BRISTOL — The Mount Abraham Unified School District (MAUSD) board on Monday, Oct. 22, will kick off a series of community meetings to get members of the Five-Town public more involved with their schools.
The event will take place from 6 – 8:45 p.m., at Holley Hall in Bristol. An informal mixer and two short board presentations will be followed by a facilitated discussion focused on upcoming budget issues and community priorities.
The new unified board’s goal is to establish a positive foundation for community engagement.
“We invite all of the diverse perspectives held here in our community to show up and share their priorities for the school budget this year,” said MAUSD board member Elizabeth Sayre, who serves on the Community Engagement (CE) committee. The 5-Town Community Forum, she added, has supported CE committee and the development of this forum.
“Everyone in our community wants students to have access to education,” Sayre said. But “there are many perspectives about what budget it takes to get us there.”
Essex Junction-based facilitator Sue McCormick is “an expert in facilitating successful community discussions on challenging topics,” she added.
Information gathered at this and other forums, as well as follow-up surveys, will help inform the school board’s policy governance work. The board will also use community input to determine the topics and frequency of future forums.