To all: Please vote for school board members on March 2nd either by mail or in person.
Next to food and safety, education is the most important gift we can give the youngsters of our towns. To me a good education should provide each student the skills to become a secure, self-confident and productive adult in whatever area is chosen. My personal “sell by” date as far as having children in the school system is long past and like many without kids in school I’ve taken much for granted. No more.
During my single term as an Addison Central School District school board member I have been awed and inspired by the caring and dedication of ACSD staff — all of them; teachers, cafeteria workers, specialists, building maintenance personnel, curriculum developers, administrators, coaches. Already demanding, their jobs have been made even more difficult by COVID-19. These are people who sincerely care about our youngsters and what happens to them. They deserve our support.
This year there are more school board candidates than open positions. Two stand out for me:
Mary Heather Noble (Middlebury) would be a new member on the board. She brings knowledge gained from the Oregon school system where her family lived prior to moving to Vermont and worked with MESA, the Mentorship Program and coached when her children were at Mary Hogan. More recently Mary Heather has been involved with the ACSD Facilities Planning Committee’s effort to design and implement a public participation process. Perhaps most important she is dedicated to an open and transparent process as the board makes difficult but unavoidable decisions for the future.
Peter Conlon (Cornwall) has been a board “workhorse,” stabilizer and realist. He is direct, open and willing to listen and honestly consider. Peter has been the board’s chief negotiator with the teacher’s union and was board chair. He currently sits on the House Education Committee in the Legislature and has been an invaluable resource to the ACSD Board.
Our schools are central to the success of our youngsters. Think about it and make your vote count. And so, I end this letter end as it began — please vote for school board members on March 2nd either by mail or in person.
Thank you, be well.
Peg Martin
Middlebury