BRATTLEBORO — As I enter the final weeks of my tenure as a Windham Southeast school board member, I have been reflecting on this experience.
This community is well aware of the many difficult challenges that the board has faced during my two years as a member. Between Covid, two Superintendents resigning, a tumultuous (to say the least) vote for a proposed district dissolution, and now our investigation into sexual assault allegations in our district, I can honestly say that I feel some relief in that the end is near for me.
We have collectively worked our way through some very difficult times, and we have done some work that I am very proud of.
Yet the reality of the work that I intended to do, and that I was not overly successful at, continues to be in the forefront of my consciousness.
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My reasoning behind running for a seat on the board in the first place was so that I could advocate for students with disabilities - my daughter was born in March of 2019, and she has Down syndrome. So, when I was asked to run in January of 2020, I was thrilled to do so. I went into this with the best of intentions.
And then Covid happened. And Life happened.
And although I am very impressed with the work of our special education department and our administration in meeting the needs of our kids, I know that I have not personally done everything that I wanted.
I wanted to be the person who looked at every action the board took through the lens of disability justice. And I did not fully do that.
Perhaps with more time I would have, but I have maxed out my personal bandwidth these past two years, and serving on the board has become too heavy of a lift for my family.
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So now, with the election nearing and so many fabulous candidates running, I want to talk about Peter Case.
It's likely that you know of him as he has been the voice of Brattleboro for decades on morning radio. You may also know him through his extensive resume of service to our community, working with Groundworks, the Boys and Girls Club, the Brattleboro Area Drop-in Center, Girls on the Run, the American Cancer Society, and so many other organizations.
Peter has received many awards for his service, including a state commendation for work during Tropical Storm Irene. There are more highlights in his community service than I could possibly mention here.
But I want the public to know about what Peter does that has had the biggest impact on me personally, as I believe that other community members will feel this impact if he is elected to serve on the school board.
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Peter is the vice president of Black Mountain Assisted Family Living, and I am honored to serve on that board with him. It is through this experience that I have observed him doing exactly what I have wished that I could do.
Peter's leadership and decision-making is exceptional and he does that through the lens of disability justice. I have learned so much about the ways in which marginalized people are underserved in watching him and his very pragmatic, often humorous, and always heartfelt responses to situations that could adversely affect our loved ones.
It is my sincere belief that Peter cares deeply about this community. He values education and will work cooperatively with our community to create the best possible outcomes for our kids.
We emphasize social and racial justice quite often and robustly in this community. Disability justice often takes a back seat in these conversations or is not mentioned at all.
This is the change that I want to see in our community and why I will be voting for Peter Case. I would urge the voters in the Windham Southeast School District to do the same.