designs.
“It’s a creative agency,” Jacobs said. “We do full-service product development, website development, and branding, but also business consulting, especially for startups.”
Jacobs has experience in educational oversight as a member of the Coastal Kids Preschool Board of Directors from 2008-2014.
Jacobs stays active with several pursuits outside work.
He plays Ultimate Frisbee at Great Salt Bay Community School every Sunday and practices karate with his son at the Central Lincoln County YMCA and yoga at the Midcoast Yoga Shala in Damariscotta. He also hikes, kayaks, and runs.
He plays violin with his children and sings in the Common Threads Community Chorus with his son, and he enjoys drawing.
Jacobs lives with his wife, Anne, and their children, Aiden and Juniper.
The Great Salt Bay School Committee governs Great Salt Bay Community School and other K-8 education matters in the Great Salt Bay Consolidated School District, which includes the towns of Bremen, Damariscotta, and Newcastle.
The Newcastle School Committee makes decisions about education for Newcastle students in grades nine through 12, most of whom attend Lincoln Academy.
Newcastle will elect municipal officers at the River Road fire station from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. June 9.
