Kelly Sink (Regional School Unit 05, Freeport, Maine, candidate 2025)

Ballotpedia does not currently maintain this page. Please contact us with any updates.

Kelly Sink

Nonpartisan

Candidate, Regional School Unit 05, Freeport

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 4, 2025

Education

Bachelor's

The Georgia Institute of Technology, 1999

Ph.D

University of Connecticut, 2008

Personal

Birthplace

Chattanooga, TN

Kelly Sink ran for election to the Regional School Unit 05 school board to represent Freeport in Maine. She was on the ballot in the general election on November 4, 2025.^[source]

Sink completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Kelly Sink provided the following biographical information via Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey on October 15, 2025:

• Birth date: November 12, 1976
• Birth place: Chattanooga, Tennessee
• Bachelor's: The Georgia Institute of Technology, 1999
• PhD: University of Connecticut, 2008
• Gender: Female
• Prior offices held:
  • RSU5 School Board Director (2022-Prsnt)
• Incumbent officeholder: Yes

Elections

General election

General election for Regional School Unit 05, Freeport (2 seats)

Kimberly Kay Buck, Kelly Sink, and Valerie Williams ran in the general election for Regional School Unit 05, Freeport on November 4, 2025.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	Kimberly Kay Buck (Nonpartisan)
		Kelly Sink (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Valerie Williams (Nonpartisan)

---

	Incumbency information for this election was not available.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Endorsements

Sink received the following endorsements.

• Freeport Forward

Campaign themes

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Kelly Sink completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Sink's responses.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

As a mom of a 6th and 8th grader and an ardent supporter of public schools that “inspire and support every learner,” I have been honored to serve as an RSU5 school board director for the past three years. In addition to my board experience, my background as a behavioral neuroscientist has also strengthened my skills in analytical thinking, evidence-based problem solving, teamwork, and research—tools essential to an effective board working toward the success and well-being of our students.

My passion to help make our schools and community a vibrant and welcoming place for all has motivated me to serve our schools in other capacities as well: as a coach for the middle school tennis team for the past two seasons, as a former member of the Freeport Elementary PTC, and as a regular parent volunteer. I have also served our community on the Town of Freeport Social and Racial Equity Committee, and I am currently Vice-President of the Freeport Conservation Trust board of directors.

I would be honored to have the opportunity to continue working with our amazing RSU5 team on the board of directors for another three years. Thank you in advance for your support!

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• For the past three years, my focus as a school board director has been to keep students at the center by advocating for policies, budgets, and practices grounded in evidence, aligned with district goals, and guided by respect, empathy, and equity. It would be my privilege to use the experience and perspective I’ve gained during this term to continue to serve our students for another three years.
• I welcome the input from diverse voices within our community because I believe it helps us make better-informed decisions for our students, holds us accountable, and builds community trust.
• I believe that in the coming years, we will likely face difficult choices about what to include in the school budgets. Striking the right balance between what we value, what we need, and what we can responsibly afford is a complex decision involving open dialog among the administration, the community, and the board. As a board member, I seek to respect administrators’ expertise and assume they have an understanding of the needs in their schools, while also asking thoughtful questions to ensure their requests are sound and fiscally responsible. And while I certainly want the very best for our students, I believe the board must also be mindful of the economic realities facing our taxpayers when building our budgets.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Student Mental Health and Well-Being: Student success depends not just upon solid academics, but also emotional wellness.

Responsible Use of Technology: Preparing students for a rapidly changing world means guiding them to use digital tools, including AI, safely and responsibly. We also need clear policies on smartphones and social media in schools.

Strong Programs and Staff: As budgets tighten, we must continue to provide our students with a rigorous and equitable educational program.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

Perhaps one of the reasons I choose to serve on the school board is that I highly respect people who choose to spend their lives investing in the future of our children by becoming educators. They are clearly not doing it for the money, but because they truly believe in their mission. Many of the teachers and administrators I have met are the kindest, most giving people I know, and they deserve to be supported by a board that shares a deep concern for the well-being and success of our students.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

I believe my first job was as a teacher’s assistant in high school. I graded papers, and helped prep for class by preparing hand-outs and materials. For me, it was a window into how much detailed work goes into teaching a class. I kept that job for probably two or three years.

What is the primary job of a school board member in your view?

My primary job as a school board member is to see that our schools are well-run and that they are providing all of our students with a rigorous, equitable education that gives them the skills and experiences they need for their next steps, prepares them to be responsible citizens, and fosters a spirit of curiosity that leads to lifelong learning. By crafting policies, procedures, and budgets that are evidence-based and carefully considering the needs of all of our students, the board provides guidance and resources to support our educators and students so that all can thrive.

How might you support the mental health needs of students/faculty/staff?

First, the board must ensure that the strategic plan identifies student mental health as a core goal so that it is not treated as an add-on, but as an essential aspect of education. The strategic plan serves as the roadmap that sets our priorities and guides actions over the next five years. Thus, a mental health goal in the strategic plan would ensure that student mental health is treated as a long-term, measurable priority with resources and oversight, not a mere reaction to immediate needs or the latest tragedy. This goal would guide the implementation of policies, programming, and resource allocation that support our students’ mental health and well-being. It would also establish the measurable benchmarks that help us track progress, such as counselor-to student ratios and student survey data.

Once this goal is set, the board should ensure that our policies reflect this priority, and that the budget allocates funding toward counselors, social workers, and mental wellness programs. The board holds school leadership accountable through progress reports on wellness programming implementation and data, such as student well-being surveys, counselor caseloads, and disciplinary incidents. This allows the board to see if the supports are effective, identify gaps, and direct school leadership to make adjustments as needed.

In recent years, I have been part of a board that has supported student mental health by adding more social worker and counselor positions in the budget to meet rising needs, backing programs from the Jed Foundation, Kyle Cares, and Valo, and supporting the integration of social-emotional learning into daily routines through the Responsive Classroom curriculum.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

Freeport Forward

Are there any areas of school curriculum you would like to see changed?

I would love to see music become a requirement in the middle school curriculum. Right now, it is optional.

What role should artificial intelligence have in your school district?

Preparing students for a rapidly changing world means teaching them to use digital tools, including AI, safely and responsibly. Since students will inevitably encounter AI in their education, our schools must adopt literacy programs vetted by experts to guide its effective use for learning while helping students avoid potential pitfalls. Overreliance on AI can hinder the growth of critical thinking and creativity, so it is important for students to understand the importance of AI-independent work. As AI continues to evolve, we may also need to update policies and practices to address the new challenges it brings.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

See also

2025 Elections

What's on the ballot? U.S. Congress special elections State executives State legislatures State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards Election analysis hub

Government

Who represents me? U.S. Congress State executives State legislators State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards

Newsletters

The Daily Brew The Weekly Brew The Ballot Bulletin Checks and Balances Economy and Society Hall Pass Number of the Day Robe & Gavel Union Station

External links

Search Google News for this topic