This story, by Liberty Darr, was first published by The Other Paper on Sept. 14.
Following a contentious few weeks for the South Burlington School Board, its newest member, Bryan Companion, resigned his seat effective Sept. 11 citing a “lack of respect and civility” at board meetings for his departure.
Companion was elected to the two-year seat on Town Meeting Day, beating former South Burlington board chair Travia Childs by just 26 votes.
Companion confirmed in a phone call that he dropped off a letter of resignation Monday morning at the district’s central office addressed to board chair Kate Bailey, but declined to answer any further questions regarding his decision.
“I will not participate in public criticism of others, nor do I wish to work in this type of environment,” he wrote in his letter. “I try to treat people in a respectful manner and believe my meeting conduct confirms this.”
Companion was also co-chair, alongside board member Laura Williams, of a fifth-grade transition committee whose charge is to evaluate whether the community should move fifth grade to the middle school or keep them where they are as a solution to overcrowding issues at the elementary schools.
He noted in his letter that the negative behavior at meetings over the summer continued at a Sept. 6 meeting when Williams commented that’s its been difficult to reach Companion over the summer.
“This was the first time I was made aware of this issue despite attending meetings and exchanging emails, throughout the summer, with the individual that made the remark,” he wrote.
Bailey confirmed in an email Monday that she knew about the resignation but had not yet seen the letter and was working to prepare a statement.
A public records request for the letter submitted by The Other Paper was initially denied by communications director Julia Maguire, but was handily released to a different source just hours after The Other Paper’s request. A copy of the resignation letter was sent to the newspaper minutes before press deadline.
Superintendent Violet Nichols could not be reached for comment after multiple attempts but did send a statement through Maguire.
“Superintendent Nichols would like to thank Mr. Companion for his work, particularly on the fifth-grade committee, and his knowledge of expertise surrounding the district’s facilities needs,” she said.
Companion wrote in the letter that he ran for the school board believing that he could contribute to the community that has served his family well through the years, but said the work has been neither productive nor enjoyable, especially at recent meetings.
The vacancy comes at a time when the board has already undergone a reshuffling. Just last month former board chair Alex McHenry resigned his seat after some board members voiced concerns about his leadership, both within the board and with the larger community.
Bailey, who spearheaded the move, said she saw a massive lack of communication and structure in how meetings were being facilitated and critiqued the way McHenry communicated with the community, saying information was often incomplete, delayed or discussed in unnecessary executive sessions.
The issues boiled over at a heated meeting on Aug. 2 when board members announced they would take a vote of no confidence on McHenry at their next meeting. That vote was 3-2.
The only members who voted against the move were McHenry and Companion, who said throughout the meeting that he felt the reshuffling was “a very rushed process. I’m not in favor of this at all.”
In the statement from Maguire, she said that the current board members Bailey, Laura Williams, Alex McHenry and Chelsea Tillinghast will remain in their positions and will lead a process to fill the position by Oct. 11.
“With the community’s depth of knowledge of the district, the school board is optimistic they will find an exceptional candidate and look forward to welcoming a new member to the board.”
The superintendent’s office said that it would discuss the issue at a special school board meeting on Wednesday night after The Other Paper went to press.
