Marc Bernard Schauber is the executive director of the Coalition for Vermont Student Equity. "Please be in touch with your questions, concerns and suggestions," he writes to potential voters in the River Valleys Unified School District, which serves students and families in Dover and Wardsboro. He can be reached at 646-833-8627 or [email protected].
DOVER-I had the honor of serving on the River Valleys Unified School District Board for a number of years and am asking the voters to give me that honor once again.
Education policy and finance are in flux. The governor and the Legislature are looking at significant changes. We don't yet know how changes at the federal level may impact Vermont's education system.
I believe it's important to have local school board members who have the knowledge and track record to make sure local voices are heard, understood, and listened to at the state level.
In 2019, as the last debate on reforming our finance system was heating up, I helped start and then became the executive director for the Coalition for Vermont Student Equity (CVTSE).
CVTSE is a unique organization in that we have school districts that are members from all across the state, including small and large districts and rural and urban districts. Along with local leaders, including our state representative, Laura Sibilia, who had been fighting the pupil weight injustice for many years, CVTSE succeeded in getting a bill to update the funding formula passed and signed into law in 2022.
I will bring the same level of effort to the RVUSD board now as we fight to preserve some local control over our schools and maintain the high-quality education we provide to all Dover and Wardsboro students.
As tides turn at the state and federal levels, we also have to be cognizant of how the RVUSD budget aligns with our taxpayers. It's of the utmost importance that RVUSD be able to provide a high-quality education that prepares our students for secondary school and to be future world citizens, while doing so at a cost that our taxpayers can afford.
I believe it is important for members of our community to have a clear understanding of how the school board functions, of the roles and responsibilities of the board, and of positions on all topics which members have.
Transparency is key to the success of our school and community. It is essential so that we are able to ensure informed decisions as a whole. The school board should not be a mysterious entity but rather a welcoming environment where we connect over the education and well-being of our students.
One can argue about whether x or y would be worth spending money on, but the important discussion for the board to have - and ultimately to take to the community for more discussion - is: How do we preserve what we have, continue to improve it, and do so in a taxpayer-friendly, fiscally responsible manner?
When I was previously on the board, we started the process of doing some long-term planning. Then COVID-19 hit, and that long-term planning had to be put on hold. The current tax increases we are seeing aren't sustainable. We also need families with children to stay in the area and others to want to move in.
We are at an inflection point with many state and federal unknowns, and I am ready to roll up my sleeves and do everything I can to preserve high-quality education in our district for our students.
School choice is an issue Dover and Wardsboro care very much about. The current proposals coming out of Montpelier would take away our voters' ability to make those decisions.
And please note: Currently, it is the voters that have the final say, not the school board. Both the governor's proposal and that from the Senate Education Committee would affect our options in Dover and Wardsboro.
One proposal would create a statewide lottery for choice for a currently unknown number of students. The other proposal would keep choice within the new districts which, if enacted with the currently proposed maps, would eliminate schools that many of our students currently select.
I intend to use my experience successfully advocating for corrected pupil weights to use, so that our town has a voice and lawmakers hear about our interests as these decisions are being made in Montpelier.
I look forward to earning your vote on April 28. Absentee ballots can be requested from your local town clerk. You can also go to your local Town Clerk's Office to vote early between April 8 and April 25.
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