The old proverb “It takes a village to raise a child” is something 19-year-old Old Town resident Lee Jackson uses often when describing his relationship with the 122-year-old city he’s called home since 4th grade. He hopes to soon give back to the community that educated him.

Jackson, a second-year political science student, is one of three candidates running for two seats on the Old Town School Board, a race that will be decided after the statewide municipal and special referendum elections on Nov. 5.

“I’m so fortunate to have had such a great experience growing up in Old Town,” Jackson said. “I’m ready to start the conversation about education reform and help rebuild this community through the keystone of a strong school system.”

Regional School District No. 34 (RSU #34) includes Alton Elementary School (AES); Bradley’s Viola Rand Elementary School (VRE); and Old Town’s J.A. Leonard Middle School (LMS), Old Town Elementary School (OTES), Old Town High School (OTHS) and Southern Penobscot Regional Program (SPRP).

RSU #34’s school board consists of nine members, who are all elected on three-year terms. Four members are serving their term’s first year in 2013, three are serving their third years and two are up for election in November.

Jackson will face off against incumbents Donna Conary and David Wollstadt, both prominent figures within the Old Town community.

Conary is a member of Old Town High School’s Class of 1975 and a graduate of Husson College — the college wasn’t known as Husson University until 2008 — according to her Facebook.

She works as an administrative assistant at Dr. Lewis S. Libby School in Milford.

Wollstadt is the owner of Schoolnewsletters.net, a school newsletter business that publishes for 11 different school districts around the state of Maine.

According to Schoolnewsletters.net, Wollstadt and his wife have put five children through the Old Town school system.

Wollstatdt is also a committee member of Old Town’s Rotary Club, directing club service, international service and public relations.

“Everyone knows [Conary and Wollstatdt],” Jackson said. “They’re huge town leaders.”

Jackson says he first became interested in becoming more involved with the Old Town community during his senior year of high school.

“It was always something I was interested in,” Jackson said. “At the time of graduation [from high school], I was moving out of my house and starting a whole new level of education, so I thought, ‘Let’s back off a year, learn as much as I can while at [UMaine] and then reassess everything.’”

After filing information for financial aid this past summer for the upcoming year, Jackson was met with a curveball when a financial aid representative told him he would only be getting $2,000 in aid and would have to take out $15,000 to $16,000 in loans.

“I later found out it was [financial aid’s] fault, but I quickly realized it was just as much my responsibility to have double-checked documents,” Jackson said. “Thinking 10 to 15 years down the road, the easy but difficult decision I made was to become a part-time student, get a part-time job and do more things around the community and on campus.”

Jackson is an employee at McDonald’s in Old Town.

This “part-time decision” not only affected Jackson’s living arrangements, but also his plans as a senator for University of Maine Student Government, Inc. As a part-time student, Jackson is no longer able to run for UMSG, Inc. president in October.

“I was definitely upset I couldn’t run for office,” Jackson said. “Right now, the organization is a machine, but it’s not fully oiled … I had a lot of plans.”

Jackson is still a leading member of UMSG, Inc.’s General Student Senate gallery and plans on continuing to fully contribute from the position.

“I’m here to help create an environment which people inspire themselves to do great things for the student body, and I will be vocal during the [October elections],” Jackson said. “But my main focus now is the elections in November.”

Jackson says there are several aspects to his campaign that seemed liked disadvantages at first, but have now evolved into advantages.

“Age is big,” Jackson said. “I’ve heard a lot of people say, ‘We want to see some young blood in there,’ and I say: ‘It’s my community too, and at the end of the day, it’s going to my generation eventually taking over.’”

“I’m hoping, if elected, that my work will speak for itself and not my age.”

Jackson said another was the “race card.”

“A young, black male with a single mom in Old Town going to college is one thing,” Jackson said. “But running for school and winning is another.”

Jackson says his campaign originally went into the election with the mentality that “we could at least spark a discussion about educational reform in the community,” but now, he said it looks like their goal is to take the election.

“I want to win,” Jackson said. “I think it’s possible.”

Jackson said peer reviews by department and cutting down on the time teachers spend in “red tape paperwork” are just a few things he will support and push for if elected.

“It’s the simple stuff … I realize when I’m able to remember something I learned five years ago in a freshman high school class, it’s because it was done in a creative way,” Jackson said. “Teachers need the resources to make this sort of thing possible.”

Jackson said he’s never worked with the Old Town school members on a peer-to-peer level — despite being close friends with the son of one member and also occasionally visiting Maine House Representative and school board chair James F. Dill (D-Old Town) in Augusta — but is confident they will welcome his presence.

“No one agrees with somebody else 100 percent of the time, no matter where you are, what class you’re in or what body you serve in,” Jackson said. “But I will respect everyone, no matter what.”

Jackson held a meet and greet at ACME Pizza & Wing Company on Main Street in Old Town from 6 to 8 p.m. on Oct. 17 to welcome constituents of the Old Town School Department community to bring questions and talk.

Jackson’s current endorsements include: ACME Pizza & Wing Company, Old Town Bowling Center former OTHS Army JROTC instructor Amedeo Lauria, among others.

“Most days, kids see their teachers more than their own parents,” Jackson says. “We’ve got to realize how much of an impact the school has on the community.”