KENNEBUNK, Maine — Voters ousted an incumbent and elected several newcomers to the RSU 21 School Board during the annual town election in all three of the district’s communities on June 11.

In Kennebunkport, challenger Rachel Kennedy-Smith beat appointed incumbent Diane Franz for a one-year stint for an unfinished term on the School Board.

Kennedy Smith earned 585 votes to Franz’s 501 votes, according to the unofficial results provided by Town Clerk Tracey O’Roak on Tuesday night.

Voters in Kennebunkport also elected Megan Michaud, an appointed incumbent, to serve three years on the School Board. Michaud, who was unchallenged in her bid, got 879 votes.

In Arundel, newcomer Kirstan Watson bested fellow candidate Rodney Sparkowich, 328 to 137, for a three-year term on the School Board.

Appointed incumbent Britney Gerth chose not to seek what will become Watson’s seat at the start of the new fiscal year on July 1. Instead, Gerth ran, unopposed, for the final year of an unfinished term on the School Board and secured it with 416 votes. She will succeed former Chair Erin Nadeau, who resigned in May following a controversy over a comment she made on social media after the district’s annual budget meeting on May 6.

In Kennebunk, voters chose Matthew Strafford and Abigail Spadone to represent them on the School Board. Strafford was the top vote-getter with 1,475 votes followed by Spadone with 1,389 votes. Both will serve three years. Rebecca Lewis, a third candidate in the race for two Kennebunk seats, earned 967 votes.

Strafford and Spadone will succeed incumbents Amanda Downing and current School Board Chair Peter Sentner, who opted not to run for another term.

Also on Tuesday, voters in all three RSU 21 communities approved the district’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2025. Adding tallies in all three communities, the budget passed 2,362 to 1,928.

Kennebunk town election results: Nedeau, Pratt, and Plattes elected to Select Board

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: RSU 21 School Board election: Voters oust incumbent, elect fresh faces