A transgender woman from Thomaston has stepped down from her position on the RSU 13 school board over concerns about President Donald Trump’s threats to cut education funding to Maine if the state does not bar transgender athletes from competing, according to the Midcoast Villager.
The former school board member, Olivia “Rune” FitzPatrick, said she decided to resign because she didn’t want her personal medical history as a transgender woman to be publicly miscontextualized and distract from the work that the RSU 13 school board is doing, the Villager reported. The school district is based in Rockland.
FitzPatrick didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Her decision comes in the wake of a Facebook post from Rep. Laurel Libby, R-Auburn, that singled out a Maine transgender student who recently won a girls track and field title. That post prompted Trump to threaten to cut Maine’s federal education funding if it does not bar transgender athletes from competing in the sports divisions that align with their gender. Gov. Janet Mills then had an in-person altercation with Trump over the threats, in which she defended Maine’s Human Rights Act and told the president that the issue would be settled in court.
Trump then launched investigations into Maine’s schools for potential violations of Title IX, a law that bars sex-based discrimination.
FitzPatrick, who is a former U.S. Navy air traffic control officer, moved to Thomaston in 2023 with her husband, according to the Villager. She has worked with local young people at the Landing Place, an initiative that offers youth services. She was elected to the RSU 13 school board as a write-in candidate in June 2024.
Her position was filled by Kashia Shepard at the Feb. 24 school board meeting, according to the Villager. FitzPatrick has apologized for any inconvenience that her resignation would cause.