 The administration, the superintendent principles and all the staff and teachers have what they need to support those students. And if there's something that that we can do from our perspective, whether it's budgetary or policy or working with external stakeholders and making sure that we are advocates for students, then we have been doing that. And we will continue to do that. Thank you. Tell us your opinion of Steven of this school resource officers. Do you think they play a valuable role in the school buildings, and do you support their continued positions in the school district. School resource officers can provide a very important support role for students and families in the school district. There are districts across the country that have really benefited from school resource officers. And before coming to Vermont, I was working in a school district that benefited very strongly, very well from a school resource officer. The administration when new ski, however, is turning to whether a school resource officer is the best fit for this community. And whether something like a school climate coach, or other coaches support would be a better fit for this community. Now, another school board member and I are engaged in community conversations. We've scheduled 16 hours of community conversations with our neighbors in Winooski to hear from them about their thoughts about school safety and what works best for the people of Winooski. As a school board member, I certainly have my own opinions. But I think it's really important that we represent the views of our constituents. And that's why I'm taking part in those conversations doing a lot of careful listening. And I look forward to taking that information and also surveys and other feedback from staff and from most importantly, students and putting that together to make a recommendation to my colleagues on the board. Thank you so much. Kamal Dahal, what's your view of the school resource officers and their role in the Winooski school district. Yeah, this is an ongoing issue and I've been following and attending some of the meetings regarding this issue. I feel it's appropriate at this time for me at least to listen to all the students, you know, who are raising those issues and also get the opinion from parents and also listen to these school safety people's opinion as well and, you know, come up with a solution that ensures safety but also maintains an environment where everyone is everyone feels like their privacy is maintained. That is a concern that is raised by some of these students during our conversations with them. So I don't have a yes or no, you know, binary answer now, but this is something that I would be working on and I'll be having more conversations to reach a more agreeable conclusion. Thank you so much. I'm just going to remind our viewers that you could give us a call if you have any questions for the candidates for the Winooski school district. We're speaking with Kamal Dahal and Stephen Berbeco, who are both running for the school district and Alexander Yin has not joined us but he is also running unopposed. The candidates here are unopposed. They're not facing each other. They're running for unique seats. Educational initiative questions. So Burlington Winooski had a few years working together on the Nellie Mae grant experimenting with educational reforms at the high school. What do you think went well and what more could be done to address the need for reforming students educational experiences? Kamal, could you answer that? Yeah, I don't have enough knowledge about this program at this point to say exactly what went well and what went not. I think this question would be more appropriately answered by someone who is currently on board. So I'm going to pass this to Stephen. And like Kamal, I'm not as familiar with these programs as I would like to be. I can say that external funding plays a huge role in ensuring that the administration has the resources that it needs to provide the exceptional programming for our students. And so we're certainly grateful to Nellie Mae and other sources for funding these programs. And I'd also like to say that looking into the future, I would love to explore the possibility of external funding to support social and emotional health of our students and how we can provide a safe and supportive learning environment for them all day every day. Thanks so much. Let's go on to the question regarding racial justice and opportunities for addressing racial justice in the schools and how to use the school board position to meet the challenge. And do you support the raising of the Black Lives Matter flag on the Wineski School campus? Stephen, two questions there. I certainly support the raising of the flag that right now today, the American flag, Vermont State flag and Black Lives Matter flag are all flying on the Wineski School District flagpole and I think it's entirely appropriate. I also believe that the role of the school board member is critically important for this sort of work that not only we're engaged but we're seen as being supportive of the district's anti-racist work that I can imagine for a student, it's enormously meaningful to see not just their teachers but also administrators, their superintendent and the school board all facing the same direction, saying the same things and doing the hard work together. Thanks so much. Kamal, your view on the justice in the schools and the Black Lives Matter flag flying. Certainly the first incremental steps towards an ideal version of racial justice is giving voice to everyone from all ethnic, racial or linguistic backgrounds, providing equal opportunities to everyone. And in fact, that's one of the reason I'm running for the board is to bring that representation, bring that voice, just a path, but I'm trying, you know, my goal is to get in touch back to the communities that I'm representing and then bringing that voice to the board. And in regards to Black Lives Matter flag, absolutely. You know, I don't believe that that flag is a political protest. It's a plea for justice, and thus it is a human rights protest and, you know, certainly appropriate at school. Kamal, you had mentioned in your opening statements the reasons that you're running. Are there particular issues coming in front of the board that you want to have a say on? Particular issues coming from a minority community. I have had a few conversations with the students group from Nepalese community. They have raised some issues in regards to, you know, in regards to some of the racial issues that they see at school sporting events. And some of the, even the administrators, you know, overlooking those events, you know, I'm not going to mention the specifics of the teachers or the students who made those claims, but what I've learned from a lot of people is they get that sense, they get that feeling that they are not treated equally. So my goal is to, you know, bring that awareness to the board and then seek towards, you know, policies and programs that can bring more equitable educational programs to everyone, even if they are from a different linguistic backgrounds or different racial backgrounds. So is what you're talking about a question of programming or is it a question of something else? It's first step, what I think is, you know, we have to bring awareness to what's going on. Not having someone from a specific community, what it does is there's a lot of people from, I'll give you an example of Nepalese community who, you know, don't see themselves as, you know, because there aren't any one who speaks that language, for example. They feel like, you know, their voice would not be heard or there's no one that are directly reaching out or someone that can relate to their group and then listening to them and their issues. And there's other communities as well besides Nepalese communities who get the same sense of feeling. So having someone who they can relate to gives a space for more trust and, you know, for opportunities for them to voice their concerns and that voice can be brought back to the board. And inform programs and policies. Yes. Thank you. Steven, your view of the biggest challenges or the particular areas of concern that you have that are prompting you to run for this seat. You know, Lauren Glenn, I'm not prompted to run because of a sense of concerns or particular challenges. Like, like Kamal, I feel it's a civic duty to be supportive of my community in any way that I can. And, and I also want to do the best that I can by the students in this community by the youth. This is this is a path forward for me, how I can do that. Thank you. Do you want to say something Steven about the construction you had mentioned it, the capital improvements underway at the high school campus and do you have a status report or what's next what can the community expect. I can expect continuing updates from the administration about the project, including those great videos demonstrating the progress over time, even during the pandemic, and the community can also expect updates from the administration on the financial side of it. And hopefully some some more good news coming up soon about a change that the school board administration were able to implement that will reduce the burden for taxpayers. So reduce the cost of the bond you mean, or some supplemental resource. I'm not prepared to talk about the specifics unfortunately, but certainly the community should expect continuing updates from the administration, including on the finances. Got it. Thank you. Kamal, is there anything that you would want to tell us about the capital improvements on the high school campus from your perspective. Yeah, I think this question was, you know, specifically the answer for this question would be more appropriate from someone who is currently on the board so Steven already meant that there will be updates so yeah since I don't know enough specific to talk about the details. I don't think I would be, you know, utilizing my time while trying to answer this question. I understand. Would you like to move on then to your closing comments Kamal Dahal. Sure. And you have more than 30 seconds just. Oh, thank God I was trying to think how I can fit everything that I want to say in 30 seconds and I've already wasted my 15 seconds so. Yeah. Well, I'm running for school board. And I am running like I mentioned in my opening statement. First and foremost to fulfill my civic duty. The opportunity of fulfilling a severed duty is something that, you know, if you're born here you take for granted, but I've learned from my life that, you know, citizenship is a very valuable thing and you know, I would like to utilize this opportunity. And the second region for my running is to bring that representation from minority community, bring voices from Nipoli's community and other smaller communities in Wynoski to the board. And also to promote education in general. And lastly, what I hope is if I'm able to run and if I'm, you know, with me running for the first time. I'm hoping to set a path for future, you know, younger generation to run for public office from my community, because a lot of people I talk to older folks and younger folks. They think that public office is not for them, because there aren't many people who look like them in that position. So, you know, they'll just pass on to those opportunities. So I'm hoping that just the fact that I'm running would encourage other people to do the same and get more involved in public service in future. Thank you so much. Kamal Dahal is running to serve the remainder of a three-year term. And Stephen Birbeco, tell us your closing statements please. Thanks. And I guess I'd want to echo what Kamal said about the importance of getting involved. And I'd like to encourage my neighbors in Wynoski to get involved. Thanks. I'm showing up for a meeting, joining a commission or committee, or running for office. I firmly believe, really deeply believe that we are better as a community, when we all pitch in together. Thank you so much. Well, I really appreciate your comments. Stephen Birbeco is running for the three-year term. He was appointed in December to the Wynoski School Board and now is taking up the job in earnest. He was opposed as is Kamal Dahal and Alexander Yin, who is also an incumbent, is running for the two-year term, unopposed. So, Wynoski people, when you go to get your ballot or you go to the polling place on the second of March, you will be voting for these three men and the three questions related to the school budget and the new solar roof. Thank you both for joining us. I'd like to thank everyone for watching, and I hope you have a great afternoon. Stay tuned to Town Meeting TV for Town Meeting 21 coverage, including live results on the second of March, starting at 7pm.