Three Board of Public Education members whose seats are up for election Nov. 4 are running unopposed for re-election to their seats.

At-large Board members Sarah Lentz and Jayne Sawtelle were the only candidates to take out and return nomination papers and qualify to be on the ballot for their seats, according to filings with the Portland’s City Clerk’s Office. The same is true for Board member Julianne Opperman for her District 3 seat.

Lentz, a PPS parent and director of strategic initiatives, culture and community for the Maine Philanthropy Center, is the Board’s current chair. Lentz was first elected in a special election in June 2022 to fill an unexpired term for an at-large seat and then was reelected to the seat that November. She is seeking a second full-term on the Board. Board terms run for three years.

Sawtelle is a retired Portland High School music teacher who was elected to fill an unexpired term for an at-large seat in a special election this past June. She is seeking to retain that seat in November for a full first term.

Opperman is a retired educator who was elected to her District 3 seat in November 2022. She’s now seeking a second term.

Read more about these Board candidates and also City Council candidates in this Aug. 6, 2025 Portland Press Herald article: “Who will be on the November ballot in Portland?”

Learn more from the City Clerk’s Office about elections and voting in Portland.