Dear Ward 7 constituents,

I would like to thank you for your vote on March 6th, which elected me to become your Ward 7 School Commissioner. As many of you know, I was sworn in on April 3rd for a 2 year term on Burlington's School Board, along with 7 other Commissioners. I have now been on the School Board for 2 months and this is my first correspondence to my entire ward through Front Porch Forum.

I would like to invite you to COME JOIN ME for a conversation about our schools this upcoming Sunday, June 10th from 10am to noon at The Bagel Cafe, 1127 North Ave. in Burlington's New North End.

The school year is quickly winding down to an end, with the last half-day of classes being on Thursday, June 14th. Each new school year brings many changes to individual schools within the district, and at times also changes to the entire district. By now, most of you are aware of the Capital Plan for 2018-19, which would bring two new buildings to the district: two pre-K centers plus new central offices. One of the pre-K centers, along with central offices would be located on the south side of Burlington, behind Champlain elementary school on Pine St., while the other pre-K center would be located in our own Ward 7, next to C.P. Smith elementary school. The BSD would be using part of the $19 million bond that was approved by voters in March 2017 to pay for these buildings.

Aside from the Capital Plan, there are other changes slated for the district, such as the Interventionist restructuring on the Elementary level, a couple of new support positions at Hunt Elementary, and a 1.0 FTE teacher cut at BHS, to name a few. I am also co-chair of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee, which includes a handful of School Commissioners, ensuring that our district is equitable in its practices and that we promote diversity on all levels. Our DE&I committee has met one time so far during my term of service. The district is also conducting a comprehensive climate survey in collaboration with NSCC (National School Climate Center) and UVM, which surveys BSD staff, parents and students in grade 3 and up.

Please come chat with me about all the goings on within our district and then we can even touch on Vermont State Ed Funding and the conflict between our governor, state legislature and school districts in Vermont!

Looking forward to seeing you Sunday morning!
Cheers,
Monika

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