 Good evening and welcome to channel 17's continuing election coverage you thought that it was over in March But it's not because Essex Junction and the Essex Westford school district still have some Decisions to be made by you So we are speaking today with two candidates for the Essex Westford school district And that is Joanne Jewel and Todd Oditt and they are both New candidates they neither of them are incumbents and this is a position that has one seat that's open So you will be voting on what day is the election? April 9th, April 9th. That's what I thought coming up April 9th And if you have questions today tonight, this is the 5th of April You can give us a call at 8 6 2 3 9 6 6 we'd love to hear from you So without further ado welcome both of you. Thank you. Thank you very much Todd, why don't we start with you? Why are you running and what qualifies you for the school board? Sure. Thank you for the question My interest in the school board has really goes back two years when the districts merged and there was the promise of transportation services to the village and the first year of the merger that didn't happen it was announced quite late and Being an active parent in the community. I heard a lot of comments from the from the parents I was concerned about that and then so as the last summer Happened and the school year was approaching. I was concerned. Is this going to happen? I started reaching out to Brian the COO of the school district had a meeting with them We know what are we doing to make sure this is going to happen? I started attending board meetings I've probably been to 15 or 20 board meetings since June originally Just trying to advocate for the parents. I was listening to who didn't have the time to attend the meetings For that service in the village as I intend in those meetings I realized that out of that group of ten I felt I had a unique set of skills that I could bring to the board I'm not a education Policy wonk at all, but I've been involved in public administration and public policy My entire professional career So I thought I could bring my expertise and experience in working with the board being an administrator Public policy advocacy to the board. I thought it was something that could fill a role And I saw that need on the board. So I decided, you know, why not help out if I'm going to be in the crowd Participating in meetings as a parent Why not have the backing of the voters and their voice to sit on the board and have more of an impact? Wonderful. Thank you very much. Joanne Why do I want to run? I am very invested in education My professional background as a CPA and investigator Leads me to listen to my eyes and my ears and I think it's Very important that we, you know, give our students the best education possible As far as the busing situation You know, I'm at my kids actually live in the junction, too That was I think the take on that was I think, you know I wish we'd gone with a proactive versus a reactive meaning not change the schedules until we had the buses in place But then it's the supply and demand thing, you know I don't think it was within their control That they didn't have the people people to fill the buses, but the schedule changed So that's a very tough position that they were put in so but I know it's very disconcerting when our taxes You know, you know $700,000 was left over from the busing situation, but back to my personal What what would make me a good? Member of the school board is you know, I'm a CPA by trade I know numbers I do tax accounting, but I also do understand fund accounting and can ask the question and Ask the questions that need to you know be asked and do due diligence to you know Make sure that we're making those good choices for you know, the Society with the the kids in general and what are the top three issues that you would work on? I think I definitely would work on special education that I think is very very important. There is a Obviously with act 46 they're changing the way, you know, the funding stream is I think there's a missing piece in that for Essex specifically is there's a federal law. It's called child fine. So every As you know all the states get money from the federal government for some programs for Education child fine is a federal law where the schools have to identify they have to evaluate kids in need Essex displays that on their policy handbook different than a lot of other schools do Colchester Does it differently as well as Wilson it so it's a child finding the school has to do it and the way the Essex read it It says the parents are first and the and the children are second now I know we spent a lot of money on special education 50% of The general G can go to special education. I think there's a number of kids. They're not being identified So to me that's very very important because I know they're talking about My time up. No, you got another minute. Okay, so I'm one of the big reports was DMG They did a report and they the teachers were talking about that they deal with behaviors all day long Well, I think there was a perhaps a group of kids. They're not getting identified as needs And if those kids needs were met at early age It would be you know, those behaviors would be corrected as well as those can be more productive later in life Do you have any other issues besides special ed? I think a return on investment as far as I want to incentivize incentivize teachers that do that want to do More right now how it's in places there. They are They're paid on basis of their education and courses that they take in addition to that I think there's teachers that want to do more so those teachers that want to do more if they want to you know If it's whatever whatever they want to do like for example There's people that want to do robotics or people that want to do all kinds of different clubs Or there could there could be all kinds of different incentives Obviously working with the teachers and the union to make that something that's worthwhile because the teachers are our best investment Okay. Thank you very much. Todd. What are your top three issues? And you've named the school transportation as one Transportation is one so I would like to find an equitable resolution to that Within the resources that are available available. We need to find a resolution that treats everyone equitably I'm also concerned or interested in capital planning and budgeting. I think by bringing together a Huge amount of schools and the amount of capital Resources we have That going forward trying to figure out how we're going to divvy up the funds within the district to those capital improvements is going to be A challenge. I think part of that stems from the governance structure that was set up which I think manifested itself in the transportation debate by creating a Board that represents Portions of the district it's going to be interesting to see how we decide which schools are improved and when Like I said that I think showed up in the transportation Discussion where we had you know six out of the ten board members had transportation and I didn't see a lot of leadership among those individuals to sort of Advocate for what was in the best interest of the district as a whole which left just the Minority four members of the village Trying to advocate for that and when you have four against six obviously that you're not going to get very far I'd also like to work on board and administration communication From what I saw it seemed that the board weren't always Prepared well in advance for their meetings. They didn't always have the meeting materials Enough in advance of a meeting to be able to understand it read it and formulate questions I think that's highly important that board members have that ability to Digest material before a board meeting as opposed to getting it At the meeting and then trying to react at the time so All right, why don't you tell us about your view of how consolidation of this school district has worked and do you think? That it has been beneficial for the region Okay, I think part of my last question it goes to that but frankly I think it's too early to tell Again my biggest concern is the way the district was set up and is our board Governance structure Going to serve the the interests of the district as a whole Going forward So you're concerned about representation. I'm concerned about representation I would have I would have been interesting to see if we had some at-large members on the board how the transportation discussion would have went I'm also concerned about the number of students we now have and the capital facilities we've had There's been a few Comments at some board meetings. I've heard where well. We have a lot of students now I Don't think that should be an excuse we knew going in how many students we had we're going to have and we need to serve them all equitably and give them the same resources so Hopefully it works. Maybe it doesn't but it's too early for me to judge whether or not it's going to work and whether it's Successful, thank you Joanne. I Really haven't seen much of a change You know for example on a smaller scale we carpool a soccer carpool with a young gentleman that goes to Essex middle school and he's always talking about all the field trips he goes to Well, my kids go to ADL and they don't go to those field trips at all So we still hear all the stuff EMS does that's on the small scale on the larger scale I know that they talked about You know their savings as far as administration so there's not duplication of effort So that is some savings there is also I know ADL has an assistant principal EMS doesn't have one EES has you know, that's that size of the school is the same size as Hiawatha and some combined so those both schools are getting Assistant principal or I guess an L SEL. I'm not sure you know social emotional learning So I don't know if that's they're the same title. So I think that's important, but I haven't seen That much Difference and I know I know I looked at that DMG report that was done as far as Essex is one of the test cases for special ed And they talked about you know, some of the programs that are run at summit some of the programs that are running Yes, and they're not the same. So I think one of the things is to take the best practices and Do it district-wide. So for giving those training to the teachers. It's all the same training So I think they're still maybe running Separately even though we're under one umbrella. All right So what do you think of Vermont's approach to funding education and what direction would you give the legislators on? What they should do differently? I I think actually where they do a very good job on you know, how it is funded It's interesting watching that 65% of The population there how they actually contribute to income tax is through income not their Actual household rate, but stepping back as far as I know is it 97 or 98? That it's basically an equal playing field. It's no longer, you know a Shelburne, which is a more affluent or has more Dollars taxes or that they get more of the education. I think it's very good. That is the level playing playing feel I really do agree with that. All right. Very good. Todd. What do you believe about the? education funding I think the goal is good, but I think the system is too complex most people have No idea how it works, you know if I walked up to a person on the street and said, you know What do you think about the town's common level of appraisal or their coefficient of dispersion or equal? Equalized people or you know homestead rate, they would look at me like I was crazy. They think it was April Fool's Day You know, you got to be making these things up. I think it needs to be More transparent. There's a large Shift on to municipalities to actually make this funding system work It's all based on we have 240 246 towns more or less Who are responsible for maintaining the ground list and assessing property values a lot of the times? Those people are elected laypeople who are responsible for that. We have to collect the tax We build the tax a lot of times we get people in who Don't understand why they're billed at the non-residential rate or they didn't get their property adjustment And we as local officials are left to try to explain what is really a state issue It's an interesting hybrid of trying to do a property tax as well as making it, you know An income tax with the income sensitivity. I'd be interested in seeing a real in thorough look into Making it a purely income-based tax for residents and leaving the property tax to non-residential But like I said, I think the goal is good in trying to Level the playing field, but I think the the actual structure is too complicated and most people don't understand How their spending decisions are impacted in their in their property tax, so Yeah, there's actually a really good video on Vermont school board that explains The whole thing it's kind of an animated thing It's really for people that wanted to to see that explained in layman's terms. Yeah Great that's good to know because it is pretty complex. It is and when I saw I'm like, well, oh, this is really, you know It was it's very very broken down into ways people can understand So Todd, why don't we just talk about your view of whether the district is effectively addressing and funding the opportunity gap and that is the difference between The disparity and access to quality education and the resources needed for all children to be academically successful sure First I want to say when I don't really understand something I'll be I'll be the first to admit that I don't know I had not having served on the school board before I'm not really I don't have a good understanding of where they are spending their dollars So I don't really feel qualified or have enough information to comment on that specifically But in my opinion, I think where we could make a really good investment is in preschool My understanding, you know with Act 166 the state funds 10 hours of What you would some would consider quality preschool education for students. I don't think that's I don't think that's frankly enough My wife and I were fortunate to be able to send our two kids to NACI accredited preschools As soon as they turned three we received, you know that Subsidy from the state to send them there. We didn't we didn't need it I would like to see the board look into other ways the district can do more Can we do more than what the bare minimum of the state is and is the community Interested in spending that because it would come out of local dollars. It's my understanding It wouldn't be supported by the state, but I think if we can the earlier we can start educating our kids and getting them into an environment Where they're supported and they have quality instruction. I think that will pay dividends in the long run So that's one thing I would be interesting if I get elected to the board to say, you know, is there something we can do more? And I think it would be around preschool education. Thank you. So Joanne, you talked a little bit about that Investing on the front end when you were talking about special education How do you think the district is using its funding to address this opportunity gap? I? Think once again looking at that DMG report there are some disparity on how you know the town and the junction does it and Not to pit one against each other, but one appears to have more this is done This is done more systematical approach and 100 percent 110 percent agreement with Todd It's got to be proactive not reactive. I think perhaps some of your discipline problems You know the teachers in that DMG report say I do behaviors all day long Well, I think a big part of that and studies have shown if the kid is not getting it for web for whatever region the social emotional part It's important that we address that early on it just it just reaps so many You know it cuts off the problems. Hopefully at the past, you know, there's so many kids You know they talk about that 50% only 50% of the kids are reading at level in third grade We have to do better than that. We just have to I think it just you know Those are the kids that are coming out at the end And that perhaps some of the children might be for whatever reason, you know on the government Fisk But if we do do if we're proactive and do stuff at an early age those kids are gonna go into you know They're gonna just feel better about themselves because they're keeping up with their peers. Thank you Do you I just want to remind folks if you want to give us a call at 8 6 2 3 9 6 6 We'd love to hear from you. We're speaking with the candidates for the Essex Westford school district the election is April 9th Unconscious racial bias. How do you do you think the district is working towards addressing this issue? Joanne, I think the school that is actually does a very very good job from from what I'm seeing. I'm not in every I know Todd was saying that he attends a lot of the board meetings. I actually watched them after the fact And I think you know the black lives matter. I think you know It appears that the high school they're very open. They have a lot of groups and communities You know my I have twins at the middle school and they have friends a wide diversity of friends, you know from on their basketball teams to you know All kinds of different cultures and I just think it's amazing that I Mean I'm not in a position sitting in their chair and seeing what they feel like but everything that I've seen it's integrated You know they all come together as peers friends one another And so I think the district does a very good job with that Okay, thank you Todd your view on unconscious racial bias now it's handled in the district sure yeah, I Was pleasantly surprised when my third grader came home from Summit Street School and said we have this opportunity to pick a Subject dealing with bias that wasn't his exact term, but and he chose racism and I Just I was floored by that. I was excited by that. I remember as being a third grader That's not anything we ever discussed and we had a really interesting conversation about that Could this school do more? Of course, you know, I think Or the district, you know, I think every student should be able to go to school and feel comfortable and There not be any concerns about any bias in the in the curriculum And that they have an opportunity To learn throughout their Education it's not just a third grade unit and then you move on I think it's something that should be continuous and I was really interested to read about I believe it's act number one of the 2019 Session that Governor Phil Scott just signed and I if I can get it correctly I think it was the ethnic and social equity standard study committee that is designed to the whole purpose of which is to Create a study committee of a lot of stakeholders to come up. Can we look at implementing? State education standards to deal with biases not just racial but, you know Social and there were there was a lot of good information in there. I read that bill today and I Think that you know before that study is finished That's something that the district could look at and say here are the criteria that were laid out For this study committee and why not get it? Why not get a head start and start looking at these things and seeing it what we can do? You know, I think a large part of it is Incorporating That continual learning into the teachers and saying, you know, this isn't just you know You've you've attended one training, you know This is gonna be some subject that you should continue with your entire career from from Beginning to end. Okay. Thank you very much Let's go to the question of personal learning plans This is a 2020 expectation that the students are meant to graduate with these learning plans So what is needed to get to be done to get the school district and the stakeholders on board with this state mandate? Sure, well my daughter would Has told me that if it didn't take away from her wellness block. She'd be much more interested But I think that speaks volumes in that Students need to understand what it's for what the purpose is At the board many meeting I attended on Tuesday. There was an hour-long presentation on what the school was doing on plp's and the focus of that were these Selective Student forums that they had in each school and the results of that were We're pretty amazing. It seemed like it really got the kids Engaged and I asked at that meeting. Well, can we do this for every student? Why shouldn't every student have this opportunity and and you know the response was well We have a lot of students, but then you know a little talk through it's like well It doesn't need to be you know the two individuals who led these doing doing them for everybody perhaps we can Enable students to lose lead some of these maybe we can empower teachers to lead some of these I think From what I heard Across the district it varies the time that students are allowed to work on their plp's You know, perhaps we can bring in Ask the students, you know, what are some of the? Professions or what would you aspire to do and bring in some of those people and come up with have them develop Sort of their plp if you know if someone's an airline pilot, you know If I was a sixth grader, this is sort of what my plp would look like and demonstrate to them how that works and in terms of Parents, I think it would be really good to Develop some videos when you know the last presidential election. We saw a lot of these short one two-minute videos Explaining that electoral college. Maybe we can do something like that for parents so that they can digest that information In in short snips at their leisure to kind of get them on board and educate them as to what they are Thank you so much. Joanne, what's your view on plp's and integrating this needs to be done? I think it's very important my twins will graduate in 2023. I spoke a great deal to them. Like I said, I have a Son that's a sophomore right now at UVM an engineering major and as we said you need to be Take a wide variety of courses so that you don't limit yourself when you get in college So that's a big discussion in our house You know that fact that he's already been on the other end of that but I think it's important for people I don't have that don't have that you know For example a big age gap so that we know what you need to do. So my daughter who's on this member of the eighth grade board they had some kids come from the high school and And speak to them about that You know we just said it's you need to take it seriously I really don't know you know what they have done in the classroom But I know they didn't seem like they took it as seriously I said my our point of view is you need to take it seriously so that your teachers are taking it seriously So somebody's gonna have an educated discussion with you. So I Know my eighth graders haven't really gone on board even though we've been disgusted But I I think we need to do more around it to make to to have them engaged In it, okay. We have time from one minute closing comments. So Joanne jewel Would you like to give us a one-minute closing comment? Absolutely? If elected, you know, I would like to serve all the constituents as I said You know specialized is one of the things that I think that we need to help those students as well as a CPA You know, I'll dig into the due diligence. I work well as a team I work well as an individual and to listen to you know the taxpayer taxpayers and whatnot to support the district Very good. Thank you so much. Todd odick closing comment. Sure It's given the opportunity. I really look forward to representing the village although I Don't like divvying up the village the unified district into political areas, you know, that's where we are I feel I'm very skilled at Advocating I'm willing to listen. I don't come in with any with any agendas anything that I Feel like I need to achieve I need to spend a lot of time learning and understanding what the board is is working on and I look forward to the opportunity I'm happy. I'm happy to do it and I feel like I have the the skills and experience to be an effective representative of the village of Essex Junction on The school district on the Essex West All right, well, I want to thank you both so much for your willingness to serve It's never easy to sit on a forum and say what you think and put your Ideas out there to the public. So I really appreciate that you both the time taking the time to do it And I just want to remind folks April 9th is election day for the junction and also that will have an impact on the Essex Westford school district because there will be a vote on those Representatives and the two here today are Joanne Joule and Todd Odette. So don't forget to vote and thanks so much for watching