School directors urge: Attend a board meeting

At the May 3 school board meeting there were a handful of people in attendance and the numbers slowly dropped down as the night wore on. This is not an uncommon occurrence for those present at these meetings week-in and week-out. While it is comforting to see the familiar faces of the typical attendees looking back at you in the audience, the rarity of community participation is concerning.

So, we thought it a good time to write about why community members should attend school board meetings and what to expect.

Why attend? Contributing to school board meetings, whether that be through vocal participation or active listening, is a signal of active citizenship. Being informed of what is occurring in our district can lead to having a better understanding of what is happening in South Burlington schools, and what affects this can have on loved ones.

This can also inform decisions made when local elections come around. For example, passing a school budget is sometimes a contentious and difficult process. The meetings leading up to Town Meeting Day center around discussions of the budget, so attending those meetings can clear up any uncertainty or points of confusion that members of the public might have. It’s important to be informed before casting your vote.

Now that you know why you should attend a school board meeting, here’s what to expect.

•The meetings take place at the South Burlington School District office at 557 Dorset St. every first and third Wednesday of the month at 7 p.m. These meetings are in person or on Zoom. For the link, go to sbschools.net/Page/717. You can also find past agendas here.

• There are typically eight people in the meeting: five elected school board directors, two student representatives appointed by the board and the superintendent. We sit in a semi-circle facing the audience for the entire public meeting.

Sometimes, the district or the board will invite guests to speak on specific agenda items. School board directors’ contact information can be found at sbschools.net/Page/48. If you have questions between meetings, contact one of us and we will respond.

• All meetings are recorded by Media Factory and are available on their website, mediafactory.org/sbsd, the next day.

• The IT staff is also on hand at every meeting to help with any technical issues. If you are at home and unable to hear us, you can let our IT folks know through the Zoom chat.

• Board meetings generally begin with executive session from 6-7 p.m. The executive session is closed to the public, but no decisions are made during this time. At 7 p.m., the public meeting begins and, as a public body, we are subject to the same open meeting laws as any governing body. The open meeting law is designed to ensure transparency and accountability of the board in terms of how decisions are made.

• One of the first agenda items is the opportunity for any member of the public to speak on a topic that is not scheduled for discussion. You may speak regardless of whether you are in person or attending virtually. Use the raise hand icon and you will be unmuted so you can speak.

• If English is not your first language and you would like an interpreter, let us know before the meeting via the district office or by email.

• When a member of the community speaks at a public meeting, we ask them to state their name clearly for the record. If you are physically present, we’ll invite you to the front table; if you are online, we will unmute you so we can hear you.

• From there, the board follows the agenda of the meeting. Community members are invited to comment on the agenda items at the discretion of the board chair.

• It is Vermont law that meetings are facilitated using Robert’s Rules of Order. As a community member, you are not required to understand Robert’s Rules as it is the responsibility of the board chair to make sure the meeting runs smoothly, and members of the public are treated respectfully. As board directors though, we must follow those rules of order, which keep the meeting running smoothly.

• Meetings end when the board has covered all the agenda items, which is generally around 9:30 p.m.

In addition to school board meetings, we have started a new event called Donuts and Discussion. These meetings are much more informal; people are invited to drop in anytime between 9-10 a.m. at the South Burlington School District offices, 577 Dorset St., one Friday a month during the school year.

Superintendent Violet Nichols will be there consistently, and different board directors will cycle through. Nichols has already hosted two successful Donuts and Discussion events on April 21 and May 19. Here are the dates for the next academic year: Sept. 15, Oct. 20, Nov. 17 and Dec. 15, all at 9 a.m.

We hope we have convinced you to attend a school board meeting either in person or virtually. A strong public education is the cornerstone of democracy, and your input as a community member of South Burlington is valued. We hope to see you soon.

Laura Williams is a South Burlington school director, and Rama AL Namee is the student representative on the board.