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December 2008
TOP STORY
Armando Vilaseca Named Vermont Commissioner of Education By David Cyprian
Armando Vilaseca has been named Vermont’s new commissioner of education, the State Board of Education announced last month. Vilaseca had been serving as the superintendent of the Franklin West supervisory union (covering the towns of Fairfax, Fletcher, and Georgia). Acting Commissioner Bill Talbott will return to his full-time duties as the Department’s Chief Financial Officer.More.

In This Issue...
  1. Peter Herman on the Sudbury Valley School
  2. 2008 VSBA Annual Conference Review
  3. VSBA Board Seeks Comments on Governance Reform Proposals
  4. Online Academy
  5. VSBA Around Vermont
  6. Vermont Schools Gain Energy-Use Info
  7. Ten Board Members Win Seats in Legislature
  8. Senate Committee Makes Recommendations for Sexual Abuse Response System
  9. IEP Goal of Inclusion in Regular Classroom 80% of Time Satisfied LRE Requirement
  10. Teachers Can be Barred From Wearing Political Campaign Buttons in Classroom
Peter Herman on the Sudbury Valley School
In the interests of exploring the extent to which our Delivery Proposal about which I have spoken frequently makes sense and might be a model or part of a model for a new look at public education, I recently visited the Sudbury Valley School (SVS) in Framingham, Mass. SVS operates on what we would consider a radical model, with no curriculum, no scheduled classes, and with a democratic management system in which most decisions of consequence are made by the students. More on this article.
2008 VSBA Annual Conference Review
Peter Herman of West Topsham was re-elected president of the VSBA at its annual business meeting on October 30th 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. More
VSBA Board Seeks Comments on Governance Reform Proposals
Every state and national report on school governance reform in the last twenty years has stressed the importance of clarifying the responsibilities of school boards and administrators as part of any school governance re-structuring. In 1998, for example, the Vermont State Board of Education made school governance recommendations to the General Assembly. More
Online Academy
We are continuing to add new and updated videos to our free online professional development resource, the VSBA Online Academy. Academy workshops are concise five- to 10-minute videos on a particular subject of interest to board members, and include written handouts to supplement the presentations. More
VSBA Around Vermont
Board Roles and Goals
I am continuing to work with the Lamoille Union Board and superintendent to help them create a strategic vision and goals for their district. More
Vermont Schools Gain Energy-Use Info
By Amy Rubin
An effort is underway to provide Vermont schools with a new way of gauging the energy efficiency of their buildings. Efficiency Vermont and the School Energy Management Program are working with schools throughout the state to gather energy-usage information. More
Ten Board Members Win Seats in Legislature
When the new legislative session commences in January, ten members of the 180-seat General Assembly will be serving double duty as local board members as well as legislators. Congratulations to these hardworking public servants. Each are listed below, along with his or her school board and legislative district. More
Senate Committee Makes Recommendations for Sexual Abuse Response System
Last month the Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by Sen. Dick Sears of Bennington, released a 34-point plan to address sexual abuse in Vermont. The proposals include enhanced oversight of convicted sex offenders, court and sentencing reforms, and increased prevention education. The Senate President Pro Tem, Peter Shumlin, has stated his intention to pass a bill in the Senate based on the Committee’s recommendations early in the 2009 legislative session. More
IEP Goal of Inclusion in Regular Classroom 80% of Time Satisfied LRE Requirement
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (CT, NY, VT) has ruled that a school district’s individualized education program (IEP) that called for gradually increasing a special education student’s placement in a regular classroom from 60% to 80% of the time satisfied the least restrictive environment (LRE) requirement of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). More
Teachers Can be Barred From Wearing Political Campaign Buttons in Classroom
A U.S. district court has ruled that New York City’s Board of Education (NYCBOE) can prohibit teachers from wearing political campaign buttons in school, but it cannot bar the posting of political materials in teacher and staff only areas of schools and distributing of political materials in teacher mailboxes. The United Federation of Teachers (UFT) sued, on behalf of three teachers employed by NYCBOE, seeking to prevent enforcement of the board’s regulation that prohibits: More
New Look Boardroom (Hardcopy)
You may have noticed the hard copy of our newsletter has a new look, including a saddle-stitch "booklet" format, color pages, and crisper photographs. We hope this new format will allow for easier reading and perusing of articles, and a more frequent use of photography that will supplement the text. More
VSBA Governmental Relations Network More Important Than Ever
John Nelson, Executive Director

The 2009 session of the Vermont General Assembly will convene next month to face almost unprecedented challenges. As legislators begin debating how to address the state’s economic needs, you will be facing your own local budget-building challenges in an era of declining enrollment and Act 82’s 2-vote mandate. At the same time, we will be asked to consider proposals to "transform" education, implement Pre-K programs and streamline administrative operations.

This legislative session is likely to give serious consideration to proposals that could have long lasting effects on our public education system.

Among the topics that could be on the legislative agenda during the coming biennium are the following:

  • should education property tax rates be reduced to reflect the Education Fund’s projected $20 million "surplus;"
  • should the legislature enact certain requirements for all school districts to follow in the name of "education transformation;"
  • should the state mandate the consolidation of school districts, reducing the current number of districts and boards to as few as 20;
  • should supervisory union budgets be subject to voter approval;
  • should the moratorium on state support for school construction projects be continued; and
  • should Act 82’s two-vote requirements be repealed, or should they be expanded to include more school districts than those currently spending above the state per pupil average?

More

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