The Other Paper - 6-13-24

the South Burlington’s Community Newspaper Since 1977

Legislators sound off on education policy, new bills

LIBERTY DARR STAFF WRITER

In what has been an unprecedented year for school officials as aspects of the state’s education funding formula shifted — more than once — this budget season, legislators have been crafting possible solutions to fix a system that some lawmakers have called “overly complex” and “unacceptable.”

“While we can mildly celebrate the fact that we’re not at 20, 18 or 16 (percent tax increases), it is so hard for a lot of folks,” Democrat Emilie Krasnow, South Burlington’s Chittenden-9 district, a member of the House Committee on General and Housing Canvassing, said. “Understanding our current formula for education is incredibly complex and confusing. Moving forward, I think that we need to completely

rework our education system to be modern to what we’re facing today. Our current system, to me, is unacceptable.”

Tax increases have largely defined this year’s legislative session. With some property tax increases in neighboring towns around 15 percent, it has felt for many residents like a game of “whodunit.” Some demanding lower rates have pointed fingers at the Legislature and others at local school boards. Many blame the shift in the state’s educating funding formula this year known as Act 127, which adjusted the state’s equalized pupil weighting system. Act 127 sought to better equalize the cost to educate students who come from different schools and different backgrounds.

See EDUCATION on page 12

SB plans pop-up greenway from Elsom Parkway to school grounds

HABIB SABET STAFF WRITER

The South Burlington City Council last week approved a plan to create a temporary “neighborhood greenway” from the Elsom Parkway neighborhood to the middle and high schools, providing a new, safe route for children to

walk and bike to school.

According to a proposal presented to city councilors, the pilot project for the greenway would lead from the intersection

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of U.S. Route 2 and Elsom Parkway through the Proudy Parkway and O’Brien Drive neighborhoods to the school grounds. The path would include several provision-

al infrastructural changes including signs, temporary chalk paint,

See GREENWAY on page 9

Mina Smith of South Burlington, Miss Northern Vermont’s Teen, walks the Vermont Dairy Festival parade in Enosburg Falls on June 1 in support of dairy farmers and their families. This fall, Smith will be speaking at schools with emphasis on helping youth cope with family members and friends who struggle with alcohol use.

Dairy queen

Graduation day

COURTESY PHOTO

As part of the Frederick H. Tuttle Middle School Olympics, students participated in a food drive. On June 6, Peer Leadership students delivered 549 pounds of food — almost twice as much as they usually collect — to the South Burlington Food Shelf. Olympic

COURTESY PHOTO

Pre-K students graduation at Orchard School in South Burlington celebrate their graduation.

Local students exhibit work at South

Burlington’s Public Art Gallery

The South Burlington Public Art Gallery will exhibit student artworks from across the South Burlington School District through July 31.

The show features a sampling of student work, curated by the students’ art teachers, was selected to showcase the knowledge, skills and creativity of student artists at various levels of development.

The selections demonstrate some of the best efforts of students in kindergarten through 12 grade. According to the teacher-curators, choosing only a few pieces was difficult. Many of the students throughout the district created pieces worthy of exhibition, with many displaying the students’ imagination, observation and abstraction in wide range of media.

Students were inspired by master artists, various cultures, nature, experiences and passions.

The gallery, located at 180 Market St., is free and available to the public whenever the library, city hall or senior center are open: Monday to Thursday, 8 a.m.-7 p.m.; Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.; and Saturday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

COURTESY PHOTOS

Student artwork at the current show at the South Burlington Public Art Gallery.

On June 9 at about 6:24 a.m., South Burlington police were called to two separate crash scenes on Shelburne Road, resulting in the eventual arrest of a man for leaving the scene of an accident.

The first crash took place at Jolley Mobil, and the second one happened at a residential building across the street from the convenience store.

Witnesses told police a “small blue vehicle” failed to stop when it backed into and damaged a gas pump. The driver drove off and headed north on Shelburne Road.

The vehicle got approximately 200 feet before it went

CRIME & COURTS

South Burlington Police Blotter: June 3 - 9

through a hedge and struck the front end of a vehicle near the residential complex.

The driver then headed into the city of Burlington, where he crashed into a utility pole.

Janvier Gakwisi, 31, of Burlington, was transported by the Burlington Fire Department to the University of Vermont Medical Center for injuries sustained in the Burlington crash.

He was later cited for leaving the scene of a crash.

Anyone with information about the crashes should contact officer Lucy Creedon at lcreedon@southburlington police.org

Total incidents: 270

Agency / public assists: 23

Directed patrol: 15

Traffic stop: 28

Accident: property damage: 10

Alarm: 9

Foot patrol: 13

Suspicious event: 13

Retail theft: 7

Noise violation: 7

Found/lost property: 5

Operations: patrol: 4

Juvenile problem: 4

Parking: 3

Arrest on warrant: 2

Motor vehicle complaint: 17

Stolen vehicle: 2

Simple assault: 2

Welfare check: 17

911 hangup: 5

Trespass: 13

Disturbance: 8

Field contact: 10

Accident:

insurance purposes: 2

Leaving the scene: 5

Larceny from a structure: 5

Larceny from a vehicle: 6

Mental health: 7

Arrests:

Eric J. Gokey, 36, of Burlington, was arrested for driving with a criminally suspended license and leaving the scene of an accident in an incident on Williston Road on May 11 at 7:18 p.m.

Kajuan Woods, 35, of Scranton, Pa., was arrested for possession of cocaine and giving false information to police in an incident on Market Street on May 12 at 3:19 a.m.

Kayley M. Francis, 31, of South Burlington, was arrested for retail theft on Dorset Street on May 30 at 7:39 p.m.

Derek G. Stone, 47, no address provided, was arrested on an in-state warrant on Shelburne Road on June 1 at 4:03 p.m.

June 6 at 7:54 p.m., Jessica L. Willis, 47, of Grand Isle, was arrested for disorderly conduct on Shelburne Road.

June 7 at 9:13 p.m., Jennifer J. Dale, 43, of Burlington, was

arrested for cocaine possession on Shelburne Road.

June 8 at 12:59 a.m., Dustin Sartwell, 24, no address provided, was arrested on an in-state warrant on Garden Street.

June 8 at 4:14 p.m., Fadima Seydou, 46, of Colchester, was arrested for disorderly conduct on Dorset Street.

June 8 at 5:25 p.m., Dale L. Ploof, 40, no address provided, was arrested on an in-state warrant on Shunpike Road.

June 8 at 11:25 p.m., Theodore Demko, 25, of Essex, was arrested on an in-state warrant on Williston Road.

June 9 at 1:46 p.m., Joy Yonan-Renold, 40, of Burlington, was arrested for grand larceny on Fox Run Lane.

June 9 at 7:40 p.m., Kelly D. Bickings, 42, of South Burlington, was arrested on an in-state warrant on Obrien Farm Road.

Note: Charges filed by police are subject to review by the Chittenden County State’s Attorney Office and can be amended or dropped.

South Burlington’s Community Newspaper Since 1977 A publication of Vermont Community Newspaper Group LLC otherpapersbvt.com

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OPINION

Montpelier needs to fix its oversight, ethics problem

Guest Perspective

John Bossange

It was Supreme Court Justice William Brandeis who gave us the now classic statement: “Sunshine is said to be the best of disinfectants.”

That quote appeared in Harper’s Magazine in 1913, and it still has great merit today. Then, as now, people tend to perform to a better standard when they know their behavior is being observed. Brandeis was, of course, referring to the natural tendency of individuals and organizations to avoid too much transparency and protect themselves from unwanted scrutiny and criticism, especially in the public sector.

In the political arena, the lack of transparency remains a serious issue and can easily prevent fair and honest governmental operations. Make no mistake about it: Montpelier is not immune from this lack of sunshine and transparency.

We are not yet a Washington, D.C., or an Albany, N.Y., swamp, but we have become a wetland, where required transparency explicitly spelled out in strong legislative ethics regulations is severely lacking in both Vermont’s House of Representatives and Senate.

I discovered this firsthand when I joined a diverse group of Vermonters who filed an ethics complaint focused on a potential conflict of interest. We used the form from the Vermont Ethics Commission, which clearly spelled out the definition of a conflict of interest or the appearance of one. It was a comprehensive form that required detailed and expansive documentation.

Unfortunately, we discovered that the ethics commission is not allowed to investigate citizen complaints filed against members who are serving in the Legislature. Today there are no outside, impartial ethical guidelines overseeing “core legislative functions.”

For Vermonters like us, we were never informed why there was no investigation of our complaint or what standards were used to dismiss our concerns. Worse, when we asked for an explanation, we were met with total silence from Senate leadership, relevant committee chairs and their members.

We also discovered that an in-house Senate Ethics Committee, composed of their own colleagues, controls that critical component of oversight and no action has been taken in years. Consequently, House and Senate members can more easily craft legislation and develop policies without concern for an independent agency watching for potential conflicts of interests from personal or private connections, and they can operate under the influence of campaign donations and lobbyists.

This continues to be a recipe for disaster. When the public begins to wonder why bills are created and who benefits from them, that lack of required transparency leads directly to a loss of trust and confidence that elected officials represent all Vermonters. The failure of the Senate Ethics Committee to enforce transparent standards so Vermonters can understand what and who should oversee “core legislative functions” has been a long-standing concern. That concern is a real threat to the state’s proud tradition of local representative democracy.

Fortunately, this is not the case with the hundreds of municipal workers who serve in Vermont communities. These hard-working Vermonters are governed by the larger Vermont State Ethics Commission, which recently expanded its municipal code of ethics and powers of oversight. Selectboard members and quasi-judicial bodies, clerks, treasurers, assessors, mayors, department heads, chief administrative officers, planning commissioners, city and town managers, road, cemetery and water commissioners, advisory budget committee members, auditors, building inspectors, tax collectors and village or town trustees are subject to this code of ethics.

Sadly and inexcusably, in Vermont’s House and Senate, the foxes will continue to watch over the hen house and allow only as much sunshine and transparency as they feel necessary. Like the rest of us, legislators would perform to a better standard if they knew those who elected them were able to observe their behavior and actions.

The failure of the Senate Ethics Committee to create an outside agency composed of both elected representatives and other qualified officials appointed by the governor will continue to erode the public’s trust in government. For someone looking for a reason not to vote or to be cynical about representative democracy and effective government, this committee has provided a perfect pathway.

Our democracy survives only when the sun shines and transparency become the norm. Doubt breeds a lack of trust and confidence that we are being truly represented. That’s not in the best interest of Vermonters and, in the long run, in the ability to govern ourselves. We can’t afford to have legislators operate under the cover of darkness and become a legislative swamp of unknown special favors and hidden motives.

Given that we have a part time legislature, it is understandably filled with retired workers and those with more flexible schedules. But that does not make senators and House members immune from adhering to strict, transparent ethical standards

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City should relocate pickleball out of Szymanski Park

To the Editor:

In reference to “Williston father, son bring pickleball to South Burlington” (June 6, 2024), I would like to point out that pickleball was already brought to South Burlington a few years ago. Unfortunately, it was done with no community input or notice and in the most inappropriate place — Szymanski Park.

Since the courts appeared at the park, the quality of life in the neighborhood has decreased dramatically during the spring, summer and fall.

Szymanski Park does not have the infrastructure to support the number of cars that descend on it. There are very few parking spaces, which results in parked cars lining both sides of Andrews Avenue during busy pickleball days. There are many small children in this neighborhood riding bikes and scooters, and having parked cars lining both sides of the street leading up to the park presents a very clear danger with respect to visibility.

Additionally, many of these cars travel at dangerous speeds down Andrews Avenue to get to the park. I fear that it is just a matter of time before something terrible happens.

In addition, the noise is unbearable to the many who live near the park, including an autistic child who can no longer be outside when the courts are in use. This is a densely populated area, which includes the Stonehedge condominiums. Property values are certain to be affected for those who live within hearing distance of the park.

Community Drive is a much more appropriate place for pickleball courts since it is not residential and presumably has adequate parking. I urge the city to examine moving the pickleball courts out of Szymanski Park to a place with adequate parking and sufficient distance from homes.

Kelly Dougherty South Burlington

Public not to blame for school board turnover

To the Editor:

During the May 15 South Burlington School Board meeting the board was discussing public comment and transparency. Chairperson Chelsea Tillinghast raised the issue of board turnover as the discussion was nearing the end. The context of her statement was that the board had undergone a high amount of turnover.

She said, “High board turnover is not good for our district.”

She later added, “In my experience board turnover is in part due to uncivil public comment.”

Her statement was made in a broad context. You can hear the full comment from the May 15 meeting at mediafactory. org at the 1 hour, 31-minute mark.

We are writing to say this is completely contrary to our experiences. We wish

to unequivocally state that comments from the public had no bearing on our decisions to resign from the school board. Engaging with the public on educational issues was one of the more enjoyable parts of the job. It is valuable, and foundationally necessary for effective school governance.

We feel compelled to set the record straight regarding the actual reasons for our resignations. We resigned due to a combination of disrespectful and inappropriate comments directed at us. The lack of civility, common decency and ethical treatment exhibited by fellow board members took place during public meetings and is a matter of public record. It is sometimes carried into executive sessions and beyond.

We encourage certain board members to reflect on their own actions, take accountability and not look to transfer blame to the community for high board turnover. The community is their constituency and includes everyone, even those who do not agree with them.

Keep in mind, the board is accountable to the public, not the other way around.

Michelle Boyer

Alex McHenry Bryan Companion

Vermont Traditions Coalition supports bear legislation

To the Editor:

Keeping and improving responsible regulations is as important to hunters, trappers and anglers as the wildlife we enjoy and the opportunities to pursue outdoor recreation that are so essential to us. Therefore, the Vermont Traditions Coalition was happy to support a ban on the sale of black bear gall bladders and paws.

Although the intent was good, the bill as initially presented may well have prevented the sale of many taxidermy mounts. We worked with legislators and others to address this unintended consequence and are gratified that lawmakers took our concerns and recommendations so seriously.

The Warden Service Division made it clear that traffic in these parts taken from Vermont bears is more common than originally believed, and although the total number of bears taken primarily for gall bladders or paws is likely small when compared to the total harvest in the state, bear hunting in Vermont is truly about time with friends, the thrill of being in wild places and providing food for Vermonters families, friends and neighbors. As revised, this language supports hunting and bears alike.

If you are interested in more information about black bears in Vermont, the Vermont Bearhound Association and the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department have great resources to help Vermonters understand how to live side-by-side with our wildlife while being bear aware.

Mike Covey Executive director Vermont Traditions Coalition

The awkward truth about Vermont’s ‘Abenaki’

Guest Perspective

David Massell

Two years ago, I welcomed a delegation of Abenaki citizens from Odanak First Nation in Quebec to a conference at the University of Vermont. For doing so, I was accused of engaging in a conspiracy with Hydro-Québec. That lie may be more exciting than the truth. But the truth should be more troubling to Vermonters.

Peer review is the process by which scholars assess and validate each other’s work prior to publication. It is a standard obligation of university faculty. In 2021, I was asked to review a manuscript titled “State Recognition and the Dangers of Race-Shifting: The Case of Vermont.” Later I learned that the author was a Canadian sociologist named Darryl Leroux.

Tapping Quebec’s vast, genealogical database of baptisms, burials and marriages, Leroux demonstrated that Vermonters of the four state-recognized “tribes,” who claim to be Abenaki, are in fact of French-Canadian and/or other European descent. Almost none have Abenaki ancestry.

How could this be? Vermont governors, legislators, conservationists and educators have long proclaimed their support for Vermont’s “Abenaki.” Vermont’s Legislature has granted hunting and fishing licenses and property tax relief. It even created a truth and reconciliation commission to study compensating for the alleged harms done. Like my colleagues, I had invited members of the “Abenaki” leadership to share their experience with students as Vermont’s First People.

Could I have made a mistake?

Joining with other scholars at and beyond The University of Vermont, we began a deep dive into the historical record, which led to the organization of three public forums. We invited the Abenaki of Odanak, who were excluded from Vermont’s state-recognition process, to speak their piece. We brought top Indigenous scholars to teach about “race-shifting” in which growing numbers of white people have claimed Indigenous identity on little or no basis since the 1970s.

Then last month, Leroux presented his research at a UVM forum alongside Mi’kmaq scholar and lawyer Pamela Palmater and Anishinaabe scholar and writer Gordon Henry.

Any “truth and reconciliation” process begins with truth, and the evidence is unmistakable and overwhelming. All but a few of Vermont’s state-recognized “Abenaki,” including the leadership, have no Abenaki ancestry

and no continuous link to any historic North American Indian tribe. Leroux’s findings align with those of Vermont Attorney General’s study of 2003 and that of the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 200507. Multiple recent investigations concur, including by Vermont Public, New Hampshire Public Radio and VTDigger.

Vermont’s self-identified “Abenaki” have their own creation story (of “hiding in plain sight”) but that too is groundless. No scholar has seen or shared credible evidence that Vermont’s early-20th-century eugenics campaign ever targeted Abenaki people, nor that Abenaki in Vermont were ever in hiding from persecution. In fact, the opposite is true. News reports and photographs of the late 19th and early 20th centuries show Abenaki families from Odanak First Nation making summer visits to tourist towns like Highgate Springs to sell ash baskets. The Abenaki did not hide who they were.

In embracing invented tribes, we have nearly erased from memory the state’s actual Indigenous people and their all-too-real experience of colonization. For the Abenaki, that meant waves of pandemic disease, multiple colonial wars, forced assimilation, and then coerced removal from and vast reduction of homeland. The broad swath of historic Abenaki territory has been reduced to reservations (“reserves” in Canada) totaling less than three square miles.

Allowing non-Natives to speak on behalf of Indigenous People is also to be complicit in what Indigenous scholars like Kim Tallbear describe as the most recent and insidious phase of colonization by which Euro-Americans claim the very bodies and identities of the vanquished as one “final Indian bounty.”

The Vermont legislative process to award that bounty was deeply problematic. The self-proclaimed “tribes” were not required to demonstrate Native ancestry and were placed in charge of key decisions, producing glaring conflicts of interest. Excluding the historic Abenaki nation (Odanak) from the process — in fact, failing to center the Abenaki — was a denial of the sovereign right of Indigenous people to determine their citizenship.

Vermont’s state recognition process is now cited by Indigenous scholars as the worst in the United States, in which the Legislature created a special legal status for what amount to “clubs.” Odanak First Nation has now brought their

PHOTO COURTESY OF ANNETTE NOLETT, ODANAK FIRST NATION Abenaki basket sellers at their craft store in Highgate Springs, circa 1894. From left, Jean Wawanolett, Monique Wawanolett, Sophie Morisseau, Stanislas Panadis, Agnès Panadis and Mali Nagazoa.

Community Notes

South Burlington expands Juneteenth celebrations

Enjoy an evening celebration of Black culture and remembrance as South Burlington offers education, poetry and music in honor of Juneteenth, Wednesday, June 19, 6-8 p.m., at Veterans Memorial Park.

The event is hosted by local poet Rajnii Eddins, who will talk about the history of this bittersweet holiday and share some of his work.

A variety of musicians, Abizo (Ayamrd Math) and Rachel Ambaye and the Ambaye Quartet and Edwin Owusu, will perform.

The city’s celebration of freedom will feature music from a variety of musicians and food and arts vendors.

Start the week of celebration on Monday, June 17, at 6 p.m. with Will Kasso Condry, co-founder of Juniper Creative Arts. Condry speaks in depth about resilience, authenticity and the importance of keeping art and creativity at the center of one’s life.

The topic of his talk is “The Art of Creating Community Thru Hip-Hop,” and it will be held at the South Burlington Public Library.

On Tuesday, June 18, Hair Equity project, sponsored by

University of Vermont Health Network, hosts a panel discussion, at the library at 6 p.m. The goal of the project is to understand the impact of oppression and inequities felt by Black Americans through hair discrimination.

Kids six years and up can visit the library on Wednesday, June 19, at 10 a.m. to make Joe Frogger cookies and learn why they are linked to Juneteenth.

Celebrate pollinators at Hort Farm event

In commemoration of 2024 National Pollinator Week, the Vermont Pollinator Working Group presents a celebration of all-things pollinators, Saturday, June 22, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at the University of Vermont Horticulture Farm in South Burlington.

From managed honeybees and butterflies to the 350 species of native bees in Vermont, learn from experts about their extraordinary diversity, importance and global challenges. Listen to several keynote speeches, attend workshops and meet the organizations working together to tackle urgent

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On June 20, IncaHOOTS opens the eighth season of SB Nite Out,

Burlington through the summer. SB Nite Out this year features more than

to pickleball clinics, each Thursday will be something a little different than the last. Ultraviolet, with

Cirque de Fuego performance, is on June 27.

continued from page 1

bump-outs and other items “to create awareness for people driving vehicles.”

Garnering unanimous support from councilors, the pilot project was the first recommendation made by the city’s new Safe Routes to School Task Force, which was created to explore ways for South Burlington and its schools to encourage students to walk and bike more.

“This is a terrific example of what the task force hopes to accomplish for all of our schools, so this is a great pilot,” councilor Andrew Chalnick said ahead of the vote.

The ultimate aim of the six-week pilot program — if it proves successful — is to make the greenway permanent, adding edge lane roads, permanently enhanced crosswalks and paved sections where the path goes through parks. It could also provide a blueprint for similar greenways throughout the city.

“We’re really hoping that this pilot shows that this is a great thing to do and could become a permanent feature here, but then also that it’s a great thing to do in all sorts of other communities,” Nic Anderson, a member of the task force, told city councilors at last week’s meeting.

The pilot program is just the latest in

BOSSANGE

continued from page 5

for their core legislative functions.

The solution is clear and is staring us in the face. The Vermont Ethics Commission operates independently from the municipal employees it oversees and has the structure of guidelines and experience for the Senate Ethics Committee to create a similar approach to addressing potentially unethical behaviors during core

Eric Arlan Smith

a series of projects undertaken by South Burlington to make the city more pedestrian friendly. Recently, the city has similarly worked to retrofit sections of roads like Dorset Street with new crossing infrastructure while tackling larger scale projects, such as the East-West pedestrian crossing bridge over I-89.

Improving infrastructure for walking and biking is one of the central goals laid out in South Burlington’s City Plan 2024, which the city adopted earlier this year to established a roadmap for growth with an emphasis on sustainability and pedestrian access.

That document highlighted, among other things, the need for South Burlington to “prioritize infrastructure investments in existing and new neighborhoods that improve pedestrian, bicycle, transit, and carpool access.”

To build the temporary greenway the city is partnering with Local Motion, a Vermont nonprofit dedicated to encouraging active transportation such as walking and biking.

With city council approval, Anderson told city council members that the task force will now look to implement the greenway in time for the start of the school year in the fall.

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legislative functions. What’s stopping them from moving forward? There are no more excuses. Vermonters like us deserved better. Immediate and decisive action by leadership is needed to address this urgent matter.

John Bossange lives in South Burlington.

Obituary

his brother-in-law with new furniture deliveries.

Eric Arlan Smith, 40, of South Burlington, died unexpectedly on Monday, May 27, 2024, at University of Vermont Medical Center.

Eric was born in Burlington on Sept. 29, 1983, the son of Arlan and Virginia Howe Smith. In his early years, Eric enjoyed fishing with his dad, riding go-carts and the alpine slide, as well as vacations with family and relatives.

Eric will be remembered for his many talents and humor. Eric was a passionate, gifted, selftaught musician, and a past member of the hard rock bands, Unrestrained and My Revenge. Eric played guitar and traveled to several countries with these bands. More recently, Eric was playing guitar with the local band Rail City.

Eric was predeceased by his mother, Virginia Howe Taylor, and stepfather, Bruce Taylor.

He is survived by his father, Arlan, and stepmother, Jeannie Smith; sister, Lori; brother-inlaw, Rob Bachand; nephews, Justin Bachand and wife, Nicole and Chris Bachand; extended family; and friend, Emily Riley.

The family extends their heartfelt gratitude to the staff and nurses at UVM Medical Center McClure 4 ICU, and Baird 3, for their compassionate care to allow Eric to pass quietly and peacefully with dignity. Condolences may be shared at gregorycremation.com

Eric worked in the automotive field as a mechanic and in parts sales. He also helped

A celebration of life will be held at the home of Justin and Nicole Bachand, 1139 Main St., in Fairfax, from 9 a.m. to noon on Sunday, June 30, 2024.

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Eric Arlan Smith

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SPORTS

Baseball team secures spot in Division I title game

LAUREN READ CORRESPONDENT

Baseball

(1) South Burlington 5, (4) Burr and Burton 2: The top-seeded South Burlington baseball team booked a spot in the Division I state championship game with a win over No. 4 Burr and Burton on Monday afternoon.

The Wolves, who trailed 2-0 to the Bulldogs in the fourth inning, scored two runs in the bottom of the inning to tie the game and tacked on three more in the fifth inning to take the lead.

Sam Mazza-Bergeron hit a single that scored twice in the fifth to help South Burlington pull away. Kiefer McGrath went 2-for-3 with an RBI and James Chagnon drove in a run.

Nick Kelly got the win, allowing two runs on five hits over seven innings.

South Burlington advances to the D-I title game, which will be played at Centennial Field on a date and time to be determined.

The Wolves will face the winner of No. 7 Mount Mansfield and No. 3 Champlain Valley, which was played on Tuesday after

press time.

South Burlington faced both possible opponents in the regular season, beating both MMU and CVU twice. No matter who they face, the Wolves will appear in the 13th title game in program history and look to capture their eighth championship.

South Burlington beat Rutland 3-0 last Friday in the baseball quarterfinals.

Andre Bouffard had the first-inning home run for the Wolves, while Sam MazzaBergeron went 2-for-3 and two RBIs.

Lucas Van Mullen pitched a one-hit, six inning gem on the mound for South Burlington.

Girls’ lacrosse

No. 4 South Burlington 16, No. 5 Burlington 4: South Burlington won a decisive quarterfinal matchup on Friday, beating Burlington 16-4 to advance to the semifinals.

Sabrina Brunet had six goals to pace the Wolves, while Rachel Kelley scored four and had three assists. Elise Smith added four goals, while Reese Gordon and Oli Roy each tallied one.

Victoria Bohlmann stopped 11 shots on goal for South Burlington.

The Wolves will now meet top-seed Essex for a D-I semifinal on Wednesday, June 12, after press time.

The Hornets handed South Burlington

two of its four losses this season. The Wolves enter the semifinals on a four-game win streak and will need to make it five to advance to the state title game.

Seasons end for some SB teams

LAUREN READ

CORRESPONDENT

Girls’ tennis

No. 2 Stowe 5, No. 3 South Burlington 2: In recent years, a Raiders/Wolves matchup in the post-season more often than not meant the state championship was on the line. This time, defending champion Stowe hung five points on their familiar foes in the D-I semifinals.

The Raiders, who have won the last three D-I state championships, have only lost once this season. They will try for four straight Tuesday against the winner of No. 1 Champlain Valley and No. 5 Burlington. Those two teams squared off Tuesday after press deadline.

South Burlington swept through No. 6 North Country on Friday to reach Monday’s semifinals. The Wolves won all seven matches in straight sets, with Winnie Adamson, Rosa DiGuilian, Emma Xia, Ella Maynard and Ella Stein each getting wins in singles.

Grace Stein and Bridget Simone won in doubles, while Evie Clifford and Yorde Gebreselasie completed the quarterfinal sweep for South Burlington.

Boys’ lacrosse

(5) Woodstock 12, (4) South Burlington 11 (OT): Woodstock scored with just eight seconds remaining in regulation to tie the game, then scored in overtime to beat South Burlington 12-11 in the lacrosse quarterfinals.

South Burlington was led by Will Goyette, who had four goals, and Will Anderson, who added four and two assists. Brady Sweet chipped in with a hat trick and

Semeco Agbodzie stopped six shots on goal.

The Wolves, who led by one goal until they took a penalty with 34 seconds left, gave Woodstock a chance for the equalizer. The boys finished the season at 11-6.

Boys’ Ultimate

(4) Montpelier 11, (5) South Burlington 9: Montpelier scored four of the final five points to a comeback win over South Burlington in the Division I boys’ Ultimate quarterfinals Saturday, June 8.

Isaac Margulius led the way offensively for the Wolves, scoring four goals. Rowan Nenninger and Jackson Adams each tallied twice, while Maximus Frostman added one goal and two assists.

South Burlington finished the season with a 8-4 record.

Boys’ tennis

(2) Middlebury 6, (7) South Burlington 1: The boys’ tennis team fell to Middlebury in the quarterfinals on Thursday, June 6. Will Bradley got the lone win in singles, 6-3, 6-2. Middlebury swept the rest of the singles matches and both doubles matches to beat the Wolves.

South Burlington wrapped up the season with an 8-9 record.

Softball

(6) Essex 14, (11) South Burlington 0 (5): The South Burlington softball team saw its season end on Tuesday, June 4, in the D-I playdowns.

The Wolves fell to Essex, 14-0, in a five-inning game.

Naysa Bush took the loss in the circle for South Burlington, who finished the season with a 2-15 record.

On June 4, South Burlington High School held its annual all-sports award night at Frederick H. Tuttle Middle School, sponsored by the high school Boosters.

The following awards were given out:

• Outstanding Male Athletes, Nick Kelly

• Outstanding Female Athlete: Sabrina Brunet

• Gary Iverson Memorial Award: Zachary Marek

• Donna Spooner Memorial Award: Izzy Laramee

• Female Booster Sportsmanship Award: Lucy Flemer

• Male Booster Sportsmanship Award: Kiefer McGrath

• Female Athletic Council Scholar-AthleteAward: Jordan Larose

• Male Athletic Council Scholar-Athlete

Award: Andre Bouffard

• Special Athletic Council Award: Katie Ford, Tucker Hall, Penelope Harm, Paige Poirier, Kim Watkin and Ray Kenon

• NFHS Award of Excellence: Wynne Adamson & Rachel Kelley

• Unified Sports Unsung Hero Award: Abby Duffy

• Outstanding Unified Sports Athlete: Will Capano

• Coaches of the Year: fall, Adolphe Lumumba; winter, Courtney Barrett; and spring, Luke Goyette

• Athletic Director Award for 12-Sport Athletes: Sawyer Bond, Andre Bouffard, Sabrina Brunet, Mateo Durack, Jay Eagle, Tucker Hall, Nick Kelly, Ella Maynard, Alisa McLean, Paige Poirier and Austin Simone.

COMMUNITY NOTES

continued from page 8

threats to bees and other pollinators in Vermont and the Northeast.

Local suppliers will be on hand at a native plant sale to help you learn how to protect pollinators on your farm, in your community or your own backyard. Honeybee Steelband and The Swarm will play live music from noon-1 p.m. during the plant bazaar and pollinator expo.

Registration is encouraged and required for workshops. Learn more at vermontbeelab.com/vpwg.

St. Mike’s professor lectures on civil war

Doug Slaybaugh, emeritus professor of history St. Michael’s College, offers “When a Presidential Election Led to Civil War (and Three Times it Almost Did)” at the Ethan Allen Homestead Museum on Sunday, June 16, at 2 p.m.

Americans have been hearing threats of civil war if the current presidential election doesn’t go a certain way. The election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 led to the Civil War, which resulted in over 700,000 casualties.

Lest we think this was unique, Slaybaugh will analyze the elections of 1800, 1824 and 1876, which threatened similar results.

All Saints Church rededicates labyrinth

All Saints Church, 1250 Spear St., South Burlington, is celebrating a rededication of its community labyrinth on Sunday, June 23, immediately following the 10 a.m. service.

The ceremony will take place at the labyrinth on the church grounds. The labyrinth has been restored and upgraded by parishioner and engineer Craig Wielenga. The site includes sculpture by Vermont artist Kate Pond.

The Labyrinth Movement in the United States started at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco in 1991 and was initiated at All Saints Church by Rev. Hal Woods when he served as rector.

The All Saints community labyrinth has had a long history as a peaceful, prayerful walking path for the community, and is open to all.

PHOTO

On May 24, supplies at the South Burlington Food Shelf were at a historic low. But just one day later, shelves were restocked with more than 462 pounds of food, the result of a day-long food drive held by the Champlain Valley Lions Club and hosted by Hannaford Supermarket. Teams of Lions volunteers staffed donation tables from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and in addition to food, collected more than $400 in cash to help purchase additional food. Lion Jackie Dutil, who coordinated the food drive, expressed special appreciation to all shoppers who noted the food shelf’s wish list before entering the store and emerging with bags full of pasta, beans, tuna, peanut butter and other high-nutrition items. “The generosity of our community never fails to inspire me,” she said. Above, Champlain Valley Lions Jackie Dutil and Phil Scharf are joined by Peter Carmolli, director of the South Burlington Food Shelf, center.

COURTESY

COURTESY PHOTO

The All Saints Church community labyrinth.

EDUCATION continued from page 1

This year, after school officials spent months crafting budgets with the new pupil weights, in an eleventh-hour switch just weeks before Town Meeting Day, legislators repealed certain aspects of the bill and replaced them with a new formula, complicating school budgeting in South Burlington, where residents faced a skyrocketing school tax rate of 23 percent.

“I want to emphasize this very much has been a really concerning budget year for those in our community, trying to communicate difficult news about the budget to those in our school community, in our community at large and at the state level,” superintendent Violet Nichols said at a board meeting last week.

South Burlington voted down its school budget twice this year.

Should the Legislature override the governor’s veto, residents in South Burlington could see their property tax dip to roughly an 8 percent increase.

Minier said he plans to vote to override the veto during next week’s veto session since he has not seen a credible proposal from the administration on how to cut further.

Sen. Ginny Lyons, D-Chittenden-Southeast District, chair of the Senate Committee on Health and Welfare and member of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, had similar thoughts.

“One of the biggest areas of pushback we got with the budget was that (older) age group because they’re sort of frozen in place.”

— Tim Warren

The first would have seen a 23 percent tax increase; the second, 14 percent. The budget that passed represents a roughly 9 percent tax rate increase.

Legislators representing South Burlington in the House and Senate made a stop at the South Burlington School Board meeting last week to provide an overview of education legislation that came out of the Statehouse this year.

Yield bill

Not all of them have to do with education funding but one, the state’s annual property tax bill known as the yield bill, vetoed by Republican Gov. Phil Scott last Thursday, offers additional streams of revenue to offset the state’s education fund and to reduce property tax increases.

Rep. Brian Minier, D-Chittenden-11, a member of the House Committee on Education, explained that the bill sets property taxes at the amount of money needed per pupil to fund schools. This year, he said, the yield bill, also known as H.887, was a last-minute effort by the Legislature to lower property taxes in a year of high inflation, the end of COVID-19 relief funds and big changes in education funding.

“When people talk about us raising taxes, really we’re just trying to fund what was chosen at the local levels,” he said.

The bill this year put in place a 3 percent surcharge on short-term rentals like Airbnb and the repeal of a tax exemption for cloud-based computing services, which together could bring in more than $25 million a year. He also said legislators voted to “buy down” taxes with an additional $25 million.

“The governor has said that he’s got some great ideas, well, we haven’t seen those great ideas for the past six months,” she said. “Maybe he’ll bring something to us that we can negotiate, but if we don’t have that, we’re going to have to override the bill that we have. Because schools will be in debt and will be unable to function without passing the yield bill.”

School Construction

Another bill, H.871, signed by the governor earlier this month, begins the steps of resuscitating a school construction aid fund, which was dissolved by the state in 2008. Vermont is now the only stats in New England without a state-funded mechanism to aid in school construction costs.

Prior to 2008, the state paid for roughly 30 percent of those costs.

According to a report given to the Legislature in February from the state’s School Construction Aid Taskforce, cost estimates from a recently completed statewide assessment estimate a 20-year annual average spending of $300 million to address school facility deficiencies statewide, just to replace systems that have reached the end of their useful life.

Capital improvements and what to do with the South Burlington School District’s more than 60-year-old buildings have long dominated conversations for school officials in the city.

An independent analysis commissioned by the Legislature in 2022 found that South Burlington district was the 11th-highest district in the state in need of action to address its infrastructure needs, and the second highest in Chittenden County.

While the district has made

A wren feeds her young earlier this spring in this capture by South Burlington resident Louise Hammond.

EDUCATION

continued from page 12

efforts to add to its capital reserve fund, this year as the district struggled to cut costs and as residents demanded leaner spending, the board opted to forgo an additional $1.1 million allocation to the district’s capital reserve fund as a temporary solution to lessen the tax rate. But officials warned that the long-term impact for the district might mean even larger bond requests for future school renovations or new infrastructure.

“We also are awaiting the results of PCB testing, and we have an insufficient reserve to address relocation or major remediation,” according to the school district. “We will need to put off the kitchen project and windows project at the high school. We had hoped to use the fiscal year 2024 and money for these, but costs have gone way up.”

H.871 will set up a facility master plan grant program for districts that, unlike South Burlington, don’t have a current plan.

“They don’t know the state of their facilities, they’re not ready to move forward once a chance for reconstruction or renovation comes in. For those who can’ afford it, this is going to help them hire some experts to figure out the state of their facilities and what they would like to do going forward,” Minier said.

MASSELL

continued from page 7

case of Indigenous identity fraud in Vermont to the United Nations.

What about the fair use of public funds? When citizens harvest benefits based on fictitious Native claims, including hundreds of thousands of dollars in recent federal grants, they take those benefits away from Indigenous people.

This is a lot to digest for Vermont citizens, including the fact that so many well-meaning Vermonters, myself included, have been misled while trying to do good. Misled as well are the members of the four “tribes” whose leaders have led them to believe that they have a right to

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YARD SALE

DORSET FARMS NEIGHBORHOOD YARD SALE: June 22-23, Saturday-Sunday. Rain or shine. Participating residents will set up in their driveways and garages.

The bill also establishes a working group to examine what exactly a construction aid fund would look like and how it would be implemented across the state. The group is expected to make recommendations to lawmakers by December in time for the start of the new biennium.

Additional legislation

Other legislation passed that affects schools this year includes S.25, a bill regulating consumer products containing perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) or other “forever chemicals.”

While this bill does not inherently relate to just schools, Rep. Noah Hyman, D-Chittenden-8, a member of the House Committee on Human Services explained that several things like sports equipment, uniforms and artificial turf used for athletic fields often contain the chemical.

Lyons explained that, after 2026, the bill would prvent schools from intalling athletic turf that contain PFAS.

“Banning PFAs in consumer products is absolutely critical because it is a chemical that we find everywhere. If you have these chemicals added incidentally to athletic turf, it can affect kids at a

time when their cells are growing rapidly,” she said.

Another bill, S. 220, will ensure that Vermont libraries — including those in schools — protect and promote the principles of free speech, inquiry, discovery and public accommodation.

“This comes from politicized challenges of the holdings of libraries,” Minier said. This is going to help to protect the professionals that run our libraries.”

S. 204 supports young readers through evidence-based literacy instruction and institutes an annual universal literacy screen for every student in kindergarten through third grade, and mandates for professional development in literacy for educators in those grade levels.

H.630 allows and encourage school districts to create boards of cooperative education services to provide shared education services and access grants on a county level.

“How do you get, not just at a district level but at a regional level, more cooperation between districts so that you can see efficiencies of scale, not only in terms of ordering supplies, but also in terms of offering upper-level courses that you might not have enough students for at your school?” Minier said.

Superintendent Nichols said

that she is already having conversations with staff and board members about next year’s budget cycle. Concerns remain regarding the city’s common level of appraisal — another compounding factor in the state’s education funding formula that compares the assessed value of properties on the grand list to actual property sale prices or their fair market value.

For school board member Tim Warren, the city and state’s age demographics also played a large

part in the budget disarray this year.

“I think one of the biggest areas of pushback we got with the budget was that (older) age group because they’re sort of frozen in place,” he said, adding that many residents, specifically in South Burlington, are “house-rich, but cash poor.”

“That is going to be a significant issue for the foreseeable future for us, especially in South Burlington and that just has to be tackled,” he said.

NOTICE

SBSD Special Education Records Destruction

ATTN: South Burlington High School Graduates who received Special Education Services and graduated June 2019

The Vermont Department of Education’s State Board of Education Manual of Rights and Practices, Section 2365.2.13(a) Destruction of Information, states:

“For purposes of an audit, when a participating agency has counted a child to justify receipt of IDEA funds, the district shall retain copies of the child’s IEP and special education eligibility evaluations, for a minimum of FIVE YEARS from the time the student reaches the age of 22, graduates, transfers or withdraws from the school district or the last date of services, whichever is sooner.”

If you were a graduate of the South Burlington High School, received Special Education Services, and graduated on or before June 2019, you are entitled to a copy of your records. These students have reached their adulthood; therefore, only the student may request their records. The South Burlington School District will be destroying copies of these Special Education Paper on: July 1, 2024.

If you would like your student records, please contact Amanda Gasparini, of Student Support Systems, at 652-7253 or email agasparini@sbschools.net.

claim Abenaki citizenship.

As a professor at the state’s flagship university, it is my job to explore the historical record with colleagues and students, regardless of what facts are revealed or how disconcerting those truths may be. Vermonters who favor Indigenous justice will take these findings seriously.

David Massell has been a member of The University of Vermont’s history department since 1997. He is director of UVM’s Canadian Studies Program and member of the environmental program. His research and courses explore Canadian American history, environmental history and Native-newcomer relations.

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PUBLIC HEARING

SOUTH BURLINGTON DEVELOPMENT REVIEW BOARD

The South Burlington Development Review Board will hold a public hearing in the South Burlington City Hall Auditorium, 180 Market Street, South Burlington, Vermont, or online or by phone, on Tuesday, July 2, 2024, at 7:00 P.M. to consider the following:

1. Preliminary and final plat application #SD-24-12 of O’Brien Eastview LLC to amend a previously approved plan for a planned unit development of 155 homes in single family, duplex, and three-family dwellings on eleven (11) lots totaling 23.9 acres, twenty-four (24) commercial development lots totaling 39.8 acres, and 25.2 acres of undeveloped or recreational open spaces. The amendment consists of subdividing a 0.17 acre lot for the purpose of a battery storage microgrid in an area previously approved for open space, adding 14 units in two-family homes, replacing two large single-family homes with four detached cottage style units, modifying the approved phasing, and other minor amendments, 500 Old Farm Road.

2. Final plat application #SD-24-10 of Eric Sample to subdivide an existing 1.37 acre lot developed with a single family home and detached accessory dwelling unit into two lots of 1.00 acres and 0.37 acres, for the purpose of establishing the existing single family home and accessory dwelling unit on Lot 1, and constructing a new single family or duplex home on Lot 2, 25 & 55 Highland Ter.

Board members will be participating in person. Applicants and members of the public may participate in person or remotely either by interactive online meeting or by telephone: Interactive Online Meeting (audio & video): https://zoom.us/join By Telephone (audio only): (646) 931-3860

Meeting ID: 833 6071 2411

A copy of the application is available for public inspection by emailing Marla Keene, Development Review Planner, mkeene@southburlingtonvt.gov. June 13, 2024