Dear Neighbors —

By now, most or all of you are aware that the School Board voted unanimously last night to hire Jeanne Collins as Superintendent of the Burlington School District. The vote came at the end of a three-hour executive session, during which the Board discussed in detail the respective qualifications of the candidates and reviewed input from a variety of different groups, including school administrators, the Burlington Education Association, and members of the public.

I served as moderator for one of the two public interview sessions held at the High School yesterday and was impressed with the questions that were posed to the two candidates by members of the public. I think that both candidates were well-tested, and I know that the Board found the audience comment cards very informative. We certainly did have two strong candidates, and I am confident that the Burlington School District will have very capable leadership in the months and hopefully years to come.

From a Board perspective, now that we have prepared a budget and chosen a new Superintendent, things will quiet down for a few weeks. The focus shifts to the voters and the decision over the school budget on Town Meeting Day. Although this is a difficult year, I sincerely hope that voters will approve the budget we have submitted. If anyone has any questions about the budget or any other school-related issue, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Fellow school board member Amy Werbel has asked me to remind readers of this list that she will be available for questions and comments on recent School Board issues at Speeder & Earl’s on Pine Street this Saturday morning (1/21) from 9 to 11 a.m.

Cordially,

Fred Lane
School Board Finance Chair
flane@bsdvt.org
12 Catherine Street
660-4918