 Seventeen's continuing coverage of town meeting 2019 and we are speaking today with Margaret Bass who is a candidate Uncontested candidate for the Winiski school board. We're so glad you're here Margaret. Thank you. I'm glad to be here You're running for the three-year term. I am. All right. Well, why don't we start with telling us why you're running and what qualifies you for the position? I Love kids. I love schools. I'm an educator. I've been an educator for 40 years. I started teaching in the public schools of my home state of Mississippi and Early 70s and I moved from public education to college and university work and I did that for 25 years and I'm Really pretty committed to public education. I've only been in Winiski two years, but I absolutely love the community It's just the best place to live ever and so We need a lot of things in Winiski and I want to do what I can to Make things happen Especially for the kids. Do you have priorities? Could you name the top three things you would like to get to work on in the school district? My priorities are the school districts priorities, right? I'm 100 in favor of the Bond issue that's coming to the public in May. I've done the tour of the community tour of the school district I've seen the vision of the architects and of the board and of the school administration So I I understand the importance of the renovations for the school that Is overcrowded right now. There's a great need for space, but also the upgrade in academic Expectations for the school and equally important green space Right places for kids to play and so they can look out windows and see green and stuff like that. So I'm Completely supportive And do you support the school budget? I do absolutely right and the proposed The proposed A budget that the board is bringing forth to the public. I am completely in support of that And what's your observation of this? Thing called the opportunity gap and do you think that there's enough opportunity for the children in the school district? well mostly no Right, I think that When new ski gets a pretty bad rap um In general and in particular from from Many people external to it and some who live there I um, I recently spent a morning at the high school and The question from several kids was Why do people think we're such a bad place? Right and that's It's a difficult question to answer when you're talking to a kid Except to say you're really not and maybe people don't know you and don't know and don't know the the place at all and so When I see When new ski I see actually among the best school districts with which You know, I have ever been had any affiliation whatsoever because when you walk into a new ski you walk into the world and what better education Could there be for our children Than to be in a space where people speak Multiple languages and come from all over the world in various national costumes It's the most fascinating school district that I've ever been in in my life And I think it's extremely valuable What what they offer but You know, we live in a working class community where there's A lot of poverty and so we have Hungry children right we have children who Don't have enough clothes to wear and so that's for me You know, those are the kinds of services that when new ski provides That other school districts may right but not to the extent that when new ski has to And I think The district does a great job Of that with not a whole lot of resources And given the diversity of the student body and the community How do you think the question of unconscious racial bias Is addressed do you think that's something that people are aware of and working with? Yes, and no, I mean, I think that the perceptions of the wanooski school district are all Unconscious racial bias, right? I don't think that the perceptions of wanooski would be the same if it were not racially diverse and In working class area, you know, I don't think there would be mean the the number of middle class white parents who Moved from wanooski to another school district who said to me it's because I need my children to be Quoting a better school so Nobody's going to say well, it's there too many black and brown people in that school, right? But the the relationship between race Ethnicity and social class is great and it's no more evident in vermont than it is at wanooski And so I the the the unconscious Racial bias in the community certainly exists. I think that The school district itself Works tremendously hard to address issues of Unconscious bias and bias in general um It is unfortunate that the Staff does not reflect In a more comprehensive way the the community but My sense is is they're working pretty hard To do that So we're we're making a shift to a portfolio based assessment of students Do you think wanooski's geared up for that ready for that? What needs to be done to make that? shift Say they're ready to begin 2020 and 2020 and there is the Gx I think yes that they are preparing students for college and career and Planned as I have read it. It's x 77. I think so. Yeah the plan as I have read it Seems reasonable and doable I'm always a little skeptical of these Times of quote plans that come Filter from entities outside the school district and school districts have to figure out how to adapt them for their particular communities, but Wanooski is going to give it 200 percent for sure So speaking of those entities that You know the state school board or the legislature. Do you are there any? Any messages that you would have as a school board leader for those entities that you would like them to be aware of as they make decisions That's a tough question because they're No, sort of administrative bureaucracies Have to do what they do right and to sort of I would say I I would say in to Vermont's credit. It's way of funding schools, right? As well as I can understand it and I've read a pretty good bit about it makes sense in ways that other districts don't The the so that there is built into the funding A desire for equity. That's clear, right? But I'm not quite sure That when that it it can address effectively Uh, a district that needs as much as Wanooski needs but as for the sort of the funding plan and programs itself Makes sense, you know that you can't have a school funded There's no equitable way of funding schools Based on property taxes that doesn't work. And so to its credit Vermont has come up with a better plan. I I think so, um One of the things you're touching on is that Wanooski is Has very high enrollment, which is different than a lot of the other schools in Vermont that are losing enrollment Yeah, so where do you see sort of the enrollment trends hitting Wanooski? Is there going to be a time where there's a drop and all these capital? You know improvements are for empty classrooms. What's your projection of my projection is that at the at Worst we're going to be flat, right? Best case scenario is that we're going to grow and that you know, that would depend That interpretation depends on the person who's who's you know, the perceptions of the person But I do know that now we're in a school just we're in a school A building built for 500 students and we have 865, right? So we'll have to take quite a drop To be a be a facility that can accommodate even the students that I mean we can lose what 300 plus students and still Need space so I don't I don't think that's gonna I think we'll need more rather than Less as time passes and what other capital needs do you see in the school district's future that we should be planning for? I think that And I don't know if this comes under I mean it's school district because it's kids But our kids need Place to play We need a teen center, right? We don't we don't have space for Young people and little kids um, and so That makes for some difficulties. I mean my other hat is the restorative justice panel manager for the city of Winooski, and so that many of the juveniles I see um I'm seeing because they don't have any space They have no place and although that you know the the Myers pool is a head was very Controversial and continues to be you know despite the fact that the vote the outcome of the vote was positive, but On and and I understand both sides But I'm committed to that space because it provides an opportunity for children That we just don't have in Winooski Are there other types of interventions that would benefit the young people? I think so I mean we are the group of us now who are kind of scratching our heads and trying to figure out We're actually looking at spaces that could be possible places for kids um Ray coffee who is the community services director? And I are doing our best to Figure out how the school resource officer who is really a great guy is also Bringing us together to talk about that because we all see that some of the problems that we have with the kids In the community is because they don't have anything else to do So yeah, and teenagers look for risks. So you want to give them some healthy risks to take. That's right. We do Yeah So um, I just want to ask this question because I think it's on the minds of a lot of people thinking about leadership Which is how do you rate political compromise as a way to get things done boy? that's uh I think we have to right I think that the the Line that I draw in relation to political compromise is when I'm not going to ever compromise my Ethical and moral values, right? That's not going to happen I'm open to listening to most people uh and their points of view and even engaging in conversations and and looking for points where compromise is possible But we're in a pretty difficult climate right now. Um, and so I would say that I remain open and and certainly have seen a number of places where conversation can Can happen, you know for people. I mean we describe ourselves now on as different sides, which I think is ridiculous But there is room and space in the middle on most issues for conversation And I would hope that I'm I can engage in those kinds of conversations with people who are Or seem to be on another side or in a different place how you know, however we would define that Well, it sounds like in the work you're doing in the community remediation that You have experience in bringing people together and thinking I try right through problems that maybe people have different views on or I try yeah, I um and and Vermont is Vermont so that it's been um, it's been uh Progress is slow and steady. I think that um The sort of character characterization of Vermont is a white space is That's tough to get through right. It's tough to get through that perception And say well, not exactly right in particular in the case of wanouski right not exactly And we have a community here that is not a white space And because of that there we have some demands that are remarkably different from any place else in this state and so Making sort of suggestions about what those demands are some of which require funding right can be Difficult because the response is what we have other Working-class communities. There are other poor people in Vermont and that is quite true But there's no other community in Vermont that needs what wanouski needs And that we cannot provide it unless we have the resources To do that and do you think there's support from the leadership of wanouski for that? I do. Yeah Yeah, no question about that. Yeah for sure. And where would you like to see more support coming from? Where are you seeing that needs to be short up to? obtain what you're describing That's a hard one. I think that There's some There's some wanouski residents who are slow There's a There's an old wanouski conversation and by that Some resentment that I have certainly heard toward the I hate the term toward the new american communities Some resentment about the changes that must be as a result or being able to accommodate These communities there's some conversation about letting people participate in local elections that's going to be a huge Debate, but you know change is hard Change is hard. Yeah, and it's interesting because wanouski has always been the most diverse community For years 100 years. Yeah, and a working class community with french-speaking people versus the english and the irish and You know there has been You know a long legacy of wanouski being characterized in the way that you're describing Frogs across the pond was one of the terms And then also the internal conflicts Among the people. Yes. Yes, but I mean, you know, I think we'd be Kind of foolish not to acknowledge the fact that yes, there have been waves Of immigration to wanouski, but this wave is black and brown that makes a difference This wave is black and brown is looks different And speaks languages with which we are not many of us are not familiar has cultural practices that are not quote Hours that makes a difference the demands for for this community are remarkably different and it It also requires an openness that some people just haven't quite gotten there yet So in your closing comments, would you like to state what you hope to accomplish and What you hope for wanouski? I hope to be the best school board member that I could be I'd like to be present in the schools and present in the community. I'm completely supportive Of the superintendent of schools in wanouski. I'm completely supportive of the work that the wanouski school board Is doing and so I just want to be a part of that team Well, margaritas. I appreciate you coming in today. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you We've been with margaritas. She is a candidate for the three-year term. It is uncontested for wanouski school board We're so glad to have spent some time with you. Thank you for watching and stay tuned for continuing coverage of town meeting 2019 Great. Thank you so much. Thank you so much