2008 VSBA Annual Conference Review

 

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Peter Herman Re-elected President

Peter Herman of West Topsham was re-elected president of the VSBA at its annual business meeting on October 30^th at the Lake Morey Resort in Fairlee.  Herman, a member of the Thetford Academy school board, will serve his second consecutive one-year term beginning this month.  Herman has committed the Association to work with the State Board of Education in its ongoing process to formulate and implement a transformation of public education in Vermont. 

 

Also elected at the meeting were other statewide officers for the VSBA’s Board of directors including the 1^st and 2^nd Vice Presidents:  Kalee Roberts of both the Lamoille North Supervisory Union and the Hyde Park elementary boards and Ken Fredette of the Wallingford board, respectively.  John Fike of the Reading board was elected Treasurer.  June Rosenberg of the North Country Union High School board and Mike Hebert of both the Vernon and Brattleboro Union High School boards were elected Directors at-large.

 

New Resolutions Approved

At the annual meeting, Association members approved three new resolutions that will guide the advocacy work of the VSBA.  Two other resolutions were rejected by the membership.  All resolutions, new and existing, are available for viewing on the VSBA website (www.vtvsba.org/resolutions.html).

The first resolution that was rejected concerned Graduation Education Plans for high school drop-outs.  The resolution would have called for allowing GEPs for enrolled students as well. However, the financial consequences for such a change were unclear and possibly disadvantaged school districts.

 

The other rejected resolution asked the legislature to provide a mechanism to allow for appointment of alternates to supervisory union boards.

 

The three approved resolutions are as follows:

 

STUDENT TRANSFERS

The legislature should provide a mechanism to allow for student transfers within a supervisory union on terms agreed to by sending and receiving school boards with approval of the Superintendent.

 

GROWTH MODELS

The VSBA urges the State Board of Education and Department of Education to actively pursue opportunities to determine whether a growth model approach to NCLBA testing would benefit Vermont students and produce more accurate measures of school success, and should implement a growth model system that will produce those results.

 

Editor’s Note: Currently, student achievement in a given grade level is compared with achievement by the same grade level in previous years.  The growth model would compare an individual student’s achievement over time.

 

SCHOOL TIME

Decisions such as the length of the school day or the school week should be made at the local level.  The Legislature should direct the Commissioner of Education to make available assistance to districts that wish to consider the financial and academic effects of adopting alternatives.

 

 

Johnson Earns School Board Association's Leadership Award

Mark Johnson, chair of the Bradford Elementary school board earned the VSBA’s 2008 Leadership Award.  Johnson earned the distinction by demonstrating superior leadership and communication skills, guiding both the Bradford board and school community during trying times.  He was honored during the VSBA’s fall conference at the Lake Morey Resort on October 31^st.

 

Also nominated for the 2008 award were:

·        Charlotte Hanna Bassage, Calais board, and Chair of the Executive Committee for Washington Central Supervisory Union;

·        Linda Beaupre, Chair, Berlin Elementary School;

·        Deb Cogan, Newport City board, and the North Country Union board;

·        Meg Hart-Smith, Champlain Valley Union board;

·        James Lovinsky, Orleans Southwest Supervisory Union board, and Chair of the Hazen Union board.

 

Johnson, who has past experience as a teacher and school administrator, joined the Bradford board in 2001 and has served as its chair the last three years.  “His leadership and guidance were both grounding and inspiring,” wrote his fellow board members in his nomination letter.  When it was revealed that a former Bradford teacher had been charged with multiple counts of sexual abuse on minors last September, the entire Bradford community acknowledged Johnson’s leadership skills.  “Mark’s position as a leader in our town, as well as on our board, helped to keep an impossible situation from becoming worse.”

 

Johnson also won praise for his handling of budget issues last spring.  “I have never seen a display of leadership more compelling at the board level,” wrote Orange East Supervisory Union Superintendent Wendy Baker in her letter accompanying Johnson’s nomination.  “His presence, though ever humble, is a comfort in times of distress, a pillar of strength in times of tension, and a source of considered vision for the future of the children of Bradford.”

 

Community members also lauded Johnson for his honesty, thoughtfulness, and genuine affection for the town’s children.  He moved to Bradford ten years ago after purchasing the Bliss Village Store, and has since become active in several local civic organizations as well as the school board.