January 18, 2009
Dear neighbors,
First, my apologies for a relatively long posting today; nine words definitely will not be sufficient for explaining what’s happening on the School Board.
Since September, we have been whittling down our list of needs to the bare minimum in order to move forward with the overall goals of the master plan we developed with more than a thousand Burlington residents over the past three years. We changed the way we do business with the city council to have a more cooperative relationship, and slowed down our plans for moving ahead with 21st century curriculum initiatives. We have been meeting regularly with local, State, and Federal representatives, and we have applied for a lot more private grant funding. We have had to defer some changes that are simply heart-breaking – including our goal of providing ADA accessibility at Edmunds and other sites in the coming fiscal year with local dollars.
I have come to realize over the past several months that our pride in being the “lowest spending District” in Chittenden county has been misplaced – when the Governor and others talk about level funding, it makes a difference if you are actually spending approximately $1,800 less per pupil than the state average – which is the case here in Burlington. Level funding sounds responsible, but in reality here it could mean middle school class sizes of more than thirty, and elementary school class sizes averaging more than twenty-five. Cutbacks on improved math and science curriculum, afterschool programs, and technology would be on the table. Services we provide to help students with special needs – from physical challenges, to learning disabilities, to adjustment issues from having just arrived from war-ravaged countries, would undoubtedly suffer as well. In light of these dire alternatives, the Board has voted to bring forward three ballot items in March:
A Safety and Critical Needs Bond (still pending before City Council) to make necessary repairs and renovations at Barnes, Flynn, and Smith schools addresses Past underfunding of facilities, and reflects:
* Tough decision-making about bringing forward only the most pressing immediate needs;
* Efficient use of taxpayer money that will save the District money in the long run; and
* Cooperative discussions with city administration and councilors to bring forward a feasible bond amount given current economic conditions.
Our Budget (reflecting a request for new local money of approximately 6 percent, with additional state revenues of 3 percent) addresses Present needs while:
* Keeping Burlington per-pupil spending second to last among Chittenden County towns, and nearly $1,000 below this year’s state per-pupil average;
* Reflecting community values – neighborhood schools, livable wages, welcoming diversity, innovation, excellence, and equity; and
* Continuing care for our neediest children in a time of economic stress.
Our Charter Change Request to increase the District’s annual capital needs bonding capacity from $750,000 to $2 million addresses Future needs by insuring that we are able to spend enough annually to adequately maintain our facilities.
A positive outcome on all these items on March town meeting day is undeniably critical for the children and schools of Burlington. Heating problems for the 1950s-era boilers during the cold snap at Barnes, Flynn, and Smith are reminders of how unsustainable our facilities are without an influx of funds for repairs. And, as Fred so eloquently stated in the Free Press recently, everything we have put forward to voters is an outgrowth of extensive public input and an expression of Burlington’s community values – from neighborhood schools, to reasonable class sizes, to welcoming refugees, to offering varied and comprehensive afterschool services, to providing enrichment through art, music, and world languages in the curriculum, to instituting equity and innovation via our magnet schools (for which we are only seeking $145,000 of local money – .2 percent of our budget). Maintaining these values, services, and programs is critical to sustaining community support for public education, as well as to ensuring a prosperous future for our children and state.