Archive - Apr 9, 2007
April 9, 2007
By JOHN FLOWERS
MIDDLEBURY — Middlebury voters weighing in on the proposed 2007-2008 ID-4 school budget on Wednesday, April 11, will also be asked if they want to affirm their current practice of electing their moderator, clerk, treasurer and an auditor from the floor, as opposed to by Australian ballot.
The special vote, set for 7 p.m. at Mary Hogan Elementary School, comes in the wake of some recent research by Addison Central Supervisory Union Superintendent Lee Sease into the ID-4 charter. He discovered that the charter — which dates back to 1866 — stipulates that district officers must be elected by Australian ballot. But the district had unwittingly been selecting its officers in the same manner as most other districts — from the floor of the annual meeting, a process endorsed by state law.
Trouble is, school charters are supposed to trump state law when it comes to procedural matters.
April 9, 2007
By CYRUS LEVESQUE
NEW HAVEN — A school with 450 students in grades K-8 may not be that big a school by some standards, but it has been too big for Steve Flint. The former Addison Central School teacher took up the position as assistant principal of Manchester Elementary/Middle School in southern Vermont last fall but he has found that he misses the ability to get to know the students and faculty that comes with a smaller school.
“There’s a feel that comes with a small school that’s really important to me,” Flint said.
So when he heard that Beeman Elementary School in New Haven was looking for a principal, he jumped at the chance. Flint, 33, will take over for Carol Barnes, who in January announced her retirement at the end of the school year. The Beeman Elementary School board chose Flint for the job on March 29.
April 9, 2007
By JOHN FLOWERS
MIDDLEBURY — Local business leaders were ecstatic with last week’s news that a local manufacturing company, Connor Homes, had submitted the winning bid to acquire and occupy the former Standard Register property on Route 7 South.
Connor Homes, known until recently as Connor Building Co., could occupy the 115,000-square-foot Standard Register building as soon as this summer. The company has long-since outgrown its 14,000-square-foot space off Exchange Street. Connor Homes President Michael Connor said he had considered erecting a building of his own in the Exchange Street area. But his focus shifted when people within the local business community suggested that he take a look at the former Standard Register facility.
“At first we thought it was too big,” Connor said. “But the more we looked at it, the more it made sense.”
