Editor’s note: This commentary by Rama Schneider, an elected member of the Williamstown School District Board of Directors.
[V]ermont’s school boards are under assault. I’m not talking about being required to find financial efficiencies or provide an ever-expanding basket of services: I’m talking about the governor and General Assembly insisting that we spin on a dime and fit into today’s politics du jour by immediately and retroactively changing practices and policies the state government has, until yesterday, encouraged or required. What I find even more insulting is that the one organization that school boards should be able to rely on, the Vermont School Boards Association (VSBA), has joined what I can only refer to as “the great dumping on.”
We take your and our children in and provide for an education that begins in pre-kindergarten and extends beyond grade 12 by virtue of access to college-level learning opportunities.
Schools around Vermont have been required to take on responsibility for the social, emotional, psychological and physical health of our students, as well as provide a high-quality educational experience to all regardless of need. Vermont’s schools, administrators, teachers and other staff literally feed, clothe, transport, hug and provide access to medical care for our children all the while teaching these students to read, write, do arithmetic, learn world languages and understand history. While all this is going on, the necessary building blocks of being able to learn new skills, work cooperatively, communicate successfully and apply old skills in new situations are also being taught.
Did you know the boundaries we must keep safe for our students extend literally around the world by virtue of making our schools responsible for actions taken on social media?
Along with the virtual, we provide safe physical locations that are responsive to physical needs of students and communities. Sports fields of various types, gymnasiums and auditoriums are all designed with an eye on the needs of parents, grandparents and friends as much as the students. Parking spaces are created to accommodate overflow crowds.
Rather than give boards and staff a chance to adjust to new demands, Gov. Phil Scott and our General Assembly willfully threw a wrench into the day-to-day operations of our schools.
Did I mention we all have to go through this whole school district merger process?
But apparently there’s still time for Vermont’s state government with the aid and comfort of the VSBA to tell us they decided, in great secrecy, that the decisions tens of thousands of Vermonters made on town meeting day should be gutted by actions taken months later. Rather than give boards and staff a chance to adjust to new demands, Gov. Phil Scott and our General Assembly willfully threw a wrench into the day-to-day operations of our schools (see above for details).
I am proud of the Williamstown School District. I am greatly appreciative of the hard work put in by everyone in our town’s schools from the paraeducators down to the superintendent. I am honored to sit on a school board with a dedicated bunch of volunteers. I see the many positive results that come from an efficient and effective organization.
But unfortunately I, along with school board members across the state, have to put up with a continual assault by the state government that has been aided and abetted by the Vermont School Boards Association’s policy advocacy.
We all deserve better than last minute, ill-thought-out, retroactively applied proposals negotiated behind closed doors and without outside input. Let’s put an end to the politics du jour: let’s put an end to “the great dumping on.” Let’s get back to great educations, high expectations and realistic thinking.
