MONDAY Â Â EDITION
ADDISON COUNTY
INDEPENDENT
Vol. 26 No. 13
Middlebury, Vermont
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Monday, June 2, 2014
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Board  unanimous,  cites many  positive  reviews
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75¢
RNeSU asks Collins to serve as its top leader
Ripton hosts troubador
Opera offers fun and then some
32 Pages
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By  LEE  J.  KAHRS The  Brandon  Reporter BRANDON  â&#x20AC;&#x201D;  The  18  members  of  the  Rutland  Northeast  Superviso- ry  Union  Board  voted  unanimously  Wednesday  night  to  offer  the  job  of  RNeSU  superintendent  to  Jeanne  Collins  under  a  one-Âyear  contract.  She  implied  in  an  email  to  the  Re- porter  that  she  would  accept  the  of- fer. The  vote  was  taken  following  a  90-Âminute  ex- ecutive  session  in  which  the  board  heard  the  r e c o m m e n d a - tion  of  the  inter- view  committee  and  deliberated  COLLINS the  decision  to  offer  Collins  the  job  and,  if  so,  for  how  long. Collins  emerged  as  the  lone  can- didate  to  replace  RNeSU  Superin- tendent  John  Castle,  who  is  leaving  for  another  job  at  the  end  of  June.  An  exhaustive  six-Âweek  search  netted  an  initial  22  candidates  before  the  RNeSU  Boardâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  Search  Committee  narrowed  down  the  pool.  Collins,  the  embattled  superinten- dent  of  the  Burlington  School  Dis- trict,  has  resigned  her  Burlington  job  effective  next  month.  Her  separa- tion  agreement  with  the  Burlington  School  Board  came  about  because  RI EXGJHW GHÂżFLWV DQG D GLIIHUHQFH in  philosophy  over  the  direction  of  the  district.  In  the  separation,  the  Burlington  board  agreed  to  give  a  severance  package  to  Collins,  who  had  two  more  years  on  her  contract,  totaling  roughly  $230,000. The  recommendation  of  the  RNe- (See  Collins,  Page  7)
Study reveals Middlebury shopping trends By  JOHN  FLOWERS MIDDLEBURY  â&#x20AC;&#x201D;  Middlebury  has  a  fairly  strong  and  diverse  retail  market  that  could  be  improved  by  a  general  merchandise  store,  more  restaurants  and  more  clothing  and Â
electronics  options.  And  the  com- munity  should  not  fret  about  a  â&#x20AC;&#x153;big  boxâ&#x20AC;?  entity  seeking  to  build  a  mega  store  in  town,  because  the  amount  of  shopping  dollars  leaking  from  the  community  to  other  retail  hubs  is Â
not  enough  to  induce  a  developer  to  build  such  a  store  in  Addison  Coun- tyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  shire  town. Representatives  of  the  consulting  ¿UP RI $UQHWW 0XOGURZ $VVRFL- DWHV XQYHLOHG WKHVH DQG RWKHU ÂżQG-Â
ings  last  week  as  part  of  a  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Future  of  Retail  Studyâ&#x20AC;?  intended  to  take  a  snapshot  of  the  current  retail  market  in  Middlebury  and  determine  how  it  could  be  improved.  (See  Middlebury  retail,  Page  13)