Dear neighbors, 

The school board is moving forward this fall with the benefit of last year’s community conversations to inform our decision-making.  The Board will soon consider proposals to hire a market research firm to survey Burlington families about their interest in magnet schools, which many other districts across the country have used to achieve balanced school populations through choice.

As Board members, we struggle constantly between the rocks and the hard places of public school financing. We should pay higher wages and benefits, keep class sizes small, renovate facilities, maintain all our schools as neighborhood schools but still counter the imbalances which result from that, add in after school, before school, social services programs, etc. that we know improve student learning. The job of parents, teachers, and activists of various kinds is to advocate with vigor for their position about which of these competing goals is most important.  The job of Board members is to make sound decisions that balance competing goals and ensure the ongoing sustainability and health of the school district as a whole. 

We have talked recently about “decision trees.”  What decisions need to be made first as we envision changes based on everything we know after years of research and discussion?  This week, the Board’s agenda committee, on which both of your Ward 5 representatives serve, will consider how and whether to bring the question of how many elementary schools we should maintain to the full Board for a vote.  Some see this as a referendum on schools “failing” or not, but from the Board perspective, the question of facilities is always about resources.  The Board voted two years ago to consolidate facilities in order to spend more of our money on staff and programs (i.e. lower class sizes and more support) and we need to resolve whether we will really do that, in ways small or large.  None of these discussions, or decisions, is ever simple, and in my experience none of them is about which schools are worthy or not.  All of our schools are wonderful places filled with hard working teachers, parents and students making progress in their learning every day.  Every member of this Board serves because they have a deep respect for the importance and value of public education and democracy.

I believe that the Board has been thoughtful and deliberate in the past, and that we will continue to do so.  Your involvement and activism is essential to the process, and I look forward to hearing from any Ward 5 constituents who have questions, comments, etc. in the coming months.

Amy Werbel
Ward 5 School Commissioner
awerbel@bsdvt.org
www.amywerbel.info