BRATTLEBORO — Recently, on BCTV, I watched the candidates forum for those persons running for the merged Windham Southeast Supervisory District Board. I was pleased to see so many people who value our children's education enough to run. It is a huge commitment of time, so thanks to all of you.
Two of the seats are contested, and I have decided to support Liz Adams of Putney and Emily Murphy Kaur of Brattleboro. (Regardless of which town you live in, you can vote for whichever candidates you wish.)
Liz is a longtime resident of Putney whose children attended Putney Central School, as does her granddaughter now. I have known her for many years in her role as an early childhood educator.
Back in 2000, she began to advocate for the importance of assessing the needs of children in pre-kindergarten, and now we have pre-kindergarten programs in all our towns. She will work well with other members and believes strongly in keeping the conversation positive and respectful as the board explores the needs of each town.
Emily was originally a classroom teacher and, following graduate school in educational policy, became an educational consultant in other school districts. She believes that all voices (students, teachers, parents, administrators) need to be heard in order to develop successful programs and policies.
She was previously a member of the Brattleboro Town School Board and is now serving on the new WSESD merged board. Currently, she is the chair of the committee exploring the question of equity among the four schools. This is a very important issue, and her committee is starting off wisely by exploring what defines “equity” and what data will be needed to address this question. I think her skill and expertise will be invaluable to the merged board as it goes forward.
Early voting is possible in all towns, and March 3 is the date of elections in each town. I encourage everyone to vote for this important board.