It gives me great pleasure to share some me thoughts with you as president of the VSBA. We’ve all attended functions nctions where a speaker professes what an honor it is to be there, I’m sure, but let me say those words never really rang quite true for me until now. It is a privilege, indeed, to have the opportunity to represent school board members from across Vermont on the myriad education issues we face these days. My position on most any of said issues is quite simple, and far from original: we need to know how it impacts the students. Of course, there will always be some nuts and bolts matters that need attention with solutions that are pretty much no-brainers (a roof in need of repair comes quickly to mind). What I’m talking about are issues that almost everybody seems to have an opinion on that will have long-term effects on the well being of our children. Should we move from a Commissioner of Education elected by the State Board to a Secretary of Education appointed by the Governor? How would it affect the kids? Should we shift responsibilities for special education (or curriculum, or transporta2
Ken Fredette is a com commercial diver a and serves on the Wallingford school board. sch
tion, or…) from the local level to a more regional governance model? How would it affect kids? Should parents paren be able to choose where their children attend school regardless of where they live? Should we invest more in distance learning? Should we have statewide teachers’ contract? Should we have a larger student-teacher ratio? Should schools be open yearround? Should school board members be required to have a certain amount of annual training? How could these ideas impact our kids? The list goes on, and there doesn’t seem to be a shortage of opinions to be offered. Sometimes those opinions are expressed to the public as if they are obvious facts, when in reality they have just been pulled out of a hip pocket. Sometimes those opinions are well thought out. As elected officials entrusted with oversight of public education, our job is to distinguish between the two. My job is to provide a conduit to help you do so. And it is an honor to be here.
Y