 Good evening and welcome to Montpellier Civic Forum as we count our way down to town meeting day 2020 and this is one of a series of programs that help you to meet the candidates and become familiarized with the issues And we've got some really interesting shows to watch This is for the rare years where we have two open seats in one district, which is district three and with Ashley Hills Resignation we have a one-year term and then we have the normal two-year term actually with Glenn Hutchinson's Not resignation, but his desire to return back to private life and then in district two and district one We have incumbents Connor Casey and Donna Bate Who are unchallenged and we put them together in one show that went so long And it's broken into two and it's a great show And we have all the candidates in district three and that was really good We also have a we have Anne Watson our mayor talking about what it's like to be mayor and Basically she goes through the issues and then we have Bill Fraser on the city budget And we have Libby on the school budget. Those were good shows as well now tonight We're focusing in on the school district and we have the candidates for school district each of them has their own show and This is this is the challenge of the night is to mispronounce this man's name is almost everyone does on a Kate Anakit Anakit Kulkarni. That's right. Okay, would you pronounce it now? Oh, well, I'll pronounce it I usually do Anakit Kulkarni That sounded approximately what I said. Yes, that's yeah, so it's very close so, you know, I'll let it slide and Which district do you live in in Montpelier? I live in district. I live in that's a good question. I don't know which district exactly I live in but I live up Townhill Road, so I think that's district two. Yeah. Yeah, and You're running for school board. I am. Is this the first time you've run for an office in Montpelier? I am I am but this is the first time I'm running for an office any office Now at what point now you probably as young as you are relative to me, of course Um, you probably have a child in the school. I do. I have a daughter who's in Main Street Middle School She goes to eighth grade And she went through Union Elementary. That is correct. She went through she removed in 2011 And she started the kindergarten. So she went through the union and then The middle school and then next year she was going to be in the high school Now what gave you the thought? I want to be on the school board. I mean, there's tons of parents who have kids who started in kindergarten Went to the middle school and are going into high school next year Who don't step forward to the school board? Well to be honest, this was not on my radar to to run for the school board And I have been you know as with any parent I've been reading up on on the school affairs And just paying attention to what's going on in general But the thought never crossed my mind that I need you know, um, maybe I should I should join the board Um One of the current board members michelle brawn I got a call who has been on the board seemingly forever. She has been who chose not to stay on the board Yeah, and so, um, she reached out To my wife my wife tara. She teaches in norwich and She is an environmental professor. And so She has worked with michelle in the past. And so michelle was reaching out to her um and and She was looking for um, she she told tara that even though she knew tara's plate was full She was asking if I would be interested in in running for The school board. What did michelle see in this? This sounds more insulting than it isn't it isn't insulting But what did michelle see in in you that she thought would be appropriate for the board? That would be a question for her But what how did she approach your wife? I mean, what was it that that? She was saying What need would you fit on the board? Well, um, I talked to michelle a little bit about this when when Tara, you know kind of put us in contact and Um And again, I don't want to speak for her one of the things maybe is what I bring to the table as a You know as I come from a different background. I'm an engineer I went to engineering school Studied civil and environmental engineering, but then I switched lines and I'm I have a it company that I run So I I'm a I come from a business background. And so Perhaps the you know bringing in a different perspective Might be good for the board But again, I I don't want to speak for her or what she what she thought as a parent with an it company and as a parent who basically As an engineer and looking at maintenance of old buildings and and our infrastructure of our schools Um, have you had that as an eye from kindergarten as to how your daughter was taught it in our schools? Um, I have we've always been have a sideways eye to that Yes and no, um, we've always been Kind of parents who want to get involved in our child's life and especially the education and Coming from a different background we we both me and my wife grew up in india and so This was 40 years ago. So the the school climate and how Um, you know things are taught. It's completely different Um, in what sense so let's talk about elementary school. Sure. Sure. Let me give you an example. Um, and I My wife and I have talked about this at length Um in india at least when we were growing up. It was a rigid system. So, you know, you you even from first grade You you were taught a certain way and you had to learn a certain way It was fact-based it was what it was it was not only fact-based, but it was very disciplined. So you couldn't You know, you couldn't there wasn't a conversation going on there wasn't a dialogue going on with the teacher and so it was you know, there were of course the size the the The class size was huge too There were 80 kids 80 kids. Yeah, there were 80 kids to one teacher and so so it had to be disciplined You know, you can't have 80 kids running around public school. It was a public school setting And it was throughout india that was that Was most of the public schools were that way Things have changed a little bit But you know the point of me telling you is this when we come into this school culture shock It was it was a I mean we knew because I both of us came To do our masters. And so we were you know, the higher education we were very we were familiar with it But looking at the the the kindergarten level and right from that age where the class sizes are 2025 That's a huge difference. And so initially our reaction was well You know 20 is amazing 25 is amazing when we are coming back from you know, 80 kids to a teacher So there's a there's a huge You know disparity there But again going back to Another difference is how how teachers and kids interact with each other which we thought was amazing over here Were child-based. Yes, exactly. Exactly. And so each What that allows you to do where you have a main teacher and a support teacher For 2025 kids what that allows you to do is Spend enough time with the kid and know what works for them what doesn't work for them And so we we saw that as a as a huge positive thing And so we were you know really impressed with that Is your daughter bilingual? Uh, she she actually knows three languages And those would be English hindi and well, she doesn't know she she can understand a little bit hindi but my native language is marathi, which is You know different than hindi. Where is marathi spoken? In Mumbai primarily but the the Mumbai is a city and the state maharashtra, which is where Which is the native language and my wife comes from southern part of india. And so she speaks a different language What language? Well, this is educational tonight And how do those vary from hindi, which is I suppose national languages? Hindi is a national language. They they all share the same script But they're different languages um Her language doesn't actually have a written script. So they you know just get that but I mean many of these languages are You know they are based off of sanskrit And so, you know the the script is is is sanskrit or they have nagari script Now when your daughter arrived in kindergarten at mount pillier Was she fully fluent in in english? She was um she So we moved you know we as I said we we've Me and my wife came to do masters and we met here and then we had our daughter So she was she was born. She was born in florida. So we were in florida at that time And then we went back a couple years to india And then came back and so she has always been You know well worst in dia My daughter has been well worst in three languages because you know I speak marathi to her my wife speaks Konkani with her and then dia all around her is english. So you know she She's learning all three in kindergarten. Did she did she feel welcome culturally welcome? Yes, I mean this is not a diverse community in one. It is not an ethically diverse. It is not but but I mean that's that's the credit goes to the people of montpellier. I mean we felt welcome right from day one um and and Not only us, but yeah dia felt very welcome and she she You know she fit right into In with her class and she had a whole bunch of friends growing up and even now She feels you know part of the community and one of the things we joke with dia me and my wife is You know we we uh were from florida. We had been living in florida So we always joke with her like let's just go back to florida. We'll move back to florida and she says no you guys move I want to stay here. This is where you know this is where I grew up. This is where my friends are so What was that first winter like for her? So we came in 2011 and 2011 If i'm not uh mistake and that was one of the mildest winter So we kind of eased into it. Um, I I remember distinctly march 10th or march 12th and it was sunny. There was no snow on the ground And it was I think 50 or 60 degrees temperature. So, you know It was a it was a smooth transition to say the least for us to this week Well to you know to come in back from florida and getting into the winter 2011 And then of course 2012 2013, you know, there were some Not harsh, but there were some days where it was you know 20 below, but we we you know We're accustomed to it now now you're accustomed to how languages were taught in india Your wife and you went through a fairly similar experience. Although you were in completely different parts of a very large nation. Yes and mathematics science Of the standard curriculum. How does that differ from what your daughter was meeting at union? The same subjects in a sense it it is same. Yeah. Yeah same subjects in the sense One of the things that that I really liked Is is When we were growing up Let's you know take for example math Addition, you know our multiplication. You were taught a certain way You take, you know, you carry over things and you know, that that's the method and you stick with it Nobody explained why Why do you do this? Yeah. Well, not just math, but why do you carry over one? Why do you do this? That's called new math is what it was called. Okay, okay So so why do you do that? And what's the what's the you know, what's the basis behind it? You know, nobody explained so we just Thought this is how it's done. We just We just did it which for um Smart kids when they grew up they themselves connect the dots and and get there but And i'm not saying, you know, they're not other people are not smart, you know I've heard the one expression that stuck to me. I think it's um, I don't know who it is But you can't judge a fish By looking how it climbs the tree, you know the fish fish is going to swim That's a so some people learn differently and others learn differently So so for some people it connects when they're in fourth grade fifth grade sixth grade Oh, yeah, this is why you carry over one and this is how you add it but But for others it doesn't make sense and then they start falling behind which in in the case of union and I think it's The u.s. Are new math that they they teach you different ways and they teach you, you know the the concept behind it And let you figure out how this is we're talking now about skills based learning Which is moving all throughout our system and that's the proficiency based graduation now In so far as skills the same skills can be used in different subjects. Yep Did you see that life skills? Yeah. Yeah, absolutely and learning skills learning skills and and you know wife calls them, you know Any skill it may not be pertaining to you know one particular subject But it's a it's a life skill that you can carry and and carry throughout your life And was that explained well to you as parents the kind of style of curriculum that union was Teaching teaching children that your child was included in were you well aware of of the overall thrust of that? I was I was and again, maybe maybe the We have the unfair advantage of my wife as being a professor And then you know, we talk about that and some things that she you know Her and I we talk together and she kind of explained it from her point of view And you know, so we have an open dialogue going on so but to answer your question Yes, we were we were well aware of the the the methodology being used and and how it would help and we were in sync with it As parents, did you feel like the school had good communication with you on a consistent basis? To a fault, I think yes, um, I mean, um, like and I I kid partially Every week they were, you know, right from the kindergarten the the teachers were emailing us and and and um, you know the Being in it one of the things that I dread is getting an email. I mean Information technology. Yes software is our, you know, we're always connected I'm always connected on my phone and whatnot. So anytime an email comes if multiple emails like, you know, I I I um You know you end up distracted. Yeah, I distracted or I feel like oh one more email to deal with but and that's why I cared You know to a fault but no the communication was amazing where we knew what was going on when what was happening and Um, we were getting updates regularly. We have kids at union who are low-income kids Uh, subsidized lunches food stamps and the like and there's an achievement gap Between those kids and the kids who are not low income And the school district this year has made it a goal to try and close that Consciously try and close that gap. You would be sitting on that school board Would you have any suggestions? whatsoever our thoughts on on how to close that gap that's been persistent for years in this community um I I don't think I can comment on that as right now because again, I don't know Uh getting into it. I'd like to know From all aspects what's being done where the the Deficiency is and trying to attack it from that angle. I think But it wouldn't be fair for me to to make a comment on that just here just as with you know my personal Work or business, you know, I wouldn't go in a meeting and start saying well, this is how you should do it My my job is to understand what's going on and then provide solutions Now on the elementary school level something that that you are adapted and adjoined at did you feel the it approach? Was what it could be or did you look at it? You know and say hey I I could see where this could be done differently it approach. What is uh computers in the classroom computer instruction You said they're using um emails to you know contact parents and the like Did you feel that that they had a real good grasp on contemporary it in an educational setting? um To an extent. Yes. I did think that one of the things that I you know, I did Think and I've been thinking about it is That we we all deal with it is security From the it perspective when I look at it security in what sense There's security for our kids away from where we don't want them on in it Yes, there's security of the data of the district in terms of confidentiality it's it's It's everything You know security that you talked about but also security in terms of your private data, you know, what what kids are learning when you have Let's say devices that that kids use You know, there is possibility that they're all their activities tracked or are you know, the data is gathered on them So so from that perspective Um security is important what is shared privacy is important and so One of the things that I'm interested to look at is how is that handled and and do we You know, do we need to do something about it or Are add some measures that that we are protected well protected against it There are some people who would say kids have too much computer access that there's too much time in front of that screen That's sitting and going to a calculator and figuring out something Is just a step too far down a road that doesn't lead to self-sufficiency beyond the screen Could you talk about that for elementary school kids? Absolutely and and and there is always going to be need to be a There's always going to you'll always need to maintain a balance You can't just put a screen in front of them and say go do it, you know and always have that One thing I liked about the elementary school, which I have experienced myself Is how the kids were Taken out of the classroom and go on nature walks or you know Go to the Hubbard Park and I've I've accompanied the kids, you know every couple weeks I would go with them and and with my daughter's class and and I enjoyed that experience. Yeah. Yeah, exactly And it wasn't you know, it was the fun learning And I that was a huge contrast. I was able to draw from my personal experience as a kid We never got to experience that so we get back to child-based learning Where the child innocent and and we'll get to this when we talk about the middle school because it's even more steered by the child herself or himself Kellogg Hubbard library. What's that like compared to a library in where you grew up? um I don't think I The the libraries that that we had um I'm trying to remember. I don't I don't think I've ever been I'd ever been to a public library in India The libraries I went to were Mostly really small You know very limited selection libraries, so I mean Hubbard Kellogg Hubbard is running overrun with Children. Yes, and and that's good. Yes. That's not that's not bad What was that like for you in terms? Well, you'd been in florida already So what was that like in florida to see the role of the public library? In child rearing. Um, and so when we were in florida, my daughter was just First couple years of our lives. She was you know, we were back in india and then We were in florida. She was about three in between three and five years. So we didn't Get to so it was up here is where the first real exactly your experience if that's what I was getting at Yes, the real interaction with the library and it was amazing. I mean dia took a few Um classes In library and there was I think the summer camps or something and where she got to play with the robots and and things like that And that was just just amazing to to be able to see that and provide her that opportunity The middle school How is the middle school experience for you different than the elementary school experience as a parent? um so different in terms of The child interaction my my with me and My daughter that has gone down a little bit Where i'm not as involved in what is going on and she's at a point of independence or is that concerned? That is no that is a point of independence where you know I I can see what she's doing and what she's learning But she wants to do all on her own and she doesn't want dad to come in and sit with her So there are things that she's you know the the resources that she's getting school is providing Different again going back to the it side of things where she's she has sites that she visits and and online education and things like that that are that Kind of go into the the proficiency based learning or the you know child Where you get to pick what you want you want to do and the teachers are encouraging in that and you know They're focusing on what dia wants to do for dia So that's that's that's impressive boy. This is a commercial for the school district What are the weaknesses of the school district that you perceive the relative weaknesses? um, I think they're trying to address those things, uh, but One of the things even you know right from From dia growing up from kindergarten is the behavioral issues That are going on and I think they're trying to address it But I we have experienced it ourselves where dia was getting affected by Those things and how do you deal with that? That's always always a continuing issue for seemingly forever forever. Exactly exactly but that I mean that's that they're the The way they you know you address these things can change depending on what level of Disturbances is a wrong word to use but you know what issues you're facing In that grade or in in in that climate In the high school Do you have any contact whatsoever with montpellier high school? I do actually I have a so we're hosting a german exchange student this year and she goes to the High school. She's a junior So this was a this was a new thing for us and we got a preview exactly we got a we got a preview Of how it would be and so it's been a it's been a very nice experience. Um, I remember and it's When she came in dafney her name is She came in she had to go meet with the the guidance counselor and in fact Uh All of us including dia we all went with dafney and the guidance counselor was amazing You know, they focused on her but dia had some questions and they you know, he he Answered all her questions as well. So the next year dia will dia will be in uh in high school next year Boy, doesn't that make you feel old? It sure does In terms of high school, uh, do you feel? I mean you're responsible for dafney while she's here. Do you feel that you're getting the feedback that you need? She dafney is an exceptional student. Um, and she came here on a scholarship. So Getting you know going into we kind of knew that she's going to be a good student And so the feedback is fully fluent in english. She is she she speaks very well english. Um, and um, so so The first parent teacher meetings we had it was About you know, how great dafney is so that's what we got to hear. So we knew getting in The feedback from dafney has been great. I was just about to say did she feel welcome. Yeah, so she felt Really welcome. In fact before before I got here today. Um She came back from school and she was on her phone and I just you know, I was there And I I asked her what's going on? What what are you doing? And she's like, oh look at this and she showed me a whole bunch of kids on her snap jar or something like that And she said these are all my high school friends. So, you know, she's Simulated and it's a small town. Yeah, it's a small town and again going back to everybody's welcoming And you know, they're they're making you part of they're making you feel like part of community I've often said that When our son was he came to the district in second grade That in third grade his prom date was going to be somewhere in that third grade class And um, we're wrong. Uh, she was in a fourth grade class No, it's a small town. There aren't that many people And there aren't that many students What is the future of our district as a tiny is it sustainable? Um, I think the education that's that the kids are getting again It's from my perspective from my my kid dia and to a smaller extent Daphne whatever what I'm hearing Um, but from that perspective the the education that kids are getting is is a quality education dia last year went to they have a uh, a small camp a weekend camp at mit that you can go um and take some classes And she you know, she was comfortable doing that. So even coming from a small town and Um as a seventh grader you're roaming mit campus. It's a huge campus And there are no parents to walk you there So we basically have to drop her off for two days and then she goes to her classes and whatnot She's confident. And so that confidence comes from you know, not not from us or not just from us She spends most of her day in school. So that's where she's getting that from So, you know the education and then the the the interaction social skills. I mean that's that's what school's providing it Parents you said you volunteered Uh, were there other parents volunteered? They were absolutely. Yes That's something that that's noteworthy in our district are the number of parents who step forward to volunteer in the schools Uh, are you familiar with community-based learning? That's matt mclean's program in the high school I I am a little bit but not not it's where the students shadow in businesses in order to See what the outside world looks like and in that case matt has a number of businesses that step forward for our schools I consider that a strength And i'm sure you do as well. Absolutely. Absolutely one other I mean the The thing that I heard about it. I didn't hear about the businesses But the thing that I heard about was um in from high school Some kids go to the To the capital right and and that I thought that was actually it's the middle school Are you talking about the pages? I don't know what what the the program is called Well in eighth grade they're kids who are in a competition with other kids to become Pages and they're working in the legislature and they're paid to do that and they basically um It's it's an honor for eighth graders But yeah other people are doing you're right other high school students Are doing internships in state government. Yeah, uh, which is a great opportunity. I thought that I thought as well Our school has advanced placement courses But again, is all this sustainable in a town of 7500? That's a great question And that's always that the the balancing act that you have to do and figure out You know how much You can you can do in a small town But so far from my perspective as as I mentioned We seem to be doing the right things for our kids where you know, you're giving them the opportunities As far as sustainability That's the other side of it. Can you you know with the 7500 7900 people strength? Can you keep providing these things and not have it? Affect the the other side of it I'll bet you don't have an opinion on this if you don't say so um msn this I'm up here. You're uh the middle school main street middle school The physical facility Do you are you keeping up on those talks? um Not as much as I I should have To be honest not as much as you will if you're on the when you're on the board Okay, um, I don't um Yeah, yeah, as I said, I I I'm not well versed with it to to have a to have a strong opinion about it yet With an engineering background I'm sure that you'll have as I speak for you I'm sure that you'll have an interest in the $500,000 that we Put aside every year that we tax ourselves in order to keep the facilities up so that we're not buying A roof every 10 years or something on that level Would you engage yourself on the board in That $500,000 and how the administration can best spend $500,000 in maintenance? um as a Since I will be on the board or I'm you will be yeah, yeah um, I think it is my obligation to look at these things. Um, so I I Wouldn't want to just join the board and step away from just because it's a hard conversation to have But but my question is the opposite from given your background and experience Would you jump in more aggressively and say, you know, I have prior experience in engineering To to a degree, I think the engineering experience would help but this um if I'm if I'm Incorrect correct me if I'm wrong, but It's not the question of you know, should it cost this much or or what not is should we be spending this Or is this a priority? I mean we have $500,000 to spend we have a list of Things that we could do it's up to the board. Well, it's up to the administration make recommendations But ultimately it's up to the board to decide priorities priorities. Yeah um, so again, I was trying to I guess maybe um I hone in on the wrong aspect of your question, but I was thinking well as an engineer That's not the the background that's gonna that's gonna help solve the Or help me get into the things because from the engineering perspective. Okay. Well, you're gonna You know, you have a facility that needs repairing then you spend that money But can that money be spent something on something else? That's that's the the balancing act will have to do Yeah, yeah, which is which is you know as an engineer coming from it If you're just looking at that then you'll say yeah, this is what money needs to be spent but from the different angle as a as a parent as a as a consumer of Of the school system you'll need to look at other things as well And then determine the priority whether this is something that you want to do or not When michelle asked you about running and did she explain how many hours a week she was putting into this? That that was one of my first questions So I asked her point blank. What's the time commitment because I I don't want to say yes to something I can't commit to right Um, so and she was honest about what How much time commitment there would be I also met with jim and jim murphy the school board president. Yep. Yep. I had Um, him and brujette Should say I'm the school board's meeting vice vice president, right? So I met with both of them. Um, and one of the question was you know What's the real time commitment to this and all of them were forthright and and honest about it and What I've heard It it sounds like I should be able to I should be able to meet the commitments I Wish I wish you good luck as you said you are on the school board everyone who's running this in this term is on the school board And I want to thank you for coming and speaking with us. It was my pleasure. Thank you so much for inviting me Thank you for coming And thank you for watching and I hope that all of you will watch the other episodes of this because they're all good There's great candidates really good discussions Including the budget discussion from bill frazer and from liby. Those are good discussions as well and um Most importantly get out and vote on town meeting day I realize that everyone who's running from the school board will be elected And will be elected the two incumbents will be elected But just weighing in in and of itself is an important message of civic engagement Thank you so very much for watching you