 And then welcome to channel 17 town meeting television tonight is our forum from the South Burlington school district But I want to give you our number if you want to call in our number for those locally 8 6 2 3 9 6 6 Now we're going to have a presentation done by these folks. You see we have a very Presentable group of students and adults here and they're going to give you an overview of the school budget and some of the Questions that are out there. I'd like to turn this over now to Superintendent David young and what maybe you can do some intros and sure started. Thank you Howard So again, my name is David young I'm the superintendent of schools in South Burlington and joining me is John Abban our business manager Elizabeth Fitzgerald the chair of our school board are now and Alex our two school board student reps who also serve on the School board. So tonight, we'd like to just walk you through Our budget and then leave hopefully some time at the end for people to ask questions And we also know that there's call and opportunities as well. They so again, this is the South Burlington school district budget We're presenting for the 18 19 school year some things that we think are important on objectives for a budget are that and again You see these on the bullet points on the screen that we want to be able to provide student opportunities and programs that are essential for our students to Achieve our outcomes and what we often refer to as our district ends. We want to be able to provide professional development Services and activities to our staff to ensure that they are ready to meet those needs We want to be able to utilize data that allows us to make informed decisions And we also want to make sure our schools are safe to be in and well maintained And so those are kind of the tenets of our our specific objectives This next slide is a busy slide, but it's an important one. I think we think that captures the education funding Picture for folks and I'm going to start on the top left corner here I don't know if my pointer will work, but on the very top left Actually, it doesn't show is proposed expenditures Again, this is the amount of money that we're proposing to spend next year and you see the actual amount It says that we're going up point eight five a percent So we're less than one percent on our total expenditure The middle one is the estimated revenue This is what comes into us from students who come to us from other locations our island students in Georgia The next box and again, that's up just a fraction The next is set by the state and this is what we call a property yield And this is down three point one three Essentially when that goes down it means that local communities need to raise additional tax monies to make up that difference And this is in part connected to the governor's conversation specific to education funding The bottom right hand corner is the common level of appraisal This is amount again set by the state and around how properties sell in your community and so in South Burlington It's just a slight downward change not not not significant, but again Just a little bit downward and then bottom left corner is what we call equalized pupils and that is up three point nine seven percent That's a positive thing that means growth is happening in our community of South Burlington it means that Not just our seeded students It's also when you factor in like a high school student gets is a one point one three when you factor that all together We're close to a hundred additional equalized pupils and About 65 or so actually seeded students so again This is important that very center-bock now one that we want to focus on just for a second is our property tax rate Not all of the figures you can't add them up or subtract them to equal point one point nine six But they are all factors into the determining that in that number so our property tax rate would increase in South Burlington proposed 1.96 percent just a little below 2% This next slide is kind of walked along that bottom left-hand circle that I was just talking about on equalized pupils The top portion is the statewide totals and you can see all the way back to 2014 Through what's being proposed in the FY 19 a little just less than 2% and for South Burlington We're a 5.5 percent So that's the equalized pupil component this next one before I Let some other folks talk here in just a second. This is a busy a busy slide the highlighted Yeah, red actually I think are the probably the things that will mean a lot to people The first one is the total expenditure And you see over in the far right top corner at point eight five If you walk down to the next red block the red box you see our total revenue and you see that's up 0.04 and then it's simple subtraction you take the the 12 million minus Subtracting that from the 49 million and it brings it to the 37 635 722 which is the amount that we request from the state Ed fund We divide that by the number of equalized pupils which were referred to in the previous slide and that comes up with a net Ed spending per equalized pupil of 14,977.68 That number then gets divided by the equalized the property yield That property yield when divided equals then the residential tax rate of a dollar fifty two Then you divide that by the the common level of appraisal I know that's a lot going on there and that's how it comes up to the a dollar sixty one oh two or 1.96 percent increase on the tax rate David I would just want to remind our viewers that if You have a question. Please the number to call is eight six two three nine six six You can call any time But we're going to try to get through the presentation before taking some questions so that these folks can finish up But that's the number eight six two three nine six six Maybe you can so next we're going to move we're going to move along John's actually going to do if We have about 18 slides, so we're on slide six here, but so we'll be Happy to get to the end and answer questions on so in that previous slide you saw that the percent increase for the expenditure budget this year was point eight five percent about $400,000 and the question might be well, where did that $400,000 come from? And how we develop the budget generally is we we do what we call a continuing service budget Which kind of maintains the existing programs that we have in the current year see what that's going to cost for next year? And then make ads or subtracts depending on certain things that were happening in the coming year and there we come up with the the about $400,000 We're adding this year to contingent teachers, which are just in case we have enrollments that are greater than what we expect We have a little bit of money set aside to to add staff if we need to one of our issues in in the in education these days is is behavioral response to students and We're adding a behavioral analyst coach this coming year and it cost about $60,000 we have a slate of improvements that we're going to try to make to the buildings and the facilities we'll get to that next but one of the ones that's in the operating budget if you will is Repair of the pavement a little bit at the high school middle school parking lot for about $50,000. We have two other Categories personnel 75,500 and other kinds of facilities work for 47,000 Which brings the total to a $392,000. So that's the the nearly Nearly the entire increase in the budget can be identified with these handful of items that one of the big items this year is We try to keep up with facilities maintenance and construction repair of our Buildings and grounds every year and this year. We're proposing a $950,000 bond issue That will handle 15 or 20 different Pieces that that we think need to be made to the facilities the biggest single piece of that is a restroom facility at the Munson Field The field has been operating without a restroom facility since we Built it and we're trying to Provide $325,000 worth of funding to build a restroom and training room there The other big item for this coming year is a library Kind of reconfiguration you may know that The city library operated in the same space as the the high school library for many years and they moved out to the to another location this past year and We'd like to reconfigure that space now that that's gone With some new furniture and some new bookshelves and that sort of thing So that's about a hundred and fifty thousand dollars. There's a whole whole series of of other improvements that we're making Generally recurring items like refitting fire alarm pan and fire alarm panels and annunciators Doing work on that the carpet and floor tile that wears out after a while Some key and lock security upgrades those amounts make up the rest of the $950,000 bond issue and That that project the tax impact of that product is included in the numbers that David mentioned earlier Thank You John Yeah, I want to spend a couple of minutes on the next few slides just talking about some of the notable budget items And then I'll talk a little bit about the impact of this proposed budget to taxpayers One of the key things in this particular budget is we have a reduction of about 561,000 from new health care plan implementation and The V high organization, which is largely responsible for benefit plans for employees and employers Introduced four new plans starting January of this year Act 85 which was Approved by the governor and the legislature last year Required a clawback of health care savings as a reduction to school districts from the general Ed fund so even net of The clawback that South Burlington needed to contribute in last year's approved budget and in this year's budget There are savings that have been identified largely based on Utilization and premium reduction of 561,000 we also have collaborated with the city on a solar project on the landfill in South Burlington and both the city and school are benefiting from that so right now we've seen an expense reduction of about 20,000 in our electricity bill as John mentioned several of the safety and security items that we've invested in and That totals about 258,000. We're also We have a separate bond issue that will be on the ballot Which really is a reflection of our facility stewardship projects and that totals 950,000 the typical run rate for Facilities project which has largely been Embedded in the operating budget year over year is about four to five hundred thousand So this really represents a little bit of catch-up for us as well as a reflection of the fact that all five of our Facilities are over 50 years old at this point and need those investments John talked about the 150,000 which is in for the library refit at the high school and then several years ago the bond with administration's recommendation Approved a capital reserve fund and the voters approved that on the ballot. We have maintained a three hundred thousand dollar balance in that budget We haven't added anything to that but at this point we're keeping that available for use as necessary and the intent was to smooth out some of the Highs and lows in the budget as needed and the voters did approve that so as far as a recap goes if I can go to that next slide David Thank you We're looking at a budget that represents less than a 1% increase at the top line spend. It's 0.85% It's a revenue increase of 0.04% the tax rate increase is under 2% to 1.96 that David mentioned Versus prior year and that's primarily due to the decrease in the states that property yield We also have had significant increase in the equalized pupils that have gone into that our spending It's not on this chart, but our spending per equalized pupil is actually down 2.75% Which is which is a great direction in terms of school spending in general We have a robust Population of tuition students that come to us from the islands and Fairfax in Georgia that really bring a lot of value to our student population And allow us to leverage our overhead and our staffing as well So the impact of all of the numbers we've discussed so far which from a taxpayer standpoint is critical is a really about $71 increase to the tax bill on an average condo In South Burlington in about a hundred and four dollar increase on an average home in South Burlington Income sensitivity which a fairly Significant portion of our community participates in has actually declined from 2.72 percent to 2.53 percent And although we have received most information from the state on variables that are controlled Those are subject to approval still by the legislature based on the demands that schools are going to come to In terms of general ed fund which we've seen some initial favorable trending on If I can shift to the next slide I just wanted to present kind of a ten-year history of tax rates and Budget requests in South Burlington and I would highlight in this These numbers do reflect the fact that we've embedded facilities stewardship or capital improvement Into all mo or actually most of these items up until this year districts and supervisory unions all do this a little bit differently, but That run rate has been embedded and those are for assets that typically last 10 to 20 years So we think the bond that we're presenting to voters this year really reflects a more accurate accounting of Investments that have lifetime Asset lifetimes of longer than that 10 to 20 years So what you see here is spending increases that average over 10 years 2.66 percent and Tax rate increases averaging 1.83 percent and again You can see some movement over the year pluses or minuses and David covered a lot of the variables that go into that The the I think David you're going to move on to the enrollment piece So again, this is this is just a snippet of come some of our core staff And so this slide represents our five schools and it has a total on the bottom. So you see the 1718 enrollment Numbers and you can see you you obviously talked about that increasing and then the core staff 117.17 and then our current enrollment projected for 1819 is 2498 again representing an increase and then our core staff currently Planned is one sixteen point six seven Slight down now that said as John mentioned earlier there are two contingent teachers Currently in the budget and they may need to be deployed if they get deployed and are Needed at any one of those schools then obviously that core staff number would increase by that number Again, this just indicates I think To the community that we're being responsive To the resources that are needed at the time when our enrollments are what we'll say are steady or slight in slightly increasing Let me just remind our callers because we have a couple more presenters if you have some questions For this panel the number is 8 6 2 3 9 6 6 now guys. Don't be nervous. It's just a dialogue here But who wants to go first? Actually So Alex let me just say I mean what it's great having you know We have school board reps on our school board and they have been very active and involved in conversation and recommendations What we have is some student outcomes and this is again district-wide and they want to share a little bit about those student outcomes, so Absolutely Yeah, we're just here to share a little bit about our own personal experience, you know being students at South Burlington High School First of all, I would say that South Burlington High School like provides a variety of amazing programs Including classes, but also programs that provide different learning opportunities for students One of which that I'm most familiar with is the big picture program I've been a part of big picture for two years It's a school within South Burlington High School where students can really reach their full learning potential by taking advantage of their own learning and Schedules and by doing this and participating in this program I've been able to pursue a variety of different opportunities so that I can really learn to the best of my ability one of these things Includes my involvement with extracurriculars I am the founder of the gender and sexuality Alliance Club at South Burlington High School and going through big picture allowed me the time to really dedicate a lot of effort into Running this club and so that's been a really great opportunity for me I also pursued Dual enrollment class at UVM last year. I took a film and television studies class, and I'm taking a gender and sexuality Gender sexuality women's studies class So again with big picture and structuring my own learning I was able to pursue these amazing opportunities that I think in a lot of different situations. I might not have I've also been accepted into UVM, and I've been pursuing the post-secondary Planning and attending colleges after high school, and I know that South Burlington High School really provides a lot of Support when it comes to searching for colleges and going through that pretty stressful process And you can definitely see that reflected in our graduation rates and in the rates of students that pursue post-secondary education You know you're going to speak more towards the academic side of things Yes, I mean as far as the academic stuff I mean I I think it's really important like from a student perspective just understanding that South Burlington is always top in the state As far as results go for S-backs and kneecaps and that goes beyond the high school and in the middle school as well And for me personally what I really appreciate about the school is you know Alex talked about the extracurriculars and how she has dual enrollments I've taken a lot of Of the honors programs and how they've prepared me for the AP's and I look at our school and how they offer a variety of Different classes and that's really special because other schools might not do that And I know the teachers at our school have been above and beyond to help us. I know this year I've just picked my classes for my final year and that's obviously kind of no exciting and stressful And I know the teachers have been super helpful with you know Like class taking like honors American studies how it's prepared me for AP English literature and those kinds of things and You know the juniors and seniors at our school that I get to know really well are doing super well And I think that's really important to understand and maintain because our school is doing really well and students are really happy here So yeah So Alex and and are now both of you came from elementary in our middle school And maybe just a little snippet about where you came what elementary school and some of that experience Yeah, I personally came from Chamberlain elementary school, and I know that school is Really fun. I love that experience and you know honestly though that school prepared me a lot for you know Middle school because of like simple things like opening a locker and things like that. I've just had a really steady I've had a really steady support system helping me get through Education helping me for you know post-secondary plans, and it's been really fun Yeah, I went to orchard elementary school and you know absolutely second thing what you said Yeah, I had a really great establishment for my education and my learning my teachers always supported me and I remember Having it also, you know just like in high school having great opportunities to really establish my learning and to grow As a person and gaining a variety of different skills. So yeah, it was a really great childhood because of the school system that I was in Thank you. I wanted to great job Thank you So I wanted to ask about the Your process for developing budgets because I know in South Burlington based on moderating Presentations in the past because of a very extensive timeline and and you try to include a lot of people Maybe viewers would like to know a little bit about this isn't just made up in your offices here You you really have a process So I think it's important to know that you know first of all our school board You know is isn't an important player to that again They're kind of the the eyes and ears of the community And so providing me me some direction around what they think is important And again, I think as Elizabeth pointed out in our kind of tax rate history or increases We've been responsible. So there's some absolute direction that comes from the school board We've also had a citizen budget advisory group that John and I have been part of And that's been running for quite a good number of years They also provide another Component of that and then I would say that the hard work is it happens between the administrators Within the within the five schools in the central office It capitalizes capitalizes on the information that we know we need to be looking at an improving so our student data it looks at requirements that we need to be Mindful of around the state or whether it's proficiency based or our personalized learning plans So all of that kind of factors into that to come up with a budget at the same time I would say that in some in some ways we're always trying to Figure out what the state funding mechanism will be and when they yield Significantly changes that may drive us to a different place and what we need to do because obviously we need to be sensitive to that Tax rate increase and so if those metrics change a lot then we're going to need to be able to be adjustable to Unappropriate tax rate so we'd love to see you know education funding a little bit more predictable in the future But we've been a district that's been very you know I think mindful of the of the impact to our tax rate taxpayers and Making sure they get again as you heard from the students What are the outcomes and and the things that we want to make sure our students in our community get? Again, if you would like to call we do have a number and we don't have any calls yet But I'm hoping we get at least one the numbers 8 6 2 3 9 6 6 and you're welcome to call and ask these folks any questions But if for some reason you see this on a replay And you have questions they can always call Absolutely we any time our website and this next page that I have on here You can go to our website and you can get information about you know making a contact There's available information on our website school board members are there as well The other paper as it says is a great place a city website Our annual report cards on there and the other that's very this last one on there is the VSBA.org there's a nice informative video. I didn't do it justice really walking through the financial piece It's of I don't know about 11 minutes or so long and it's really informative on kind of the the interplay of some of the The data that's going on not just for South Burlington, but education funding in general So we would we welcome those conversations the other thing is we have we were supposed to have a school board meeting last night But we did not we have one on the 13th. We're always welcoming folks there and then our next Budget our next meeting would be on the 21st. We're going to talk a little bit more about the bond in the first part of that meeting Specific to some of the items that both John and Elizabeth alluded to I want we have only a few minutes But I wanted to ask our students Because given the time factor What has Being a student rep What have you gotten out of that? What what are what have you gained from that? And what are you able to take with you with that experience of being a student rep on your school board or in the school district? Yeah, you've been on it for almost yeah, how long have you been on well? I joined at the end of my junior year And it's been really an incredible experience. I mean the reason why I was interested in joining Most of that I could make a direct impact on my community and really stay involved in the issues that affected not only my peers in the school But also in the greater South Burlington community It's taught me a lot about you know public speaking and also really Communicating with my peers and prioritizing the issues that I see in the student body and how you can accurately represent that and bring that to a board So it's been it's a really been a really gratifying experience. I know that I'm gonna use what I learned Throughout these years, you know these past year at the school board, you know Yeah, my future I joined actually just a couple months ago in the fall of this year, which is my junior year I joined mostly because you know South Burlington has gone through a lot of things and student input I think is really important Especially at a time when there's a bunch of different things going on not just in South Burlington But with Vermont and the changing landscape all across America. So I'm really personally I'm really interested in that stuff and I know I have a lot of friends that are too So for me, it was just really cool to be able to join the board and Talk with everybody like my friends about what's going on and informing them And this is a really cool opportunity to you know have which not many people do so For me, it's just this as Alex said that communication piece because I think that's really important. Well, how did you get talked into it? Well for me last year we had Isaiah Heinz on the board and I talked to him a little bit last year and he kind of Got me really interested in it and then I obviously contacted Mr. Young, you know, Ms. Fitzgerald and Yeah, I got it That's good. How about you? Similar scenario actually a teacher come up to me and told me about the opportunity said like I do a lot of you know Leadership work within my school. So they said, you know, you'd be a great fit for this position Is this something you're interested in and I absolutely was that's great One last question because we're down to a couple of minutes here. Maybe Elizabeth or anybody can jump in where do you where do you see? What's the big issue that's going to be coming up For schools in general in the next three to five years or so, what do you think we're going to be talking about? I'll briefly say and you can you can add this David, but I think the the overriding story is really cost containment and balancing the local and state Quality of education it's really what what a community is want to support and what how the states want to prepare our kids for their next steps whether it's career or college and How we're going to fund that that's the broad story and I I would certainly second that I think you know It is a lot about what you heard both Arnell and Alex talk about it's about those Opportunities that we feel are critical and the worry is that when you have financial difficulties What's going to happen as you take away many of those opportunities whether there's clubs or there's classes and that's That's that's a significant change because then students become perhaps less interested in the course offerings and Obviously, then they're not as interested in pursuing their hopes and dreams and reading for that next step So, you know, I think the other the last part of that I would say about maintaining our facilities I think in Vermont we also have to be mindful of how to do that and this particular bond is just trying to Stay on top of some of the important upkeep to make sure our buildings are safe. I appreciate that Thank you so much folks. It's always great to see you each David each every year and we appreciate so much and viewers you know where to go to now if you have any questions and On behalf of the panel here, my name is Howard wouldn't have been your moderator We want to say thank you and keep watching town meeting television Thank you Howard. Good evening and welcome to Channel 17's town meeting television Tonight we have we are going to do a Discussion with the South Burlington School Board candidates for the three-year seat I have next to me right here Elizabeth Fitzgerald and this is Laura Williams now this is a very informal type of thing although you only get about two minutes for each answer and There is a phone number if viewers want to ask these candidates any questions and in this case if they call And we're gonna need to go to the call if that's okay. The number is eight six two three nine six six I want to start off with you Elizabeth and this is for both of you, but we'll start with the incumbent Why are you running again and what qualifies you for the position? Well, this will be the sixth term. I've run for Howard and I've finished 12 years on the board so far I'm running Primarily because I've benefited from an education and I believe access to a solid education is critical to current generation and future generations. I I've served as a board chair for several of the years that I've been on the board and I I've served on a number of subcommittees and gone through a lot of board training But the issues that are facing public education right now in terms of funding of education as well as What local communities and what the state will support in terms of quality education? I think really will benefit from some continuity on the board and I think South Burlington residents Can benefit from both the institutional memory. I bring to the role as a board member as well as The students in our district, so I'm interested in continuing that service So Laura the same question. Have you been on the board before are you this your first time? No, this would be my first time. Okay, so and I I want to be on board because I really believe strongly in public education And I'm a teacher so I definitely understand the profession and I'm a taxpayer community member and I'm a parent of two children one of whom is in Junior at the high school and one of whom graduated last year so I'm looking forward to being involved in my community and And really really building community building that spirit. There's been the relationship between the teachers Association and the school board is has been a little rocky the past few years and Also sometimes with the community, so I'm looking to bridge relationships as built community Well, why don't we talk like Elizabeth was on for the budget presentation? Laura, what is your feeling about the budget as well as the you know the proposed one? What are your thoughts on that? I have looked at the budget. I Will support the budget March 6th, and I've looked at the bond and I have a student who's a three-sport athlete Plus she I was and I've been to she went to orchard huddle and the high school so I've sat through many a band concert chorus play you name it and and I've been to many games at that field and I Believe that the actual structures of all of these buildings need some care and attention And so I would definitely support that and right now in months and field. There are only two porta-potties and I'm just going to go out in a limb and say it's really not sufficient. I definitely support the bond And Elizabeth obviously in the last presentation, maybe you want to reinforce your position on On the budget as well as the bond. Yeah, I obviously I do support the budget the Again, we're looking at kind of a top-line increase of less than 1% and a tax rate increase of less than 2% I do think it's very responsible budget. I think the district has a track record of Really being prudent with taxpayer resources and although we've had some up-and-down years. I do think This reflects the needs of the facilities as well as the students in the programming So I do support the budget. I think the administration has done an incredible job Really combing through and really talking about deploying resources in a meaningful way That will benefit the entire community. Well, let me keep going with that You know the political landscape out there the governor has put out a whole new no new taxes type of thing Did that work in when you guys were working with the budget? What are your feelings about the governor's proposal? You know the budget development process this starts really back in September of the prior year. So a lot of the governor's Guidelines as well as legislative activity doesn't really happen till a budget is actually approved by the board and is approved to go on The ballot so there's discussions ongoing right now within the House and the Senate that would impact education funding and spending and One of the things that that I would support is I'm a taxpayer You know, I like the idea of no new taxes and no new fees But on the other hand, I think we need to be responsible about looking at the timing of initiatives And kind of when they roll in so that we have a budget development process that really doesn't Preceed any of that activity and I know one of the things I would like to advocate for is longer term planning I'd like to look at a five-year budgeting plan that could provide predictable Tax spending for our community members It could define what the community is willing to support in terms of education funding and and I'll include in those the longer term Guidelines from the governor and from the House and Senate around that spending You're getting new to this now. So when you hear the governor say those things, what's your feeling about that? How that statement of no new taxes is going to impact your community, right? Well First of all, I think we we need a plan and no new taxes just sounds like a slogan to me and not a plan I can't identify the plan and that in that statement and The other thing is what the governor? He seems to come in at the 11th and a half hour when hours and hours of work goes into a budget starting months You know in you know beginning of the year so Right now I would agree with Elizabeth I I mean I I would really look forward to sitting down with legislators Legislators and the government having some substantive conversations about how we do this How do we get creative? How do we have a new revenue stream? We need to think differently because to me just no new taxes is sure everybody loves that They just I don't know what that means We'd like some specifics on what he means and in terms of things like the things that you can't control things like health care and You know those costs and you know what what do you what would you bring to the table if you got elected? And trying to contain costs and those things But you mean health care. Yeah Well, yeah, that that is that's a great question I know that teachers are some of the healthiest people around and that I don't really think that they you know, they use their health care really quite wisely and I think Yeah, we probably need to get a little bit creative, you know, I don't have all the answers and I But it is something that I have thought a great deal about and it's something that I would really look forward to speaking You know deli diving a little bit deeper into this issue, so we can actually get real Some some real answers because it is it is a concern for all of us You know, I am a taxpayer and I am I am also a teacher and I'm also a parent So I I come at this from all three perspectives and I thought about this a lot so Yeah, I would just bring my willingness to learn and I you know, I agree We need we need to make some changes and I would like to be a part of the voice in that in that in that change Elizabeth, what do you think well specific to health care one of the one of the areas that I also Volunteer for was to serve on the board of V. Hi, which is the Vermont education health care initiative And some of the things that have been done on that board which has does have Vermont NEA representation is really The launching of four new plans and that's that is an additional plan To pass plans which includes a parent child option, which is a reduced premium for those folks that can take advantage of that plan In addition, it's offered HRA and HSA, which are tax-advantaged Health savings opportunities that are either supported by the employer and or the employee And the HSA option is one that becomes an employee owned asset that they can take with them Regardless of their employment status with the district or supervisor union. So There have been some specific activities done within that non-proof profit group that really has the mission of offering Cost-competitive quality benefits in general to the education pool within the state of Vermont. So those are some specific examples where I have personally taken an interest and volunteered to work on those things that can generate Some some cost savings and obviously there's a lot of work to be done in terms of the ed funding formula itself But that's where our board really has taken a leadership role in working with our legislators and kind of supporting or at least Providing some guidance around those things that might help that so looking at the bigger the big picture of the district itself and And South Burlington's had issues in the paper this last year and various things But let's let's put those aside and just say we're what are the big issues right now that are facing? South Burlington school district and then Laura will hear what your thoughts on it But Elizabeth yeah, well, I think I I think I highlighted this in the in the budget itself but from a broad standpoint, it's really cost containment and And really the quality of education that we want to support locally I think some of the areas that are our questions are really Specifically, you know when we deliver public education, how do we meet students in terms of how they come to us? We're having students come to us with a variety of needs whether it's Students that have advanced opportunities for learning whether it's English language learners whether it's special education students kids coming from Trauma for instance in poverty so there are a number of Social services that have kind of found their way into the school system And I think we need to figure out as a state How do we start to address the needs of students and families within the walls of the school system without over burdening? The the staff and the system that we have in place to deliver education I also think specific our district We have a need for long-term planning and that includes you've heard a lot about the facilities planning but I think collaborating with the city and really Looking at the city's pace and scope of development within the city of South Burlington and balancing that with The stability our community really appreciates in the in the school system is a challenge And specific areas like the airport and noise levels affect individual school facilities But I think those are really that some of the high-level issues that we need to focus on or you've been You I want to ask you the same question But you know given the fact that you've raised your children right through the system right and gotten a chance to really be a You know have been a part of the community all these all during that time What where do you see now it's giving that bigger picture of the things that you think are going to really you're gonna have to face as a district and Your perspective as a non-board member could and bring it in that's that's an interesting perspective to bring in right So you know as a parent I well we've had excellent teaching all the way through we've I've been very thrilled with the education and I think the key to this is excellent teachers and I because Students are coming to us with a variety of needs and it that's probably just going to continue And I do I do see that as as something that we need to face and in the future and I think you know cultural awareness Cultural diversity. I think to make the assumption that everyone feels welcome and is comfortable in our community Is not the right one to make I would love to see a task force on racism and bias and really get out there and and talk to people and Sorry just lost my train of thought and So, you know just because we have you know say for example a small community of color here LGBT Kids I think I would I really would love to have a community forum where we talk to people I would love to have you know a big potluck once a semester where we bring all families together And I really can't stress enough how important it is to have teachers in the classroom who are being you know Well who are being respected and their work is being honored and valued because they are on the front lines of kids Who are coming in with trauma? I mean a traumatized child really is just one good relationship away from healing and that's the teachers sometimes the teachers The schools are the safest place for those kids to be so I I really think you know Trading our teachers well and making sure that they're well cared for so we can give the best Education to the children walking through those doors. That's what I see is the most critical job that we can do South Burlington has been lucky in the sense that you folks have increasing enrollment Yes, yes, you know so yeah, you don't really have to have that issue You know that many districts are facing that you know declining enrollments and having to perhaps cut staff or whatever Tell me a little bit about why you think you know South Burlington has increasing enrollment as opposed to you know most of the state right now Wow, you just look around South Burlington. They're building like crazy. So I think people are moving moving here it's a great community and I think I don't I don't Elizabeth know the numbers better than I do I know that there's quite a few tuition paying students students really want to come here to to the high school and I can and I also serve with a natural resources council for South Burlington and And here we are we're trying to save our natural resources, but we are building and building and building So people are moving in because they want to raise their families here and that That's what I what I believe is happening. That's great and Elizabeth What do you have any views on why you know South Burlington is? the anomaly here Well, well, you know, I think there's pockets of growth throughout the state. I think We benefited this year and we've been relatively flat overall in terms of enrollment But I think the tuition students we have a close to 200 tuition students now that come to us from the islands and Fairfax in Georgia. I Think you know, we've really benefited from a stable population. We've got about 70 percent of our Community members though that no longer have children in this school system. So I think some of what you're seeing is also turnover in home ownership in that regard Some of the work we do really though is it doesn't necessarily impact enrollment directly, but We've we've done some pilots for instance We have a busing pilot one of the issues we found with our neighboring district of Winooski Is they found that their attendance at school went down during winter months? So we were able to come up with a no-cost alternative to provide some busing to their kids during the winter months And from what I hear the superintendent Winooski that is going extremely well So I think we're starting to collaborate. I think the news recently had the Burlington and South Burlington merger the football teams You know those decisions the board role is not to get involved in running the district it's really a policy governance role and If that's something administration supports and the athletic directors support and it allows the kids who choose to participate in That sport to continue to have that opportunity I think that's great and that's a good example of I think what you mean We may start to see more throughout the state is districts collaborating with each other in a way that allows students to have those opportunities Do you want to add on to that your feelings about the football? Yeah, my son played football eyes freshman and sophomore year and I think it's great I'm sad that we've just lost the rivalry between South Burlington and Burlington and I also think in The kids want to play so I think that it's really great Yeah, it is so it's great that the two communities are working together because I just want to remind viewers that you can call 862 3966 and you can ask any question you one of these two candidates and I really you know we have it looks like maybe another ten minutes eight minutes What is it that you want to make sure let's talk with you Laura But what what is it that you want to make sure that? Voters know about you and and really You know, this is your chance to kind of convince them right now Yeah well, I'm let I'll just give a brief history and from Rotland originally and I Went to UVM and then I left the state and I lived in Philadelphia And I moved back here in 2010 and then my children have got the trend there too And right I came back and set my children through through the three schools here And I'm so I'm I'm a teacher that that's that's my profession So I I understand the ins and outs of being a teacher what that means And I'm also a community member and a taxpayer so I do pay attention to the budget and it's it's meaningful for me and I am also a parent and I I really Really believe strongly in public education. I've sent both my children through the school system and I want to make sure that You going that our phone We can answer that we can do that. Do you want to say anything before I get So We have a caller Do you please identify yourself and ask your question questions for both candidates? If that's allowed the first is for Elizabeth Fitzgerald and first I want to thank her for her service over the last 12 years and I my question for her is What else is important to accomplish? Do you want to give the other question and then you can hang up or do you want to just hang? Oh, yeah, sure And then my other question is is for Laura and well I actually have two questions for her one is she mentioned that we really need excellent teachers Which I completely agree with and my question for Laura is how do you measure excellence in teachers and My my second question for Laura has to do with Negotiations and I don't know if we've had teachers on the board in the past But I'm wondering how that would actually work if she won the selection Would she have to recuse herself from from negotiations or would she actually be a part of that? So thank you very much. Oh, thank you for calling appreciate it. So Elizabeth maybe what else? You know after even after 12 years, I feel like I'm continuing to learn and I feel like the complexity of Delivering the service of public education is has really only grown more so during during my tenure on the board I think specific to South Burlington I think development of that master planning and visioning is critical which includes not only Where we deliver that education, but it also includes how we How we support a climate of growth for our students our staff our families their guardians and so forth and I think I think really building that Advocacy in the legislature and Montpelier is critical I think there's a there's a host of elements that really build to Preserving that quality education in South Burlington and a lot of it really boils down to engaging the community it really It boils down to ensuring that we have metrics that are measuring how our students are Are performing and are we delivering on the ends that we've identified with the community in terms of how we want students walking across the Stage at graduation with what competencies Laura I'm gonna ask the second one first just so that we can get that one about what your feeling is on teacher negotiation as a Teacher if you were to get on the board what how do where would you stand on that? Well, I'm a taxpayer I'm a community member and there is a long-standing tradition in Vermont of teachers serving on boards Not in the community where they teach but in the communities where they live So I there is no conflict there So that that's how I see that so I wanted to get that one done for because I thought it would be good So I thought it was a good question. It's great. How do you measure excellence in teachers? Yeah, that was good So it's a great question Well, one of the reasons we have great teachers in South Burlington is they go through a fairly rigorous process and there I mean everything from tests you have to take we are required to take X amount of credits per licensing period So our knowledge base is really deep and and that's measured by they can see the credits See the classes that that we've taken and then we are expected to Reflect on that bring that back to our departments and share And this is all overseen by supervisors and and things like that They want to see that you are being innovative in in in the classroom Student outcome is also a way to measure teachers We give we give Another way students fill out surveys and things like that and as we get student input and And then a lot of a lot of supervisory input as well from supervisor. I mean, it is a great question I mean sometimes It's really hard to know but when you walk into a school like South Burlington You know, it's there and people have their credentials to to really prove it And I will say as a parent I Want my oldest son really I never thought he would make it through I'd never thought he'd make it through high school and he did and I credit those teachers and my daughter also I really I mean for me looking at that I can only I can speak as a parent that the quality has really been excellent So the student surveys that's such an interesting idea so that students are able to give feedback To their teachers on how things were effective or whatever I want to ask you what do you as a school board member? Do you get a chance to really hear about? How teachers are You know Evaluated or how you know what the how do you measure excellence? Yeah? We I mean the board does not get involved in any kind of evaluation, but we do have the opportunity to support, you know and Look at the policies associated with evaluations I Agree that we have great teachers within South Burlington, and I also believe that we offer a really generous Compensation package that's that includes benefits and wages that is supported by the community So I think the community has constantly reflected their value in our teachers our support staff our Administrators and all those folks that touch the lives of our students and really add value to that education So We only have a few minutes left. So I want to give a two minutes to each of you to kind of give a closing Speech about Commit your voters right now So Elizabeth will start with you and I'm gonna let Laura finish up look at the last word in here So Elizabeth this is your two minutes. No pressure. I think the one thing I'd say is you know, this is a this is a fairly small board It's a five-member board. I think I'd also describe this board as a working board each board member that has really come on to the board has brought some skill sets that have Really added value and that we've been able to leverage in a non-compensate or you know compensated way I Two of our board members were newly elected last March and I think Board continuity is is really critical given the landscape right now. I Know You know, I I would be remiss not to say I've enjoyed serving with Bridget Burkhard in particular the last two years as she's come up To speed on the board. She brings a really incredible skill set in terms of her analytical orientation her communication skills And really her focus on the quality of education within the system So I really do support that continuity. I on a more anecdotal note What I think about when I think about the culmination of a students experience in their 13 years In our school system is is pretty tactical each May or June the board is asked to sit down and sign diplomas and I was thinking about this the other day that in my tenure I've signed over 2,500 diplomas and when I do that aside from the fact that I regret having a very long name I read each student's name and often I know the stories of their families and of The staff that supported them specific teacher stories specific courses experience They had whether they won a championship in sports whether they Participate on the debate team whether they struggled with their education and it's very gratifying to get to that point and realize the the The community involvement and investment that went on tip for those students and the people that affected their lives So I look forward to just continuing to be able to sign those diplomas Laura, what do you think? Well first of all, thank you to Elizabeth I know that this is a really complicated and time-consuming job, and I do thank you Yeah, it is it's and it's a really important job important decisions get made and And and as my child moves out of the system and I would love to have a voice and continuing this tradition of excellence in in South Burlington and I would just reiterate I think I was talking about this before before the caller Called and that yeah, I do believe in public education. I believe strongly in it and I Definitely I and I definitely want this to continue in South Burlington and and as I said, I'm a parent I'm a community member. I and I bring all types of perspectives to this that would make me make me a strong candidate and I also want to work on building relationships You know between the school board and and the education association I think that that's that's really really important At this point because I want South Burlington to be in the news For the great things that happen in our schools for the athletics the arts big picture and are now and Alex Beautifully well-spoken But all of their achievements and that's why I want South Burlington to be to be in the newspapers For the excellence of the students that we that I was gonna say we teach but I don't but they teach I want to thank both of you. This has been a great discussion And I don't think South Burlington is going to be at all worried about this position So I want to thank our viewers. You can find this again at Channel 17 town meeting television I want to give a plug for town meeting television come here all the time to get your information about the upcoming elections And again, I want to thank you and best of luck to both of you. Thanks. Thank you very much. Thank you Good evening and welcome to Channel 17 town meeting television tonight We are doing a candidate forum for South Burlington school district this is a two-year position and I'm pleased to introduce our incumbent which and I make sure I say it's Bridget Burkhard, right? That's right, and this is Tyler samlers and Mike Rossi here, and I'm going to give each one of them Two minutes to kind of give an intro about themselves and why they want to Either maintain their position or become a member of the school board And I want to remind our viewers that you can call in with questions anytime during this forum and the number is 8 6 2 3 9 6 6 8 6 2 3 9 6 6 call in any time we want your questions I always start with the incumbent Bridget. So why don't you tell the viewers exactly why you want to continue on the board? I'll start with a little bit about why I ran for the board originally Just to refresh everyone's memory maybe from two years ago Then there were three main reasons really why I ran for the board one I thought that I had skills and a background that would be helpful to the district in some way I have a BA and an MBA and I started off my career in finance in New York and Did finance in New York and in London and then transition from mainstream finance into mission-driven finance where it was sort of finance with a purpose Using some of those finance skills to raise money for Organizations that were helping to build assets and wealth for people in less developed countries And I thought some of those skills would be valuable to the school district The second reason was that after having been exclusively a stay-at-home mom for a few years And had always had this vision that I really wanted to be involved in whichever community we ended up in It was time for me to do that. I was ready to do that I had a little more freedom to do that a little more space and I started going to a lot of community meetings So I was going to city council meetings planning commission meetings a lot of different meetings to try to get a feel for what was going on in South Burlington and the meetings were really resonated and where I found that my passion really lay was with the school board and There happened to be a position opening and in fact Dan Fleming who was going off the board was also had a bit of Skill with finance and business and his background. It seemed like a good fit to sort of transition into that role I actually ran and opposed that year and The third reason of my three reasons was that I had children entering the system. So my son Wells started at South Burlington He had just started right after the fall after I ran for school board So he had been at Renaissance school before that and he went into second grade and he's now a third grader at Rick Barcott central school and I have a younger son Freddie who will be a kindergartner God help everyone in South Burlington school district next year he will start kindergarten and I wanted to make sure that we Maintained and improve the opportunities not just for my kids, but for all the kids in South Burlington and I'm running for reelection because as Elizabeth said the the The learning curve is incredibly steep for a school board member There are a lot of different aspects that you have to learn about employee relationships Finance all kinds of things about running a district and after two years I really just feel like I'm learning enough to really be valuable to the district. Great. Well, Tyler. What do you think? Well, I I'm a teacher. I'm a special educator in Burlington at the integrated arts Academy I'm running because I love good schools. I've worked in several schools that I've considered to be good schools I'm a taxpayer in South Burlington and always had a sort of Drive to be civically engaged at a higher level and I think that this would be a good opportunity to Join the board As well as bring some perspective to the board of sort of the other side of things. I think that Administrative bodies sort of you know They there's a void of knowledge from the other side that it would be nice to have on the board Mike I Probably come at this from a different perspective I've been a resident in South Burlington for about 40 years and I've witnessed this community just evolve and change And I've kind of sat back on the sidelines For most of that time being involved in different situations not so much on the school board in the community But over the last few years, I've kind of watched things Kind of go the wrong direction in my opinion. I thought the whole Area last year of the two budget defeats the teachers contract negotiations which in My views wasn't as civil as it should be We had a decision by the school board not to take sufficient input from the community on the moniker So I kind of sat back and I watched this and I'm saying why is everyone kind of getting trapped into this? Why are we not civil? Why can we not have open debate? involve every member of the community involve the citizens and Really make sure that everything is not only transparent but accountable and when it comes to the budget sustainable So I kind of sat back And thought about this talked to a lot of people in my neighborhood first Citizens and I kept hearing the same thing and a lot of times you ended up with a lot of discourse between Some of our neighbors neighborhoods against neighborhoods Are you for education anti-education? If you question too much all of a sudden it became well your anti-education I don't know. I'm just questioning school board. I'm questioning the budget So when I looked at especially on the budget when I've seen what's going on with the budgets I also believe that we're not going down a sustainable road I think we can't keep taxing and taxing and increasing and increasing and and necessarily spending and spending So from my perspective, it's really looking at the budget. It's really making sure that The administration and the I guess you would say the school board is held accountable But also to simplify things. It's very difficult for the common citizen To be able to really understand that to your point But it shouldn't be it shouldn't be that difficult You shouldn't have to go to six seven eight nine ten meetings to understand the budget No, I'm not saying you have to know everything that goes into the budget But it should be more it should be more easily explainable and it's not you ask people What do you think of the budget? Everyone comes up with the same answer. How much is going to cost me? How much is my taxes going up, you know, and that's not what we're really trying to do We want to make sure we have a budget that's sustainable for everybody and So that was kind of my motivation experience I've I've been on boards worked in multi-million dollar budgets Have a master's degree out of UVM. So I believe in education I believe in our teachers, but I also think that we have to strike a balance on what we can afford and What we can't afford let me ask you Let's go into the budget now here as a panel What do you think about this year's budget especially? Why he's gonna fix you there So what do you think about? the budget and Also the bond issue, you know, what? How do you view that as a potential school board member and as a community member? I? Know when the question came out says do you support the proposed budget and to me? It's I don't support the presentation of the budget first and by that I mean the budget as presented and It sounds very good on paper. We're gonna have a point zero eight five increase in spending That would sound good, but let's start literally looking at some of these numbers point zero eight five is just on the budget of fiscal year Nineteen versus fiscal year eighteen Seems like that would make sense. However When you add the bond in it's still expenses a bond is expenses either way you're spending the money So you add nine hundred fifty thousand dollars to this expense that we're going to spend and you get up to two point six So our expenses are really two point six percent higher Not point zero eight five percent higher, and I think some of that is where this Maybe the lack of confidence in the community to the school board is how things are presented If you then deep a little dig a little deeper and you look at the spending now These are the projections that were put out the fiscal year spending For two thousand eighteen is going to come in according to the numbers three point five percent below budget That's a great job But then why aren't we comparing that budget to what we spend if we're going to go to fiscal 19 Well, what did we spend in 18 you take that number and you're up to six point six percent? So in in some ways We are going to spend six point six percent more money in 2019 Then we did in 2018 not point zero eight five So the budget itself we could sit here all day talk about wine items, etc But I think we have to make sure that we we tell the community what we're actually doing What do you think I Support the budget as it's proposed. I think that the current board did a pretty good job on that I support the bond proposal I don't think we can kick the the issue of buildings and Just upkeep of our buildings can't kick that can down the road so I think we have to act on that and You know, I think that's a clever way to do it I Do think that the real savings and in our financial Situation will come about from What's going on in the classrooms? I think that that's really how we you know I can touch base on that in another question, but I think that Thinking about money But not talking about how our classrooms are delivering instruction Doesn't really Doesn't really work. So I want to come back to that a little bit. What do you think Bridgett? I Obviously was one of the unanimous Approval of the budget this year I think that David and the administration and and all the staff as well as the citizens budget advisory group To an excellent job this year. It was a really tough year Given what the district went through last year to balance wanting to maintain the quality and in some cases add some new initiatives that we really feel are necessary with Keeping that tax rate as as low as we possibly can and I think that they did a really great job of balancing those objectives I I would focus more on the fact that our Per equalized people spending is down 2.75 percent this year And that is mainly we're we're level and actually increasing in the number of students And yet our budget is very close to what it was last year And I would also say that I part of your other question was you know do I support the contingent staff position? Absolutely, I think keeping class sizes within reason elementary schools It's very important to get those kids a good basis to make sure that they still love learning when they get out of elementary school They've had a good experience And I was one of the board members who really supported putting that contingent position there and with regard to the bond it's I It's a struggle for me to put it in late person terms sometimes coming from a finance background But it's a basic principle of finance that you fund assets with Funding that is similar in term and these assets that we're talking about funding our assets of the community It's going to use to help deliver education for the next 20 years and in some cases longer than that So I think that this bond is very prudent. I think that putting everything through the operating budget Basically charges today's taxpayers for things that are going to be used by future taxpayers and their children and to spread it out evenly is a good principle and I think that We as a district are very careful with our long-term stewardship plan and to step away from that Because we're concerned about budget issues in a given year Would not be prudent down the road an example is if you if you don't do a roof for example Not that roofs are really in here, but if you don't do a specific project in a given year It can lead to a bigger expense down the road And I think that the administration has been very careful looking at those With with Mike's issues of Presentation do you do you does the board? Do you hear that critique sometimes when we know what is it? How do you respond to it? And I feel like we're working on it I would love more specifics as to what the community would like to see we feel like we're being as transparent as we can I think John Aubin this year for example has done some great work in terms of he wrote a two-and-a-half page memo about What equalized pupils means, you know It's a number that we get from the state that's based on data that we provide to the state that tells us basically How many pupils waited for things like English language learners and whether they're high school or elementary school students? That number comes from the state and he did a two-and-a-half page memo about how that's calculated and how we get to the tax rate And I feel like we've been very open and very transparent We last year I'm during the budget sort of crisis if you will as we were trying to get the budget passed Even as a board stepped up and started doing a lot of communication, you know element by element of the budget So there's really nothing that we're trying to hide We're doing our very best and we would love more input from the community on how we can be more transparent I think that's his point is that in some way, you know Is it does seem complicated to you know the outside or even to The average citizen, I mean, I think that's what Mike is trying to get across is that is there a it does can the board? It's complicated from your end because the state's throwing you a lot of numbers and various things that go with it So it's it's challenging and I will say that Elizabeth and I met with the South Burlington Business Association Which is a group of business leaders in South Burlington because they wanted to know more about how education funding worked And it was a struggle even for folks that do business every day to understand this some of the complication Maybe from our communication some of it is just that state funding of education is Complicated it takes a while to understand it and it does take unfortunately going to some meetings reading some of the things That we're putting out in order to understand that we're trying to make it as simple as we possibly can Before I ask for your response I want to remind our viewers that you can call in questions. You can tell we're we're kind of lively here 8-6-2-3-9-6-6 we'd love to get somebody to call in and give us Give us some questions Mike. How do you respond to that? Well, I think a couple points When you look at the when you look at the budgets and and I agree we have to take care of our facilities and our facilities Should be funded through a cat a cat-back program or you can call it what you want But we call it a cat-back program on the boards we have where you're putting money away year after year after year This has not been funded and it's not funded again this year. It's a zero bounce When you don't put money away you end up having to take the bond to take care of things when I look at the bond You know, you got the three I think it's three hundred and seventy five thousand dollars for months in field That would be something that I could agree you could put into a bond $3,000 for key locks Why is that not routine maintenance? Why haven't we been planning better in the past? So I think when you when I look at that bond and I look at the items And I know the superintendent in one of the videos that I watched said he didn't I think by attorney They didn't have to reveal what was going into the bond. I'm glad that they did that type of transparency Makes it easier for people to understand where's this money going to go when you look at where this money is going You got five thousand dollars for carpet and tile, but in the budget we have thirty five thousand dollars for For carpet and tile in the same building we got locks We have things that really should have been planned better in the past and to just say now Oh, we're gonna have this bond go out and I'm not saying they just made the decision I'm sure it was well thought out, but that's not good planning. So we're sticking. We're paying for things over 20 years that really we shouldn't have to do and then and Bridget brings up equalized per pupil spending. I actually read that it is very Very very descriptive, but it's again a very difficult read That kid is weighted one way another child's weighted this way you bring it all together You come up with that number, but again out in the community. They're not looking at it like that They are very confused what equalized per pupil spending is per pupil cost and then what we're bringing for the taxpayers So what we're actually spending so you can look at that three different ways You can take the forty nine million dollars divided by twenty four hundred and change of students That's one way to say and that's where some people come in. They say okay That's two thousand dollars per person you're gonna look at it the other way and say how much how many students We have and how much are we raising in taxes from South Burlington? Which by the way isn't enough to even even pay for the teacher salaries and health care and everything else So okay, that's how much it's costing us help Burlington and then you can do the whole you know equalized for people spending so People are confused about that and they shouldn't be a little bit. I want to make sure before we do have a call Tyler did you want to jump in at all just to react to this because this is good Yeah, I do think that One thing that we're gonna get to you in just a moment. I'll try to be quick One thing that I don't think the community would be too confused on is that Treating teachers well creates a positive feedback loop that in turn Gives better results better performance That they can their classroom the climate and the school has improved the classrooms are they're able to do all of the things that they Do with a sort of magic in their step differentiate provide a rigor robust curriculum Work with struggling learners deal with some of the students who are dealing with trauma And and move those students along and you know rising What is it a rising tide lifts all boats that's what treating The teachers well will do for our community and it's it's the investment that hasn't been made by the current board and I think that That investment is gonna save us costs. It's gonna save us if you look at the DMG report Which came out from the agency of education. Vermont Digger did an article about it this week. It talks about Special education costs are unsustainable and we need to start doing the things that we need to be doing to to minimize those costs and I would encourage folks to go ahead and read that report if they can but it's it really that the single biggest thing that we can Be doing in schools is having effective instruction in the classroom. We have a call and Good evening caller, please give us your first name and what is your question for the panel? My name is Vincent I have a question for Bridget if you were being transparent for the community Why did you deny the community and audit for the budget and you denied the community to say and the rebranding of The South Berlin King High School Thank You caller sure With respect to an audit I am not sure that we were specifically requested by the community to do an audit the school district budget is heavily audited By both state and federal Auditors every year. I mean down to the line item. It is it is scrubbed I've worked closely with Omni Denton who works in the business office and is responsible for responding to requests For information for those audits. I've worked with her on other matters and and this is a very well audited budget I would say With respect to the rebranding It was discussed in several board meetings. We did get a lot of community feedback the the rebranding we felt The administration gave us the recommendation that the rebranding was what was right in order to build community Especially within the high school. We have a very changing High school and and we felt that Based on what we were hearing from the administration and what we were hearing from both sides of the community We had to make a very tough choice We understand that people were very tied to to the old moniker and and we felt that the best interests of the school district as a whole were Really served by going through the challenging time of changing that name And and we felt that we did give the community a say through the normal channel through board meetings and and their ability to reach out to us Tyler do you have any reaction to the caller's question about you know The rebranding issues. I don't have a comment on that. Okay Not so much on the rebranding, but the process again, I will stick to the process and accountability I Didn't go to South Burlington. I went to rice. We went through that when we had the little Indians to the green nights for Not not even close to the same type of reasons, but it made sense Personally speaking rebels wolves The name itself I'm not attached emotionally attached to any of it. I understood the argument I think the argument to change the name was valid. I think every student should feel safe I think every student should feel welcome I think every parent should be proud that they go to South Burlington Where I had a problem and I wrote this was published in the free press and I did write to the board is the process You did have 700 plus Residents taxpayers asked the school board To at least discuss the issue in a form. There was a motion made It wasn't brought up. So there's difference between listening and acting So you could sit in the audience and say what you wanted the school boards But nobody was it it didn't feel like anyone was real decision was made They weren't going to do it and that's not a fair process. That's not a process that led to civil Disagreement it led to accusations. It led to things that's not Really reflective of South Burlington. So I just think they mishandled That particular issue. I think the board should have had a second had a discussion And if they decided not to bring it to a vote fine Then that would be their decision but not to actually have that discussion and be on record and not for Bridget and the rest of the members to second that motion I think they mishandled that and they I think they did a disjustice to those members of the community I do want to remind our we still have plenty of time viewers. So if you want to call in a question like the Like Vincent did you can call 8 6 2 3 9 6 6 and we'd love to have your questions I want to change the flavor here a little bit and go to like bigger picture stuff statewide contracts for teachers Tyler, what do you think? To me I Think that that's a sort of but a big that's a big idea and logistically it sounds like a lot of work For You know, I think that there's there's revenue and changes that we can do at the local level that are That would be more efficient use of our time So you feel like you still need to have that kind of local to be able to nuance Locally, yeah, and when you talk about the contract like contracts with with staff these are these are Things that have been negotiated for decades, you know, and their compensation packages and and South Burlington look a lot different than like Hyde Park You know so to Just go statewide with it. It sounds like it would I'm not sure that would be fair for for everyone and I don't know. What do you what do you think Bridget? I I To be certain to agree with with Tyler on this one I think that a statewide contract for teacher teachers ignores What's happening at the local level and as Tyler said different communities have decided how to compensate teachers According to their needs and their resources I also feel that I Come from a union household as I my mom's still a union member. She's a nurse my dad was a mechanic He was he brought in the teamsters union to the place where he worked and it's a very basic principle that Unions are brought in and that that employers should have a right to negotiate with their employers And the state is not directly employing these teachers The district is and there needs to be a dialogue between the teachers and the school district directly I think And it's there's just a one-size-fits-all approach for the varying districts Our district is so different than a tiny rural district in the northeast kingdom say Then and and they're different from their neighbors And I just don't think that a statewide contract would be appropriate nor would it solve the problems I think that we would be trying to solve with a statewide contract What do you think? Well, I think two two different points. I think in regards to a health care Uh statewide contract I think that should be looked at I think uh really four four points number one Is it cost-effective? By putting the teachers and ministry into one big pool There may be a way to save money That they have better negotiations and better health care I also believe that a state contract if we were to look at that we can't deviate too far from what we've already promised our teachers I don't think the teachers should be penalized in south burlington if they decide You know if we decide to go to a statewide contract for health care Because this is something that we we promise them we have contract with with our teachers Thirdly, I think if there is a cost savings That the cost savings is reflected back to south burlington And then hopefully to the south burlington taxpayer So I think if you can achieve that Then it's a win-win situation for everybody. It's a win-win for the teachers It's a win-win for the taxpayers as far as statewide contracts for the teachers non-health care Presented I believe in local control I believe that we should be able to negotiate with our teachers the issue I have there It's not necessarily a fair negotiation. It's very difficult for the school board who is not being paid to do this Uh to get out there in front and stand up. I think they did a remarkable job I give my hat off to the chair and to the school board of what they accomplish this year I think it's a very difficult position to be in Um because you're fighting an uphill battle. You are fighting a union. You're fighting a state union You're fighting somehow the the of a sudden new england union may get involved And again, it puts people at odds with each other where we should be able to have a civil Uh discussion We should have in my opinion. We should have the best paid teachers But we have to be able to afford to pay the teachers So bridge it i'm going to keep it on the statewide level for a little bit when the when the governor says no new taxes And you as a school board are saying What you know, um, how do you interpret what comes from the state like that? Um, I I think that no new taxes is kind of an oversimplification simplification of a very complicated topic How we're funding education? I think as elizabeth brought up before we're not only funding education We're funding social services that are going through the schools. We're funding so much more when we're talking about funding education and I also think it's sort of It doesn't make sense to write off the possibility of a new tax if it's replacing an old tax or restructures somehow How we're funding things if that is a more efficient way to do things that might be the right way to go So I think that is is just a little oversimplification of of what's going on at the state level frankly And I that is that's not to say I do see that we're going to have pressure Um from the state level for the foreseeable future on school budgets That is just something that is um a fact of life and it's a fact of being on a school border We're trying to run a school district and we have to figure out always how we can most efficiently deliver the highest quality education we can Tyler, what do you think? Yeah, I agree with bridget. I think that it's um big oversimplification of uh The issue I think that it's um It's crazy to think that no new taxes are fees but figure it out You know and that feels like he's not sensitive to some of the the real needs in communities around vermont. I know that You know opiates are a big deal. There's a lot of folks living with trauma that you know First day of kindergarten are coming in with a little lesson and experiences and readiness for for um school so to You know to tell school boards to you know Live within those parameters doesn't seem There yeah, and mike if you were on the board and the Governor said no new taxes What are you gonna do? Well, the governor did say he did say this. Um, and I think it's a uh, it's a nice statement I think in in it isn't oversimplification, but I think the point Is bigger than I think the point the governor is trying to make is that We can't afford to keep going up up up and up and there's gotta come a point where Where we just have to look at what we have and make do So I think his point was to challenge the school boards Challenge municipalities challenge the citizens challenge everybody that you know what we're not gonna we can't afford to keep charging more And charging more and charging more Now would I support that no because at number one I think and this was a surprise to me Even though it's probably not a surprise to anyone here is that south burrowing is a receiving town I think the the the perception of south burrowing because we can afford everything and we can't we can't afford everything So as a receiving town From what I understand even if there was level funding we would be okay, but the question is Down the road. What happens? We have to be able to to take care of facilities take care of the teachers Take care of these buildings take care of the buildings and grounds I don't know how many have been into the tuttle gym for instance my daughter plays on the basketball team I travel around their communities It's I don't want to say it's embarrassing, but it almost is I mean you can't put the parents in you can't put the kids in you can't have their peers watch Their kids play basketball because there's no room You go to almost every other school and go to williston Go to browns river And you have you have areas and better gyms and better facilities. So does it sound great? Sure Do I think it's probably feasible? No, but I think it putting that out says hey There's gonna come a time where we hit that ceiling and let's start thinking about it now I want to remind our our viewers that you can call 862 3966 and we're expecting another call. So we've only had one so far. So let's get another one in let's um I want to ask kind of a general question about where Everyone thinks we're going in education right now. Where are what are going to be the issues that south purlington will will face in the next Three to ten years, whatever it is Tyler I'd like to start with you if you if you can kind of just What's your vision? What do you think is going to happen? I think great things are going to happen Good What do you think you want me to expand on that? I think that We are going to have a A rebirth of communication and rebuilding relationships with our teachers and our Board members and folks in the community who are frustrated about some of the communication and some of the challenges that we faced I think we're going to be able to Close the achievement gap for some of our more marginalized populations And we're going to remain that shining beacon on the hill The achievement gap thing. How do you envision those types of things happening? Well, I think south burlington has great teachers But it it needs to It needs to treat them that way and I think that impositions year after year aren't a way to to create that positive climate in the staff and Instruction, you know, I work myself. I work in burlington and We've been dealing with a similar thing and south burlington doesn't have A toxic climate and I think that that you know, that's great, but Those things can lead that direction If they continue your vision of the future what what are as a school board member What do you think you're going to face in the next five years? I think it's changing the community is changing. I think as a school board And as a school board member, I think making sure that we have the best people in place I'm not going to be an expert on education I'm on what exactly is best for this student or best for that student. I don't think that's my role I think we have to make sure we give the the teachers the tools Um To do that I don't want to be the person that sits on the board and calls a teacher up and says well Oh boy, our math scores are bad. You must want to be a good teacher. That's not that's not our that's not a rule Our role is to make sure we give them the opportunity the tools The resources to do that. I think south burlington Uh community treats their teachers very well Um, I think uh the taxpayers treat the teachers very well But you also have to balance that with what we can afford when we look down the road So I think that's a balance that we have to make there the future of education when I look I look at my daughter She's 13. She's on the ipad. She's on this how they do their homework today the new math, etc Technology technology has got to be involved in that and maybe there is cost savings down the road We you know, we talked about student teacher ratios now with all this technology Maybe we can put 25 kids into a classroom with one teacher And they all have their different either their ipads or I don't want to promote anything in particular And and we can teach better that way because that's what they're doing. I mean my daughter at home They're they're all on facebook or not. She's not facebook. Don't let her on facebook, but um You know doing their homework, you know back and forth where they're getting it So I think we have to it's fiscal and we have to be able to balance that Everybody would like to give them everything. Yeah, I agree with that, but it's not feasible You've now had two years on the board What have you learned in that two years and how do you see the future coming now that you've you were not there You were like these guys two years ago. So what have you learned? What perspective do you bring now with two years? And where do you see the issues in the future? All of our energy and resources in south berlington Really I look at at all in the framework of our ends and just to refresh everyone's memories just the top of our Of our policies are the ends what we're trying to achieve for the students of south berlington One a disposition for lifelong learning to academic proficiency obviously three personal development and four citizenship And I see two sets of potential challenges through that framework One is internal. We have we have had continuing challenges with ends metrics. Are we meeting those ends? Are we achieving what we set out to achieve? How to measure those things because some of them are kind of hard to measure Exactly And so one thing that we need to continue to work on is and we're falling a little bit short now is Is are we meeting the ends and how to assess students and their achievement? Um, I am working right now on the director of learning hiring committee So our current director of learning um has decided to retire and I think that person Really drives a lot of assessment. They drive a lot of curriculum development That's a very important role within the district and um, I'll be working next week to help interview candidates for that That will then be passed on to the administration. Um, I think that Once we understand where we're succeeding and where we're maybe not We do need to have a wider discussion in the community of what's important to us to to have in the curriculum And how we can best achieve those goals and then once we've decided what we want as part of the curriculum We need to make sure that we have the facilities and And the teachers and the other resources in place to actually um, uh, to to do those things Okay, are you asking me to wrap up? Yeah, okay. Well, no, no actually Okay, and then on the external side I think one of the biggest things that's really um facing our students right now is that The job situation is changing so fast We can't even really prepare students for jobs right now because we don't know what they're going to be We need to be able to prepare very flexible learners Right And then changes in the city. I think we're going to present challenges for us and at the airport I've been working very closely on the master planning and visioning subcommittee to try to figure out how we best configure our schools And how we best deploy our resources going forward and i'll end it there and let someone else talk for a little bit Well, we've got time for everybody to do a couple minutes each As a closing statement for your chance to kind of convince those voters out there Mike i'm going to let you start i'm going to hold you to two minutes though, so I think what you can I don't even think I really need two minutes, but i'll probably talk longer What you would expect from me really is someone that represents the taxpayers But also wants the best for their kids and it's I think almost all of us would say that But I really believe that we could go in and challenge some of the budget numbers Make sure that we are spending the money make sure people are accountable when I look at the budgets again There's money that just seems to shift Um, not an overall budget, you know and I will work at line item by line item to make sure that I understand that So that I can answer those questions to the community That would be my main focus there I have to balance that because I have a daughter in a certain but she went through orchard It was phenomenal the teachers there I I could I cannot say enough about what my daughter experienced at orchard and at tuttle I see the same thing I don't see it so much this is a question of the teachers and their ability It's a question of south burlington and our ability to afford Everything we want to do and we're not going to be able to do that You know as we keep going down the road people you saw what happened last year now. Maybe that was a anomaly in some form But it also struck a chord with a lot of citizens and struck a chord with me that we got to do better We got to be civil we have to have these discussions We can have a teacher's contract in two years and sit down and say what is good? What is bad? What can we do? How do we pay for it? We can look at our facilities We got to take care of our facilities We can have the greatest teachers in the world if the roof is leaking who cares So we got a plan for that and I don't and I think we have to be transparent. I do not see The budget as presented to go back to that as transparency. I see that as a little bit of a shell game Oh, we're a 0.085, but we're going to spend 6.6 more I mean, let's just throw it out there if we have to raise the taxes Well, let's raise taxes and justify it You know putting things 20 years down the road makes makes little sense to me So I will work hard for the citizens and I work hard for the children and I support our teachers. Thank you bridge it I'm Your chance. Yeah, um, I would say that We as a family just feel incredibly blessed to be in south burlington and and we chose it In large part because of the schools when we moved here We've been here for eight years now and are hoping that this will be where we live forever and And we've been very very pleased with the quality of my older son's education And and I do still see opportunities for where it could be improved and I hope to be a part of doing that Um, I feel like we have just a wonderful community within the schools And we really support each other as families. Um, and and the teachers have been just incredible and With regard to some of the challenges that we're seeing Um, I like elizabeth would advocate that we would continue to work with the state to see if we can get some longer term Guidance from them as opposed to every year everything shifting and not knowing what the state factors are going to be in our budget Because I think that creates a lot of the confusion and a lot of the feeling in the community that we're not being transparent You know why is in this year? Our budget is only going up 0.85 but our tax rate is going up 2 whereas last year We had a bigger increase at the revenue line and we managed to get a tax cut those are things that are coming from the state and I think that We could probably as a as a leading district really work a little bit more with the legislature to see if we can advocate for some of that Um, but just in general, I I really enjoy the work of the board and I am just hoping to continue To provide whatever I can to the community of south berlington. Thank you Oh, thank you um, I I do want to thank bridget for her service on the board and um and elizabeth as well I think that the board has done a really well good job With budgets, um in particular, um I think that the The board is an echo chamber and there's a lot of things that are happening So far above what's happening on the ground in the schools and I think that that That shows in the repeated impositions A strike a few years ago That teachers are feeling like They're not getting their needs met. They're they're being told your opinion doesn't matter Your con you're part of this conversation doesn't matter anymore. This these are your working conditions And the the wages the increases that The union asked for we're modest modest reasonable wage increases. So I think that The lack of respect with the people on the front lines who Are delivering day in and day out Phenomenal academic programming It is is high is a concern for me and I'd like to see that change and I think My presence on the board would give One teacher voice to add to the mix and that's why i'm running. Well, I want to thank all three of you I think the bravest thing people can do right now is to run for For office locally or whatever. I think this is what we need is people who want to engage in The process of being of having a voice and making a difference and all three of you are just great I really appreciate this has been a great discussion and I also want to remind our viewers that Channel 17 is not only available on channel 17, but you can also find us on the web You can find us just by googling town meeting television and all of our forums are available there You can go back and and and listen again or See the ones that you've missed and I want to thank all three of you for being here tonight I wish you all good luck. I know that south burlington is going to be well served by anyone that Runs because you guys have the right place. So thank you viewers and please stay tuned to channel 17 for future election forums