Maine GOP Announces FOAA Of Portland Superintendent
AUGUSTA- Maine GOP is filing a Freedom of Access Act Request with Portland
Superintendent, Xavier Botana.
This past Sunday, Mr. Botana penned an open letter to the parents of Portland students in
response to a recent alleged hate crime. While Maine GOP felt it was appropriate to address the
crime and the potential affect it could have on the community, a portion of the letter stood out as
inappropriate:
“More importantly, I want to take this opportunity to encourage all of us to understand the
noxious environment in which this deplorable event took place. On Friday, the president signed
an executive order barring immigrants from several Muslim-majority nations from entering the
United States. This came on the heels of another order to build a wall along the United States’
southern border.
For a long time now, the rhetoric accompanying these actions represents a radical and disturbing
departure from the principles on which this country was built and which so many have fought to
protect and extend.”
Maine GOP has received numerous complaints regarding these particular paragraphs, some even
from school district employees.
Today, Mr. Botana issued a press release explaining that students would be making signs in class
and spending the last ten minutes of the school day protesting. The event is organized by
students who are currently in a Human Rights course.
While Maine GOP applauds the students for coming together to stand up against allegations of
racism, it is these sentences that are concerning and seem to echo Mr. Botana’s political agenda:
“…it is necessary to address both the recent attack at Casco Bay High School and the new
government policies targeting refugees and immigrants.”
Maine GOP supports a school environment in which all students and faculty feel welcome
regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation and political beliefs.
Forcing students and teachers to give up time taxpayer-funded school time to engage in
a partisan agenda promoted by school district officials fosters a hostile environment for anyone
who may not share the same political beliefs.
“We have doubts that Mr. Botana is operating alone, and that there may be a bigger partisan
agenda at play here,” said Maine GOP Executive Director Jason Savage, “We feel that it would
be appropriate to organize this protest outside of school hours with only students and faculty who
want to participate.

 “Instead, we have taxpayers funding a hostile environment for faculty and students. Students
who do not participate during school hours can be singled out for their political beliefs. School is
supposed to be an environment where people feel safe and and free to learn and express different
thoughts and ideas. We do not believe state or local taxpayers send tens of millions of dollars per
year into the Portland school system to promote a political agenda or create a hostile
environment for faculty and students.”
Maine GOP's FOAA request will focus on the Superintendents written communications with
both outside and internal forces related to his political agenda and activities, as well as groups
that may be influencing the Superintendent's actions