Jeanné Collins
Superintendent of Schools, Burlington
March 12, 2008

Superintendent's Message

BUDGET UPDATE
I'd like to thank you for your continued support of Burlington's students. As Town Meeting Day approaches, here is a quick recap of the priorities reflected in this year's budget:
1) Support Student Achievement through adequate staffing
2) Absorb cost shifts and compliance mandates from federal and state laws
3) Maintain a safe physical infrastructure through preventative maintenance
4) Continue to maximize cost savings and fiscal responsibility

In the last issue of North Avenue News, I provided a comprehensive overview of the budget, which is available on our website at www.bsdvt.org. Burlington's enrollment continues to increase, ensuring additional funds through the base education grants from the State of Vermont. We continue to successfully secure state and federal grants to cover approximately twenty-five percent of our expenses for all students. This enables the Burlington School District to keep the local cost of education per equalized pupil at the lowest level in Chittenden County. Please remember, in Burlington you can vote before Town Meeting day by requesting an absentee ballot or going into city hall to vote early.

UPDATE ON EXCELLENCE & EQUITY PLANNING Building on the results of parent, teacher and community surveys, the Burlington School Board adopted a plan for Excellence & Equity that moves forward on magnet school options. As a next step, the District issued a request for proposals from consulting groups that have experience in feasibility planning. This phase will include a district-wide facilities audit, development of cost estimates, refining the community vision and developing a plan. The feasibility phase is expected to run through August and to be reviewed by the Board in September. A community review is anticipated between September and November.

The research findings have provided us with a high level of confidence in the support of the public to ensure that Burlington's schools, the state's most dynamic and diverse, continue to excel, welcome and attract families. I am committed to building upon our work to date to develop and implement a compelling vision of educational excellence that strengthens unity and trust within our community and provides the best education possible for all of our children. Your comments and feedback are encouraged throughout this process and more information is also available on our website at wwww.bsdvt.org.

SNOW DAY INFORMATION As winter is once again upon us, you can get information about school closings from a link to sover.net on our website. All school closings or delayed opening are also called into local radio and TV stations. While Burlington usually does not cancel school, cancellations may be called for a number of reasons, including the road and sidewalk conditions combined with the outlook for any increase in hazardous weather throughout the school day. For storms occurring during the night, our grounds crew begins their day at 2am and put into action a plan to clear our parking lots and building entrances. We also contact the city for a report on the safety of streets and sidewalks, as well as CCTA for their input on bus travel safety. I want to thank the residents of Burlington around the city who have also agreed since last month to call me with local conditions in their neighborhoods. The decision to close school is focused primarily on the safety of the students and families of Burlington and whether they can access the schools. We work to make the decision to delay or cancel school as quickly as we have the necessary information. We are also working on a phone system that will allow us to call all student and staff phone numbers at the same time to notify you as early as possible of school closures. Watch for information on this and be sure your child's school has the most up to date phone numbers for you on file.

NEWS FROM OUR SCHOOLS:
* Kindergarten registration is March 11 and 12. You may contact your local school for information.
* Cultural Week at Hunt Middle School was held during the last week of January. Students experienced special ethnic taste tests during lunches and participated in student panels and other activities that celebrated our diverse student population. Students also worked with Village Harmony staff to learn songs from various parts of the world, provided to Village Harmony staff by Hunt parents. Our thanks to the HMS PTO for funding this program.
* Hunt 6th graders also welcomed Jake the Science Guy along with Captain Robert Hoot Gibson, former NASA Astronaut, in February to kick off a Science Matters contest.
* Barnes school was recently written up in a national publication for its sustainable schools work. Check out our website for the link.
* The BHS Boys Basketball team was undefeated this year. I hope you'll join me in celebrating their season. Go Seahorses!