I write this letter in support of Suzanne Buck. Suzanne lives in Bridport and is running for re-election to the Addison Central School District board. As you may or may not be aware, school board representatives are elected by the voters of all seven towns in our district, so if you reside in Bridport, Cornwall, Middlebury, Ripton, Salisbury, Shoreham or Weybridge, you can cast a vote for Suzanne, and I encourage you to do so.

I was a school board member in this district for over 20 years. I served with a lot of people during that period, including Suzanne. Besides working together on the ACSD board, Suzanne and I also served together for several years as representatives from ACSD to the Hannaford Career Center board, where she currently serves as chair. We also shared many committee assignments, so I think it’s fair to say I’ve gotten to know Suzanne well. In my many years of working with her, she has always kept an open mind when it comes to making decisions — especially the tough ones. Personal points of view are fine — we all have them — but once you become a board member, those should be put aside so one can listen with an open mind to all sides, ask clarifying questions, and then make decisions based on the best information available. I know Suzanne has and will continue to do that because I’ve seen her do it time and time again.

Suzanne takes board work very seriously and is always looking for opportunities to be better educated on the roles and responsibilities of a good school board. She has regularly attended trainings given by the Vermont School Board Association and has even stepped up to be one of the current Addison County representatives on the state VSBA board.

It has saddened me to see so much recent distrust of elected officials in this country, not just federal and state representatives, but right down to our local ACSD members. Suzanne has no agenda other than to be mindful of our school budgets and the taxpayers who finance them, and most importantly, making sure every child in our district has an equitable chance at a great education. 

No matter which town you reside in, you can trust Suzanne to work collaboratively with her fellow board members as they tackle the tough decisions facing our district. I hope you will join me in voting to re-elect Suzanne Buck for the Bridport seat on the ACSD board.

Lorraine Morse

Middlebury