Schools seeking workers: paras, subs & janitors in short supply

Public schools across Addison County have been hit by the same worker shortage that has affected most other Vermont employers. All local school districts are having difficulty hiring support staff and substitute teachers.

While we may disagree on solutions, we acknowledge our school districts face many difficult problems that are not easy to fix. 

Beginning this Thursday, the Vergennes-area schools will host a series of public workshops on equity.

Voters in the nine towns making up the Addison Northwest and Mount Abraham Unified school districts on Tuesday voted 4,282-1,886 to oppose the merger of the two entities as a way to combat declining enrollment and rising overhead costs.

A General Election Day public survey of Addison residents could be crucial in determining the future of the town’s former central school building, which the Addison Northwest School District has offered back to the community. 

Merging with Mount Abe offers a pathway to new conversations and new opportunities to address our stubbornly chronic condition.

Three years ago, I joined the Community Engagement Committee of the MAUSD school board as a volunteer because I knew the big challenges we faced as a district and I was confident our five-town community would come together to find creative solutions to th … (read more)

The MAUSD Board and Merger Committee assert our Nov. 8 vote will be on the Articles of Agreement ONLY, not whether to combine schools or move students.

This hysteria is being created by a group in Starksboro that is hyper focused on the perceived closure of Robinson Elementary School and nothing else.

Placing merger decisions in the hands of a 13-member board across nine schools and eight towns is not in the best interest of students or taxpayers.

Whether we’d save money if the merger happens is questionable at best. But there is certainly much we’d lose if it were to pass.

On Nov. 8, residents of Addison County will cast votes that determine how our young people, K-12, will move toward adulthood.

The next steps in the potential return of Addison’s former central school building to the town will almost certainly be a public forum followed by a town-wide vote on the question, according to Selectboard Chair Jeff Kauffman.

As some in the community may know, a bus to the Vergennes Elementary and Vergennes High School ran an hour late in both the morning and the afternoon during the week of Oct. 10. This was due to a severe bus driver shortage.

With twice the number of towns in a new district and diluted representation from each town, we should expect any hopes of local decisions and community engagement regarding our schools to diminish significantly.