 Hi, welcome to CCTVs Live at 525. My name is Claire Wool and I'm the school board chair of the Burlington School District. With me tonight is student, BHS senior student Isaac Geneman, BHS graduate of 2018 Tatum Vashero and city counselor Dave Hartnett. We will be discussing tonight a bond ballot vote that will be happening on November 6th. And we'd like to hear from you, our viewers. You can call in at 862-3966 if we can answer any questions. But I'll start off to say we were extremely fortunate and proud of our support from the City Council and Mayor Murrow Weinberger for working with us over the last four months in developing a debt policy and a memorandum of agreement moving the bond ballot, bond item on the ballot. This is the first time the school board in the 55 years of the building of BHS has had a bond on the ballot of this magnitude. It has been 55 years since the school was built and we feel that in 2018 it does not meet the needs of our students. We have a population right now of 954 students with a population that will be growing over the course of the next two, three years. Both our middle schools are at capacity and we have the good fortune of living in a city where growth is inevitable with the development of Cambrian Rise and also City Place. So we are looking forward to the next five years and the future of BHS. And tonight we want to share with you our devotion and commitment to this high school and ask for your support in November for this bond. Isaac, can you share with me as a student in the past four years entering your senior year your thoughts on why it is important now for the citizens of Burlington to support renovation and new development at the high school? Sure. Well, I think it is clear that just going throughout the high school the work that is needed to maintain the building and that work is becoming less and less efficient as we go on with issues with water leakage and heat and energy leakage from the building as well as the lack of accessibility in general. We are nowhere near in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. We have this giant black ramp in the high school right now basically serving as a substitute for an actual accessibility ramp which we definitely need and throughout the high school we have a couple of elevators that have been installed recently but there are those classes that students cannot get to and cannot participate in because they can't reach them because of their mobility. Yeah. Well said. And Tatum, thank you for coming back as a graduate. We know that you are busy and we appreciate your time and reflecting back on your four years and growing up in the Burlington School District, can you share with us your thoughts of being a student at BHS and why you think it is important for us to renovate and ask the citizens of Burlington to support this bond? Yeah, so for me I have been an athlete at Burlington High School for the last four years and we have one of the best facilities in the state but our school just doesn't reflect our facility so when I go on the soccer field I want to give it my all because I know we have the best facilities, we have a great team, we have good coaches so there for me I want to give my best effort but when you walk into BHS it looks the same as when my dad was in high school and like it doesn't make you want to give your best because you see that our school isn't in the best condition that it can be and what it should be for the technology that we have today, our school should match what our technology is. 21st century, you're saying, you learn differently, computers were invented, you need outlets in your classrooms, things like that. And you're right, in 2006 I know Councillor Hartnett was instrumental along with a lot of parent volunteers and faculty and staff to renovate and put forth over a 3 plus million dollar bond to renovate all our athletic fields and we have a turf with lights at night and we do host those state championships that you speak of. So we put that investment in our athletics which is incredibly valuable over 60 percent of our student athletes participate in extracurricular activities and sports so thank you, I really appreciate your point of view. And Councillor Hartnett. Thank you. Thanks. I'm honored to be here to help represent the Burlington School District which I'm proud of and I think we all should be proud of in Burlington. I think when we talk about this project I've always wondered over the years and I really want to go back to Amy Mellonkamp who was the principal at BHS for many years and Amy had this vision actually eight years ago that you know we needed a new high school and whether you know remodeled or new but she kind of put the wheels you know in motion and so this conversation just didn't happen overnight, there's been a long conversation about which direction we should go in and I'm glad that we're here today because this is desperately needed in our city. We live in a world class city and we have world class people, we have world class teachers and as you can see here we have world class student bodies and our high school doesn't match that and that's unfortunate and so when I look at this ask of 70 million dollars from the taxpayers of Burlington it's time for us to make a decision do we want to make a commitment to our community not just to our high school but to our community because that's really what this is all about right. We as Claire mentioned you know we continue to build homes, we continue to want people to move to our city but here's the bottom line they're not going to come to our city if we continue to allow this high school to really just fall apart which it has I mean it's unfortunate because I went there and for me I said at the city council I'm pretty straightforward I mean really the building's a dump and I can't say it any other way I mean I went by there today it was pouring rain out and my only thought was how much rain is coming in that building and are the kids using umbrellas to get the class to class because it's literally that bad some days when it rains you know and there's no excuse for that not here in Burlington right where everyone says you know one of the most livable cities and people want to come here and live and unfortunately right now I think what's happening is that you know a lot of people that move to Vermont you know schools is the number one priority you know to a family right and so when they go and visit you know a CVU or an Essex and schools like that and then they come to Burlington High School and they walk through it they're saying you know what we're going to option to buy a house probably in Shelburne or an Essex Junction and what's that's what that causes is our property tax our property values to lower as well I mean and so for the families out there that don't have kids in school anymore who say why should I invest in this there is a lot of reasons why that you should invest in this I mean not only the fact that you should be proud to live in Burlington and be proud to have a fantastic high school which we have but you know this building I hope and and we'll talk about it more today will be accessible to all Brauntonians you know that we're going to have an extra gymnasium in this building we're going to have extra classrooms in this building meeting places where you know seniors could possibly use it you know we put the Miller Center together out in the new north end that's kind of outgrowing at space you can't even get a room at the Miller Center for a meeting or pickleball whatever it is so I think this is going to be a facility not only a fabulous high school facility for our students and give them the learning environment that they need to succeed but also a building that we can all be proud of here in Burlington so I strongly support it I know the City Council does I know we're going to be working hard for the next four or five weeks to get this past and you're it's just you know you're going to hear about tonight but you're going to you're going to see town hall meetings set up you're going to see a press conference this week from the Burlington School District this is something that we're going to work very hard on and so I I appreciate being here tonight and I hope we can get the support from the city great thank you Councillor Hartnett I'm going to show a couple slides here so that the viewers can look at why we are moving in the direction that we are so as Isaac mentioned these are sort of a detailed explanation of how the proposed plan will improve the education of our high school students as Isaac mentioned the ADA and energy benefits of a renovated high school have long been clear and our understanding is that these strategies for significantly addressing these issues with considerably less investment than currently is being proposed and we appreciate all the input that those families that worked as volunteers to address these accessibility concerns and those that went through the school and managed but we also for over the last it's now since 2008 and yes it's very appropriate to give our former principal Amy Mellon camp a shout out and props because she did lead in 2008 we received our Niasque accreditation and we failed in the accessibility and efficiency category and we were put on warning and in that we did make some minor upgrades but again in 2017 we had the same accreditation it happens every eight years and we are still received a warning grade because we had yet to meet those accessibility issues along with accessibility a law that was passed is act 77 for proficiency based learning and that really speaks to the need for 21st century learning that means that we need space where not only do we have more than two outlets in a room but that we can team teach with other disciplines and other academics and and work from a place that allows us to meet that proficiency based grading and again a welcome learning environment no more siloed learning I think we can show you an overview of the campus that for those of you that haven't been to BHS in a while it's made up of six different buildings with including the tech center and so the aerial really does give you a sense of the main building is where all the heating comes from and all the heat as far as efficiency is distributed on the rooftops and a lot of those pipes were uninsulated and over the last ten years we've made attempts to be able to make it more efficient but things that we look at and you look at the bullet points as you can read them and I think it's important to take time here to identify what those challenges are and why that number why we came to that number of seventy million in two years ago the city helped the district and EMG was brought in to do a facilities analysis of Burlington High School along with the other nine eight schools and they identified over 30 million dollars worth of inefficiencies and upgrades that would need to happen if the campus were to exist in its form as it is now and so in learning about that and identifying that the history does go back to as counselor Hartnett shared 2008 and more recently and in the last three years we looked at potentially building a whole new high school and the cost was over a hundred million hundred and ten million dollars so to identify a project that we believe meets our needs for seventy million dollars and identifies these challenges such as inefficient insulation and windows if you tour which we hope you will over the next five weeks we'll be offering one tour a week after business hours so that those working can attend and on the weekends you'll see the a lot of the windows are all foggy and students looking out the windows or there are ineffective and inefficient and the building which we can talk to as a whole a group safety issues the points of entry in Burlington high school is alarming these buildings are made up of many different doors that have no alarm system and students can come and go and there really or there is not a secured entrance at our school in 2018 as we sit here today you know it is the doors are open and these the safety is of great concern to many and faculty and what would you you know how do you feel about the access coming in and out of the buildings checkpoints security Isaac will start with you well I mean just thinking back to today like these four different entrances to get into the building which for me works great but in terms of safety and security that's not what we want as a high school and so this new building plan really uses a building as its kind of center and it allows for one central access point which really allows school administrators and teachers to have a good idea of who's entering our building and in this day and age it's crucial to have that because school security is a paramount and Tatum I just remember one point last year there's school shooting in Florida and you're talking about in class on how our school really doesn't have a good security system of how they know who's coming and going to the building and for me it just kind of unsettled me and that that the school shooting could happen anywhere and I feel like BHS doesn't have a good plan or good enough security system for preventing that from happening or just knowing who's coming and going through our building and communication like we talk about if you were to go on the tour and you see you know it has the old intercom system that is an operable or a lot of the clocks you know obviously teachers leave and buy a clock at a store so because we're still going off the same intercom system we do in that communication lockdown drills at the high school routinely and we last year in two separate classes we miss the lockdown because the intercom system in the classroom just was no longer functioning and so while it was a drill that time if it were ever an actual lockdown or an actual security situation we would have not been prepared or informed of that event that's a good point I think we because we live in Burlington Vermont it's such a great place to live right we think that will never happen here in Burlington and we hope it doesn't right but you know if anything ever happened at the high school to your point I do not think we're prepared for it at all and you know for parents today that's an uneasy feeling right there should be no better feeling right than send your kids to school right you get up in the morning you start your day you hope your kids have a great day at school and you send them off right and there shouldn't be any fear factors and honestly you can't say that today particularly at the high school that is just it's really a nightmare security-wise and to nobody's fault really because you know the times that we live in and stuff but you know we could speak about safety we also talked about the efficiency of the buildings and the heating system right you were sharing a story with me earlier that you I didn't realize this but you wore your winter jacket every day during the winter she had to wear a winter jacket to stay warm I mean really I mean that's unacceptable right in that sense and so I these are stories that we're just hearing today right for the first time that I've heard that I'm thinking to myself this this this is what the most little city is at their high school this is what we're saying is okay that we're willing to build first-class downtowns and we're willing to put all this beautiful housing in and we we we certainly want to fix up the auditorium and you know I gotta tell the broken voters if you're listening out there all that stuff is great and I support that stuff but that won't make it a bit of difference if we don't have a first-class high school because families aren't coming here if we don't and that's the bottom line and so this is why I think this is probably for me probably the most important issue that I've weighed in on in eight years as a counselor I said that that night at the council meeting I meant it it needs to get done I'm committed to get it done and to hear these stories today around the table I mean it's just a just a small example of why it needs to be done so I'm really proud of you guys for being here today too same true and it and it is unifying I mean when we think about if you're a new family and you're here and you have a pre-k student or a kindergartner all of our schools all lead to VHS so it is our you know mothership of schools that you know really gives the opportunity for everyone to meet there once you go to Edmonds or Hunt Middle School and it has served the students that have come out of there have benefited greatly you know much appreciation to our faculty and staff for the graduation rate that we have in our Burlington Technical Center and the faculty and staff there and our para educators it is it is you know great work comes out of VHS and it's time we feel you know for this bond and we appreciate that do you want to speak to I know it's off topic a little but if people are wondering I know that there'll be two bond items on the ballot yeah no I mean the water one is pretty self-explanatory and I really I want them I want them both to pass and I think they're they're vital that they pass I mean Lake Champlain is really the economic economic I mean engine of our city and we so we need a clean Lake Champlain and that's no question about that right but and I think that will get there and I think we've done this and smartly here this way right that is going to be a small fee of five dollars and sixty seven cents in your water bill each month to take care of Lake Champlain and to me a very inexpensive way to clean up our water and I think I applaud the city and I think we've done a great job and chafe and Spencer and his crew has done a fabulous job this is a whole different you know ball game here this is a big ass there's no question about it but it is an ass that really needs to happen you know Claire and I we had a conversation about a month ago what have we really gone out and asked the taxpayers of Burlington to support for us that would make us a better city really and when you think about it there isn't a lot right there isn't a lot you know we brought the Burlington police station but a lot of that money was donated there was there's other things in the city that we've done but a lot of private donations and stuff I think it's the first time I can really say that we've gone out to the voters and said listen we need this it's a big ask it's a big commitment there's going to be sacrifices but at the end of the day we're going to be a better better city for it all the way around and and so I I'm glad it's on in November it needs to pass someone said what happened what happens if it doesn't pass someone said well we'll come back in March well I don't want to think that way this this needs to pass in November it should pass and I'm hoping with the work that we can do in the next five or six weeks that that we will get it passed um you know I think a couple things that might be important that people might be wondering you know about when will construction start when will it end I think will the kids stay at the high school during this construction period and the answer to some of those questions are it construction will start in 2020 hopefully if it passes it will end in 2022 and the kids will remain mostly in the classrooms for when I understand if all possible we're gonna have D building and E building enough building to use during this process so I know a lot of those questions have been asked I think another question's been asked okay we're putting 70 million dollars into this day where does that get us well it gets us another 50 or 60 years for sure if not more the company that's doing the work has an exceptional reputation I've done a lot of work in the state around schools I visited a school up in LaMoyle well high school that they did some work to you go into this school and it was a remodel just like the high school at Brewington and it was a you would thought you were in a brand-new high school so yes 70 million dollars is a big price tag but it warrants it it needs it and I think when we get this done we can all look back and say you know what we're proud of the work we did we're proud of the students that have gone there and you know Claire talked about the student body I've said this for many years I'll say it again we've gotten a lot more the student body has given us a lot more than we've given that high school we have an exceptional staff there we have an exceptional student body I was at the graduation this year to hear some of these accolades that these kids received that these they were top ten in the nation I mean I would invite anybody if you haven't been to a BHS graduation in a long time maybe your kids have graduated maybe your kids didn't even go to Brompton you moved in if you ever have that opportunity usually it's a Friday in June the first Friday in June or second Friday somewhere in that time frame go to a BHS graduation go sit there and and just look at the student body that we have and the faculty we have and the awards that these kids receive and there two of them are sitting here today I mean it's just an amazing student body we have and we owe it we owe it to our community we owe it to our students to get this done well said I couldn't really truly and as a lifelong citizen of Burlington at your passion and being married to a native Burlingtonian and a graduate of BHS you know we we we believe it is time and we hope to get your support we need your support our city needs your support and our students and like Dave said if you are a retiree here we welcome you to come and I'm happy to give you a tour over the next five weeks and our number is here we have five minutes left or four minutes now but again you can reach myself as chair of the board Claire wool on the Burlington School District website I will answer every email or question that you have our website is an incredible outlet of information historically going back the last 18 years where we have come from to where we are now and the plans and preparation of this bond ask and the reason why I had brought up the sewer just to you know the school district recognizes that bond and we recognize that it's a municipal bond and so we we value that and we don't want you to have to choose between one or the other and we believe that the time is now for the citizens of Burlington to make this investment in the high school it is sort of the heartbeat the largest economic engine that drives people to want to move to Burlington and create an environment in the city that we want that thrives and last words for our students something important to remember and it struck me at one of our school board meetings was that every year that we push this project back it costs our city more money down the road so if you're a taxpayer listening to this saying 70 million dollars that's a lot of money five ten years from now it's going to be more than 70 million so we've really this this needed to be done when miss Mellon camp looked at it and even further back than that and so 70 million dollars is expensive now but it's going to be a lot more expensive down the road and Tatum last words I just think that if we do end up renovating BHS I truly believe that we will have probably the best school and the state of Vermont yeah I agree that's a good feeling isn't it yeah I hear you agree a hundred percent so thank you very much for tuning in and listening we are very appreciative to be able to be here and share our our commitment to Burlington