VERGENNES — The Vergennes Union High School board at their meeting on Monday set a date for a school improvement bond and talked about school taxes with Panton residents (see stories on Page 1A).
In other business at the meeting:
•  Co-principals Ed Webbley and Stephanie Taylor fielded a question about the school’s efforts to promote safety given the recent murder of a Massachusetts teacher by a student and the recent suicide of a Mount Abraham student.
They said there is an anti-bullying component in the curriculum, parents are kept in the loop through emails, the school has several employees of the Counseling Service of Addison County onsite, the VUHS Resource Response Center also deals with those issues, and the school’s morning meetings provide an extra “safety net” of oversight and adult contact.
“There’s never enough you can do,” Taylor said. “But we’re doing a meaningful job.”
•  The board elected Ferrisburgh resident Kurt Haigis as the chairman. He replaces Addison’s Don Jochum, who resigned this summer. Board members Neil Kamman and Laurie Gutowski had filled in as interim co-chairs.
•  The board welcomed new member Michele Kelly of Addison, a four-year member of the Addison Central School board who volunteered to replace Jochum until Town Meeting Day when no one else stepped forward. 
Editor’s note: This story was updated after its original posting to correct Mr. Kamman’s first name.