A math teacher is the latest flashpoint in Maine’s school district culture wars after a legislative candidate posted about her application to work at a Camden school.
Republican Cory Raymond of Rockport, who is running for an open seat in the Maine House of Representatives, said in a Facebook post on Saturday that a teacher who works at another area school had applied to work at Camden-Rockport Middle School after “introducing books that are inappropriate and distributing pride flags to students.”
“It is hoped that the school board makes an informed decision” on the person’s application for a position, he said in the post.
Debates around LGBTQ rights and representation have roiled Maine school boards in recent years, mostly centering on whether transgender athletes should be allowed to play on teams that align with their gender identities. But Raymond’s objection was notable because it invoked application material that is supposed to be kept confidential under Maine law.
The Bangor Daily News is not naming the teacher or her place of work because a reporter could not reach her nor verify her application to work in the Camden school. In an interview, Raymond said multiple people had reached out to him with the application information due to concerns.
“I won’t give names because they asked to be left anonymous,” he said. “That’s not information I’m just going to get [by] myself.”
Raymond made another post on Sunday, writing that “further insights reveal that [the teacher] is a well-respected educator, yet her ideology sparks important discussions.” Both the original post and the follow-up were deleted minutes after a reporter contacted him Monday.
The post prompted dozens of comments, with some voicing anger about the teacher’s apparent pro-LGBTQ stances and others defending her. Britt Young, an area resident who frequents school board meetings to protest Maine’s protections for transgender students, shared pictures of the teacher in response. She suggested the teacher was involved in student activism.
The superintendents for the teacher’s home district and MSAD 28, which includes Camden Rockport Middle School, could not immediately be reached for comment.
Raymond is running in his second straight House election after getting just over 25% of votes against Rep. Victoria Doudera, D-Camden, in 2024. One of the two Democrats running to replace the term-limited Doudera is Marcus Mrowka, the school board chair for MSAD 28, who could not be immediately reached for comment.
Daniel O’Connor is a Report for America corps member who covers rural government as part of the partnership between the Bangor Daily News and The Maine Monitor, with additional support from BDN and Monitor readers.