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Description
For more information about upcoming Town Meeting Day 2023 coverage visit https://bit.ly/TownMeeting2023
https://linktr.ee/townmeetingtv
00:00:00 Introductions
00:01:15 Opening Statements
00:05:25 School Budget
00:10:21 BHS Construction
00:16:45 Racial Justice
00:22:59 Education Reform
00:28:13 Schools and School Funding
00:33:48 Challenges
00:39:48 Teacher Well Being and Retention
This video belongs to http://www.cctv.org and published with permission under Creative Commons License CCTV Center for Media & Democracy Programming is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
A
A
A
B
I
am
this
will
be
the
third
term
that
I'm
serving
and
I
did
start
a
little
early,
because
somebody
left
the
board
early,
but
why
am
I
running
again,
mostly
because
I
really
want
to
see
certain
things
through
it's
a
there's,
so
much
information
and
systems
and
procedures
and
everything
you
know
you
just
basically
feel
like
you're
getting
your
feet
wet
after
two
years,
then
knowing
how
you
can
be
a
part
of
making
change
happens
after
that.
So
now
there
are
all
these
things
in
the
works
that
I
feel
like
I.
B
C
Oh
thanks,
yeah
I'm
running
for
South
District
school.
Commissioner
I
am
just
wrapping
up
my
sixth
year
on
the
school
board,
five
of
those
years,
including
presently
I'm
the
vice
chair
of
the
board,
and
it
is
a
lot
of
work
that
could
be
a
reason
why
there
aren't
a
lot
of
candidates.
Also
I
may
note
that
I
think
we've
got
a
pretty
good
handle
on
things
and
I.
Think
folks
in
general,
yeah
are
fairly
satisfied
with
how
we're
running
the
board.
There's
always
a
lot
of
room
for
improvement.
C
That
life
contains
a
lot
of
change
and
it's
sometimes
good
to
have
some
continuity
and
good
management
and
I
think
this
particular
board
has
provided
that
and
continues
to
provide
it.
We've
hired
the
superintendent
Tom
Flanagan,
who
has
done
an
excellent
job
Etc,
so,
okay,
I
think
my
time
is
up.
Thank
you.
Thank.
D
I'm
running
so
far
unopposed
for
the
East
Texas
strict
slot,
I
am
a
retired
special
educator
and
I
spent
eight
years
in
the
district
in
a
a
couple
of
different
roles.
In
writing.
Schools
spent
the
last
my
last
12
years,
working
in
a
variety
of
Central
Vermont
schools,
including
some
of
our
sort
of
similar
districts
such
as
Montpelier
and
u32,
and
as
the
new
building
was
being
proposed
in
the
bond
being
voted
on
I
realized.
D
There
were
some
things
that
these
other
schools
were
doing
at
the
high
school
that
really
made
them
made
them
21st
century
schools,
and
there
were
things
that
we
that
in
Burlington
have
sort
of
started
working
on,
but
there
were
some
issues
that
I
really
wanted
up
front.
Thank
you.
That's
why
I
decided
to
run.
A
Thank
you.
All
right,
I
have
a
series
of
questions
for
all
of
you.
You
will
each
have
two
minutes
to
eat,
to
answer
them
and
if
any
of
you
wish
to
offer
a
rebuttal
of
any
kind,
just
let
me
know
when
you
have
30
seconds
to
do
a
rebuttal.
So
our
second
question
is
going
to
be
about
the
budget.
Do
you
support
this
year's
school
budget
of
106
million,
which
is
an
increase
of
8
million
from
last
year's
budget?
A
D
I
believe
that
the
increase
is
reasonable,
based
on
what
is
being
absorbed
this
year
every
year,
there's
going
to
be
an
increase
due
to
healthcare
costs.
There
will
be
this
year,
there'll
be
increase
as
we
begin
to
absorb
the
cost
of
the
the
bond
I
think
the
current
board
has
done
a
great
job
of
trying
to
finesse
eating
demands
for
funding
the
use
of
Rise
funding
to
give
different
principles.
Different
buildings
ability
to
its
funding
based
on
their
knees,
fired
something
I
wish
the
state
would
help
us
with
so
I
think.
D
Overall,
it's
a
reasonable
increase.
I
think
the
there's
a
net
decrease
in
the
number
of
missions,
which
I
think
is
a
response
to
your
question
as
well,
and
that
I
think
it
really
shows
a
good
face.
Faith
effort
on
the
school
Awards
part
two
keep
faithful
to
voters
about
the
budget
that
they've
presented.
C
Thanks
Lane
I
also
support
the
school
budget
and
Gary
clearly
has
a
good
grasp
over
this
budget.
Then
it's
pros
and
cons.
It
is
true.
There
is
some
head
count
Ing.
We.
We
do
hope
that
through
attrition
and
being
able
to
move
folks
around,
however,
that
it
is
our
hope
that
no
one
will
actually
lose
a
job
who
wants
to
continue
working
in
the
Burlington
schools.
We
estimate
presently
that
the
tax
impact
will
be
roughly
four
percent,
which
is
within
I
think
an
acceptable
range.
C
C
B
B
It
was
sort
of
decided,
it
felt
very
haphazard
how
things
were
decided,
and
there
wasn't
a
lot
of
discussion,
especially
with
the
community,
about
how
things
could
move
forward
and
essentially
every
step
of
the
way
things
have
been
presented
and
it
you
know,
as
time
went
on,
it
became
more
granular
and
Logistics
were
proposed,
money-wise
and
talking
about.
Oh,
there
might
be
a
cut
or
there
might
be
a
position
whatever
dissolved.
B
B
There
was
nothing
impulsive.
Everything
about
the
financial
impact
was
mindfully
conceived
of,
explained
well
and
I
I.
Think
people
were
willing
to
compromise
because
they
weren't
after
those
discussions
were
really
invested
and
like
these
are
all
of
our
children.
These
are
all
of
our
schools.
Your
kid
might
be
in
this
elementary
school,
but
it's
not
going
to
be
long
before
they're
in
that
middle
school,
so
it
was.
A
C
It
includes
includes
some
smaller
rooms,
some
larger
rooms.
Clearly
it
includes
the
best
technology
that
you
know
we
can.
We
can
muster
in
terms
of
climate
change
efficiency.
It
includes
the
idea
that
a
lot
of
natural
light
is
healthy
for
people,
so
we're
incorporating
a
lot
of
natural
light,
a
lot
of
flexible
spaces.
D
C
Things
like
not
enough
places
to
plug
your
laptop
in
and
recharge
things,
so
I'm
very
excited
about
all
of
that,
and
we
get
to
rethink
you
know
from
the
ground
up
or
with
our
Architects
our
professionals.
Those
who've
done
this
before
so
we're
not
making
this
up,
but
we've
hired
I
think
some
of
the
best
folks
who
we
could
find
regionally
and
and
nationally
who
have
built
21st,
Century,
High,
School,
so
I
think
it's
going
to
work
out
really
well.
D
You
know
what
u32
looks
like
wonderful
space.
What
I'm
after
is
sort
of
The
Next,
Step
Beyond.
What
Jeff
was
talking
about
with
technology?
Yes,
there
are
many
technology,
you
know
we're
going
to
be
a
wired
School,
but
we
shouldn't
just
be
wired
internally.
We
do
have
like
at
the
high
school
we
students
are
able
to
take
online
courses
that
are
provided
by
other
high
schools,
but
in
the
past
we've
had
hardwired
live
classes
that
were
available.
D
D
B
I
know
that
that
I
know
that
the
Architects
are
having
conversations
with
the
people
who
are
going
to
occupy
that
building
and
use
it
and
and
I
just
love.
Seeing
the
notes
saying
this
sink
isn't
needed.
You
know
in
the
nurse's
office
in
this
place
or
a
larger
conversation
about.
Where
should
gender
neutral
bathrooms
and
lockers
locker
rooms
be
available
just
being
really
considerate
about
people,
not
assuming
what
they
think
are
people's
needs,
responding
in
ways
that
I
think
are
appropriate
and
doing
it
with
within
the
budget.
B
D
B
They're
talking
about,
why
aren't
we
pooling
our
resources?
Better
I
mean
they
are
talking
about
it.
They
are
talking
about.
Let's
pool
our
resources
and
Not
Duplicate
services,
but
also
find
ways
to
you
know,
concentrate
the
effort
into
one
and
bolster
that
one
rather
than
have
something
that
is
kind
of
an
afterthought
and
but
essential
stuff
is
making
sure
that
these
spaces
that
are
established
have
the
infrastructure.
That's
going
to
be
able.
B
A
B
Sixth,
through
12th
grade
teachers
or
I
should
say
Educators
power
Educators
as
well,
and
one
of
the
things
that
struck
me
the
most
after
hearing
about
the
work
that
everybody's
doing
and
what's
available,
it's
five
different
workshops
over
the
course
of
the
school
year.
It's
mandatory
to
sign
up
for
one
they're
calling
them
strands.
The
strands
were
actually
developed
with
in
in
response
like
built
around
what
Educators
requested
and
the
idea
that
there's
I
forget
how
many
there
are
there's
at
least
a
dozen.
B
So
there's
a
lot
of
varieties,
so
people
have
a
lot
of
choice
out
there,
which
I
think
of
course
feels
good
right.
There's
ownership
when
you
get
to
choose,
but
the
the
thing
that
feels
really
different
is
what
is
referred
to
as
buy-in
I.
Don't
think
that
people
are
being
dragged
to
trainings,
Kicking
and
Screaming
anymore,
I
think
they've
been
asking
like
I
want.
This
I
need
this.
It
used
to
be
that
the
district
relied
on
Educators
to
attend
trainings
or
workshops
of
this
caliber
on
their.
B
D
The
camps
really
had
a
priority
teaching
English
to
the
older
students.
So
we
had
new
hires
I,
see
some
veterans,
teachers
who
came
back
to
teach
today
we're
starting
from
Ground
Zero.
The
difference
between
then
and
now
is
just
it's
unimaginable.
How
far
the
district
has
come,
how
far
the
teachers
have
come?
Have
there
been
struggles
along
the
way?
Yes,
my
ell
teacher
friends
in
their
workshops
when
I
was
in
the
district
talked
a
lot
about.
You
know
just
language
difference
in
this
case
Molly
Bantu,
Nepali.
C
Jeff
yeah
sure
agree
with
everything
my
colleagues
here
have
said
today,
I
suppose,
over
the
last
decade
the
equity
work
of
the
school
district
has
become
baked
into
the
DNA.
Is
there
a
ton
of
room
for
improvement?
There
always
is
we're
not
unique
in
that
regard
an
example
regarding
how
it's
part
of
what
we
believe
in
is
the
school
district
just
went
through
a
re-upping
of
its
five-year
strategic
plan
and
I
would
suggest
that
each
of
our
five
key
points
are
really
Equity
infused
number
one.
C
We
really
believe
in
creating
a
sense
of
belonging
and
well-being
for
every
student
from
every
background,
very
important,
deeper
learning.
They
call
it
for
every
student
reimagining
education
for
every
student,
giving
them
more
very
a
variety
of
options,
you're
familiar
with
the
Burlington
City
and
Lake
Project,
where,
as
was
discussed
a
little
earlier
tonight,
students
actually
get
to
go
out
into
the
community
and
do
their
learning
community-based
learning.
C
It
is
a
goal
of
the
school
district
to
have
more
Educators,
who
look
like
our
student
population,
obviously
still
a
long
way
to
go
on
that
and
we're
moving.
We
have
moved
away
from
a
standard
disciplinary
tactics
towards
what
we
call
restorative
practices,
specifically
just
a
couple
more
things.
The
school
district
in
regard
to
equity
has
has
launched
of
what
they
call
a
virtual
Equity
Workshop
series,
with
very
various
students,
staff
and
Community
Partners.
We've
we've
finished
our
second
summer
of
racial
Justice
Academy.
C
D
We
are
faced
with
the
bond
that
is
going
to
it's
going
to
be
the
elephant
in
the
room
for
every
budget
conversation,
it's
going
to
be
the
elf
in
the
room
when
we
come
up
to
teach
a
contract,
negotiate
stressor
for
teachers,
for
staff
for
administration,
and
it's
it's
going
to
be
a
challenge.
I
think
covet.
The
effects
of
covet
are
still
very
present
in
our
students
and
our
families
and
our
our
professional
staff
I
think
we
are
not
close
to
being
through
the
effects
of
that
time.
D
D
Take
some
deep
breaths
but
I
I
think
our
next
few
years
are
going
to
be
challenging
around
those
issues.
I
think
as
we
move
into
the
reading
curricular
program,
I
think
there
are
such
challenges
there
about
closing
the
academic
gaps
that
we
have
perceived
from
covid
I'm,
probably
of
the
group.
That's
saying,
I
think
we
just
need
to
face
reality.
We
might
not
be
able
to
close
that
Gap
and
to
act
accordingly,
but
that's
a
decision
well
beyond
my
role
as
a
potential
school
counselor.
Thank
you
so
I.
B
B
I
think
that
not
just
our
district
I
think
nationally.
We
are
waking
up
to
the
fact
that
a
four-year
college
is
really
really
not
for
everyone
and
so
much
so
that
now
we're
at
a
loss
when
it
comes
to
people
working
in
the
trades.
Everything
is
short,
I
mean
everything
is
short
step,
but
we're
we're
just
finding
skilled
trades
people
just
sparse,
right
and
I.
B
C
You
know,
building
a
new
school
is
beyond
really
the
budget
of
any
individual
town
or
city,
and
we
at
the
state
level
the
legislative
level
need
to
figure
out
how
to
fund
this,
provide
some
assistance.
There's
also
a
federal
level.
I
think
there's
some
time
between
Federal
money
that
goes
through
the
state.
Then
they
can
get
funneled
to
school
construction.
But
we
need
the
support
of
our
federal
delegation
on
that
as
well.
C
Much
of
of
schools
were
built
and
what
the
50s
and
60s
well
all
those
schools
are
now
50
or
60
years
old,
more
or
less,
and
it's
it's
time
to
re-up
and
make
sure
that
the
students
of
our
state
have
good
learning
environments
that
reflect
today's
the
way
we
live
and
our
technology
and
beliefs
about
education.
Today,.
A
C
Well,
the
I
think
our
local
delegation
of
Representatives
and
state
senators
are.
This
is
top
of
mind
for
them.
So
they're,
aware
of
it
and
they're
working
on
it,
I'm
less
clear
on
whether
the
the
rest
of
the
state's
legislators
are
have
this
top
of
mind
as
well.
I
hope
they
do,
because
all
the
schools
throughout
the
state
are
going
to
get
tested
for
pcbs,
and
you
know
I
I,
hope
we're
an
anomaly
in
Burlington,
but
not
sure,
and
then
it'll
become
everybody's
problem
right.
C
B
B
So
that's
definitely
something
I'm
going
to
keep
my
eyes
on
because
part
of
why
our
infrastructure,
part
of
why
our
buildings
were
crumbling,
is
because
we
had
deferred
maintenance
because
we
were
not
getting
enough
money
to
just
give
our
kids
an
education,
so
yeah
and
I'm
sure
that
sure
we're
not
alone
in
that,
but
yeah.
Some
of
the
nicer
schools
had
a
great.
D
So
for
me,
it's
much
more
of
a
federal
issue,
I'm
old
enough
to
remember
the
Nixon
years
of
Revenue,
sharing,
where
the
federal
government
gave
a
set
amount
to
the
state
seat
year.
I'm
also
enough
to
remember
that,
before
going
to
war
in
the
2000s,
a
very
Stark
Choice
was
there,
you
can
either
rebuild
every
school
in
the
country.
D
Rebuild
your
infrastructure
or
you
can
go
to
war
or
local
budgets
are
going
to
go
or
be
in
default
all
over
the
country
and
that's
pretty
much
Where
We
Are,
so
I
support
efforts
on
our
state
legislature
to
come
up
with
a
solution.
I
just
don't
know
where
the
money
is
going
to
come
from.
As
just
saying,
every
era
of
school
building
has
a
problem.
D
An
older
building
has
served
in
the
science
class,
did
a
project
on
mold
and
they
started
collecting
air
samples
in
their
every
building.
On
the
campus
had
a
mold
issue
from
the
30s
and
40s,
our
era
is
rebar
in
the
supports,
hunt
has
to
be
rebuilt
and
the
pcbs,
if
you're
in
a
multi-floor
structure,
so
I
just
think
this
is
a
huge
issue
and
I
I,
don't
know
where
the
money
is
going
to
come
from.
B
A
B
A
D
A
Okay,
I
think
we
have
enough
time
for
possibly
two
more
questions.
Definitely
one
more
question
so
I'd
like
each
of
you
to
take
some
time
to
talk
about
what
you
see
are
the
biggest
challenges
facing
the
schools
in
your
district
and
how
you
would
use
your
seat
on
the
school
board
to
address
those
issues
and
what's
your
vision
for
Burlington's
education
future,
let's
start
with
Gary.
D
D
D
college?
Is
you
know?
That's
the
Holy
Grail
AP
courses
are
the
Holy
Grail.
How
do
we
get
in
there
and
say
there
are
other
ways
to
graduate.
There
are
other
ways
to
gain
a
high
school
education.
That's
going
to
help
students
in
the
long
run,
I'm
very
much
a
fan
of
urtic
college
I'm,
very
much
a
fan
of
the
community-based
learning
that
I
mentioned,
and
so
those
are
opportunities
are
coming
out
of
our
challenges.
D
B
Thank
you,
Gene,
someone
in
line
with
that
so
say,
you're,
the
parent
of
a
kid
that's,
acting
out
having
the
lines
of
communication
and
figuring
out
solving
that
problem.
Getting
to
the
bottom
of
things.
However,
you
want
to
categorize.
It
is
a
huge
part
of
that
kid's
success
right,
but
we
I
know
from
hearing
the
cons
in
my
neighborhood
I
I
believe
that
the
biggest
issue
is
how
parents
don't
necessarily
feel
like
there's
a
way
to
hold
the
adults
in
our
school
Community
accountable
for
how
they
may
have
caused
harm.
B
B
A
Thank
you,
I
think
we
have
enough
time
for
one
more
question,
a
quick
answer.
So
talking
about
teacher
well-being
and
retention.
What
do
you
understand
as
the
current
level
of
morale
among
Burlington
teachers
and
is
the
district
doing
enough
to
retain
good
teaching
and
support
staff?
Gene
I'll
start
with.
B
Think
like
oh,
it's
your
fault,
your
classes
fill
in
the
blank
I
do
I
do
feel
like
people
are
being
heard,
but
as
far
as
logistical
support,
we
know
that
we're
short
staffed
so
that
that
second
para
educator
that
used
to
be
in
the
classroom,
may
not
necessarily
you
know,
there's
tons
of
openings
for
our
Educators.
Please
apply
if
you're
looking
for
a
job
go
on
the
website.
D
D
Second
part,
I
was
recently
a
part
of
an
IEP
meeting
and
more
of
the
Essex
schools
or
friend,
and
there
were
three
former
Burlington
teachers
or
staff
in
the
meeting.
So
why
did
they
move
I'm
sort
of
reaching
out
to
them
to
figure
that
out?
But
most
of
it
is
finances
most
of
it
was
it's
just
a
different
population.
That's
less
stressful!
You
know
just
to
call
it
what
it
is.
D
C
You
know
some
of
the
things
that
they
they
wanted
and
needed
and
I
think
they
were
pleased
as
well
with
the
bargain
and
Beyond.
Just
the
money.
I
I
think
there
is
a
level
of
trust
and
understanding
and
increasing
level
of
trust
and
understanding
between
union
Administration
and
school
board.
So
I
I'm,
generally
speaking,
seeing
seeing
a
healthy
relationship
much
healthier
than
I
saw
six
to
ten
years
back
so
I'm
very
glad
about
that.
Okay,.
A
Well,
thank
you
very
much.
All
of
you
we
have.
We
are
out
of
time
for
your
comments
this
evening,
but
I
would
like
to
thank
our
candidates,
Gary
golden
Jeff,
Wick
and
Gene
Waltz
for
being
here
this
evening,
and
thank
you
for
tuning
in
to
town
meeting
TV's,
ongoing
coverage
of
local
candidates,
local
budgets
and
valid
items.
You
can
find
this
and
more
forums
at
www.ch17.tv.
Don't
forget
to
vote
on
or
before
March
7th
ballots
are
not
mailed
automatically.