DUMMERSTON-I feel strongly that our Vermont Legislature needs a lot of changes, all over the state this year.
At present, legislators don't appear to listen to the public, especially those of us who live in southern Vermont. They seem to feel that they know what is best for all of us. Their agenda seems to always be top down, not bottom up.
We aren't all cities like Burlington. We need well-rounded, moderate people in Montpelier to really listen to their constituents and their wants.
Amanda Ellis-Thurber would make an excellent legislator. She is a fresh new face with an open mind and a varied education and background. She is a listener and a hard worker. She has a varied education, different types of work experiences, and a farming background.
Town Meeting Day, Tuesday, March 5, is election day for Windham Southeast School District School Board members from Brattleboro, Guilford, Dummerston, and Putney. There have been candidate profiles in both The Commons and the Reformer. It is important to be fully informed. There are a multitude of issue that...
I support Eva Nolan, from Dummerston, for the three-year position on the WSESD School Board. Eva has the education and qualifications to be of great assistance with the ongoing issues the board has been facing. She would bring a calm and collaborative approach, which I believe would be a...
In the spring of 2015, the Vermont Legislature passed Act 46, a school consolidation law, “designed to encourage and support local decisions and actions.” This quote is from an Agency of Education (AOE) fact sheet. That same fact sheet lists five goals of the law for these decisions: to provide equity; to achieve or exceed the state's Education Quality Standards; to maximize operational efficiencies; to promote transparency and accountability; and that they are “delivered at a cost that parents, voters,
I am voting for Molly Gray for lieutenant governor for many reasons. First of all, I like the fact that Molly went to small rural schools in Newbury and Oxford and went on to graduate from UVM and the Vermont Law School - all Vermont schools. Molly was born and raised on a successful vegetable and dairy farm in Newbury. She thoroughly understands and appreciates rural communities and small rural schools and knows the value of having a small school...
I can understand why people are are confused as to what they are being asked to vote on for the school district on Nov. 19. When our school districts were merged by the state, we were given default articles of agreement, the rules by which the new district is supposed to operate. Some of these articles can be changed by the electorate, and others can not. The new district board has been working to amend four of the articles that...
Are we a democracy? I am afraid that it doesn't look that way, based upon what has happened over the years around Act 46. We just witnessed the representatives in the House of Representatives (the People's House) vote against a delay in forcing mergers. They voted to force merger on school districts that have voted overwhelmingly not to merge. By the way, all but one of our Windham County legislators voted for a delay, backing our citizens who voted against...
What does the Secretary of Education mean when she says our overwhelming votes against school merger don't matter? The last time I looked, we were still a democracy, both in our country and especially in Vermont, where freedom and democracy have always mattered. But now, the secretary of education and the Agency of Education's lawyers are telling us, and telling many other school districts across the state, that their community votes don't matter. If this is the case, why would...