The upcoming June 10 election for the Regional School Unit (RSU) 40 school board could have significant consequences for girls in the district, who like many in Maine currently have to share their private spaces with transgender-identifying males.
[RELATED: Another Maine School District Removes Pro-Trans Policy after Overwhelming Board Vote…]
The school district, encompassing Friendship, Union, Waldoboro, Warren, and Washington, has four school board seats up for election next month, including the seat of board chair Danny Jackson.
School board elections across the state have taken on even more significance since the feud between Gov. Janet Mills (D-Maine) and President Donald Trump began. School boards have been faced with a controversial choice: either continue to allow transgender-identifying males into girls’ restrooms and sports to comply with state law and the governor, or protect girls and comply with the federal government.
The issue is particularly relevant in RSU 40. Last year, before the state faced national scrutiny for its transgender policies, the RSU 40 board voted narrowly to repeal the policies that allowed transgender-identifying males access to female-only spaces.
That change came shortly before the 2024 school board election. The election flipped the board’s narrow conservative majority, and just months after the transgender policy was repealed, it was reinstated with a 9-6 vote.
Now, Mainers living in the RSU 40 district have an opportunity to flip the board back.
One member up for re-election, Randy Kassa, is running unopposed and voted to repeal the transgender policy last year; however, he has suggested that he might not be amenable to another policy change following the June 10 election. He told the Bangor Daily News that he intends to let the policy stand following President Trump’s victory.
Julie Swindler, a liberal board member, is facing her first challenger after having run unopposed for two terms. Rick Butler is running to unseat Swindler, and he has made his opposition to the school’s transgender policies abundantly clear via Facebook.
“The other issue many people talk about in this policy is allowing children to use bathrooms or locker rooms based on the child’s gender identity. Many parents have told me they’re very concerned about this policy as they don’t want biological boys in intimate biological girl spaces. I understand their concern and completely agree,” said Butler.
He also discussed his concerns about the school’s decision not to notify parents if a child begins presenting themselves as the opposite sex while at school, and his opposition to the inclusion of sexually explicit books in the school library.
Jackson, the board’s chair, voted against repealing the school’s transgender policy and is now facing opposition from Sonja Sleeper, who previously ran as a Republican for the Maine House of Representatives.
Erik Amundsen, another liberal who has expressed support for the district’s current trans policy, is facing opposition from Timothy Wood, according to the Penobscot Bay Pilot, though his campaign page has been inactive since he ran for a seat in 2024.
He failed to win a seat by just nine votes during last year’s election.
If just two of the seats flip and Kassa does not support the transgender policy, it could be overturned. However, if he does change his vote and supports the policy, conservatives will likely need to flip all three contested seats to change the district’s transgender policy.
