MIDDLEBURY — Residents in Middlebury, Bridport and Salisbury have until Jan. 26 to file petition papers for four available seats that will be up for grabs on the Addison Central School District (ACSD) board this coming March 3.

The ACSD board governs PreK-12 public education for children in Bridport, Cornwall, Middlebury, Ripton, Salisbury, Shoreham and Weybridge. The panel has been wrestling with many challenging issues lately, including declining enrollment, tight budgeting, school closures (Ripton Elementary), the merging of K-5 student populations (Shoreham and Bridport) and deferred maintenance needs of its school facilities.

The ACSD board is made up of 13 elected members, with proportional representation. Middlebury holds seven of the 13 seats, with the remaining six towns holding one each. Each representative runs at large in the seven-town district, for a term of three years.

This March will see the expiration of the terms of incumbents Tricia Allen of Middlebury, Suzanne Buck of Bridport, Jason Chance of Middlebury and Ellie Romp of Salisbury.

Citizens interested in running for school board must be 18 years or older, must be a resident of the town represented by the board seat, and must submit a nominating petition signed by 60 voters or 1% of the ACSD checklist — whichever is less.

The petition must clearly indicate the office and term length on the petition prior to circulating it for signatures, and the candidate’s name must appear on the petition exactly as it appears on the voter checklist. The nominating petition, accompanied by a Consent of Candidate form, must be filed with the town clerk by the end of business on Jan. 26.

The ACSD board’s stated mission is to “provide high quality, equitable and varied learning environments that inspire a passion for learning and growth among our students. Board members represent the interests of all students in the district, not just the town in which they live.”

The Independent will provide thorough coverage of the 2026 ACSD board candidates following the Jan. 26 filing deadline and before Town Meeting Day.

To learn more about the work of school boards, or if you’re interested in running for the ACSD board, please visit the Running for School Board page of the Vermont School Board Association website.

Reporter John Flowers is at [email protected].