To the editor: Supporting teachers among reasons why I’m running for GMUSD board

Let me get straight to the point. I’m running for a spot on the Green Mountain Unified School District school board for a number of reasons, chief among them these:

1. Education shouldn’t be politicized.
Yet, all around the country, school boards have become puppets to political ideologies. We need directors devoid of any interest in playing those games, directors who are willing to put the students above their own political agendas, because it’s those students who pay the price otherwise. And while I can’t speak to the motives of anyone else running, I do know my own heart and mind. I have no interest in political gamesmanship. I have no interest in pushing agendas. I want only to make sure these kids get the best education they can.

2. Bullying cannot be tolerated in our schools.
I believe we need a two-pronged approach to combat the issue. First, harsher penalties for bullies. We need to make students feel like there are real repercussions to being caught bullying. These need to run the gamut from in-school suspension to benching during games. They need to be automatic and non-negotiable. The second prong should be a survey-based bonus for teachers and administrators. Whether once or more each school year, students should be surveyed about their well-being related to bullying, with high scores resulting in bonuses. This would incentivise teachers and administrators to be extra vigilant and let nothing slide. Together, these two prongs should hopefully create a system where bullying feels like a high-risk prospect.

3. Teachers are the keystone of our education system.
They educate, motivate and often emotionally support their students. They deserve every ally they can get on the board. I plan to be one of those allies. I’d like to explore the possibility of tying administrators’ salaries to our teachers’ average salary to ensure the budget never shifts too heavily toward the administrative side at the cost of those teachers. I’d also like to discuss adding to the school board a teacher representative in either a voting or advisory capacity. They are, after all, the ones who live and breathe the education system, and with that comes a wealth of valuable insight.

4. PCBs are still an issue.
Thankfully, the state has allocated some funding, and there are now tentative plans for at least partial remediation. But the makeup of our board is about to change, and with that change can easily come a shifting of priorities. If we want to keep these students safe while also giving Green Mountain High School a shot at remaining open after a
consolidation, we need to make sure we’re doing the absolute best we can with PCB remediation. And that means electing board members who take the PCB problem seriously.

5. Act 73 creates an uncertain future.
Whatever board we shape now may be obsolete in a year or two. That leaves the incoming board with two challenges. Challenge one: make sure our community values don’t get lost in the thrum of a larger school board. And challenge two: give our high school the best chance possible of becoming the regional choice. I think challenge two brings with it a threat that’s sometimes overlooked, and that’s the effect on our future tax base. Because if a family with children is moving to Vermont, how likely are they to choose the town an hour away from their new high school in Woodstock? There’s no clear solution for either of these challenges, but I believe there’s value in exploring the possibility of pre-emptive consolidation with like-minded school boards. We could create
our own 4,000-student district with Green Mountain as its designated regional high school, structure the board in a way that ensures community voice, and then lobby our state reps to push legislation allowing already suitable school districts to stand.

Additionally, we should take Superintendent Millington’s advice of assembling a committee tasked with compiling and communicating the information we’d most like a new school board to consider and implement in the event we have no control over what happens next. Again, there’s no obvious solution here and no guarantees, but I think
there are possibilities willing members could explore.

If elected to the GMUSD school board, I’ll make each of these a priority during my term, bringing my own ideas to the table while encouraging community input.

Jesse Bailey
Chester