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Author: Bea Eliastam

School Board Update (9/19/24)

Hello everybody,

We have a regular meeting at 4pm today, please see the agenda here.

There will be a few changes I plan to introduce in the Changes to Agenda. The Superintendent Report is missing from the agenda, previously SU were going to be out but this is no longer the case. The other is our Clerk Rory has chosen to leave the board effective immediately for personal reasons. 

Rory has been with us through a lot of challenging times in the last year(s) and is a wonderful person who always brought a lot of optimism / clear sensibility to our board. Losing Rory and filling her board seat will be hard for Abby and I; she will be missed deeply, both as a representative at our meetings and as someone to lean on through the issues of the day. We will go through what are the next steps to filling the vacancy at the meeting. Please let us know at the meeting or in email if any of you have interest in stepping up for our community and joining the board. 

In happier news, we have Yoga coming to the Schoolhouse starting today right after our meeting!

Fluid Vinyasa Flow with Brittany Frost

Thursdays from 6 pm – 7 pm 

Initially from Sept. 19th to Oct. 24th, based on attendance the dates and more time slots (days) may extend into November (no Oct. 31st – Halloween!).  

Donation: $5 – $25 sliding scale – note: no one will be turned away for lack of donation!

Email Brittany at theebeeskneespottery@gmail.com for any other details. 

Additionally, the Workers Union will be hosting their first event on Sunday, Sept. 29th from 2 pm to 3 pm. Look out for more info as we get closer and feel free to email Gary at gcanvil@gmail.com or Kia at kiacating@gmail.com for more details.

The Windham Energy Committee is still on track for their window insert production in the first week of November, Nov. 1st through 6th. Email Bill Dunkel at Bdunkel1455@gmail.com if you have any questions and/or would like to volunteer. 

These programs join our little collective of private childcare (pending licensure for official daycare status) and the Historical Society. 

We have other programming we will be laying out as we get further along such as Music Classes, Outdoor Afterschool program, events, and much more. 

Related, I recently joined the Select Board on Monday. This is one of many meetings that we will be doing to get the town’s feedback (public and board) on the schoolhouse. 

Some of the takeaways include: 

  • Community Trust opportunities
  • Sharing of space with the town office/other municipalities – need a proposal from the Clerk or any others for this. 
  • Emergency Shelter – needs to be properly vetted with the Fire Marshall and planned. 
  • Recommitment of $0 of facility operating expenses for the next budget FY26 and going forward. 

I also announced that Friends of Windham Schoolhouse, the local non-profit organization, has offered to assist and manage the influx of programming coming to the schoolhouse. Many of whom have programming that they’d like to provide to the community in the coming months. We will provide more as we iron out the details and structure. 

That’s it for now! It’s a beautiful early Autumn day, hopefully we will see you at our meeting and feel free to respond to this for any questions / comments. 

Regards,
Dan Roth
Vice Chair of Windham School Board

Property Tax Concerns?

The Town of Windham, like many other towns in Vermont, is experiencing property tax increases that are causing concern among citizens. A significant portion of these increases are attributed to education spending. We encourage all residents to engage with state senators, representatives and the commission currently studying this issue, so your perspectives and concerns can be effectively addressed. Please find relevant contacts below:

Representative Heather Chase

Email:  hchase@leg.state.vt.us

Phone:  (802) 828-2228

Mailing Address:  115 State St., Montpelier, VT 05633

Senator Wendy Harrison

Email:  wharrison@leg.state.vt.us

Phone:  (802) 828-2228

Mailing Address115 State Street, Montpelier, VT 05633

Senator Nader Hashim

Email:  nhashim@leg.state.vt.us

Phone:  (802) 828-2228

Address:  115 State St, Montpelier, VT 05633

Hyperlink:  Commission on the Future of Public Education in Vermont | Agency of Education

Please send public comment to Chair Meagan Roy: Meagan.Roy@partner.vermont.gov or  AOE.FutureofPublicEdVTPublicComment@vermont.gov  

Selectboard Meeting Postponed 8/19 to 8/26

THE WINDHAM SELECTBOARD MEETING SCHEDULED FOR 5:30 PM TODAY IS BEING POSTPONED UNTIL NEXT MONDAY, AUGUST 26, AT 5:30 PM DUE TO TOWN-WIDE POWER OUTAGE. PLEASE LET YOUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS WHO ARE WITHOUT POWER KNOW THAT TODAY’S MEETING IS POSTPONED.

Notice of Public Hearing

The Windham Zoning Board of Adjustment will hold a public hearing at the Meeting House (26 Harrington Rd) at 6:00 PM on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024 for the purpose of hearing a request from George Wichelns to remove a garage located at 24 Chase Road in the South Windham Historic District and build a barn in the same location.

Those interested in submitting written comments or attending the hearing remotely should contact Bill Dunkel, Chairman of the ZBA, at bdunkel1455@gmail.com

The application is available for review at the Windham Town Office (5976 Windham Hill Rd, Windham, VT, 05359).

Participation in the hearing is a prerequisite for making any subsequent appeal.

School Board Update (edited)

EDIT: Please note, the original message below and linked agenda noted the date incorrectly as August 16th. The date of the next meeting is August 15th; the content below has been edited accordingly.

Happy Summer Everyone,

We took off July per last regular meeting; it’s been a hot second! 

Our Regular Meeting is next Thursday August 15th starting at 4 pm at the Schoolhouse or join us on Zoom. See agenda. Our usual time/date for this Thursday was not chosen for a variety of reasons. Some of these include agenda items that we have been waiting back for information such as in the case of tuition reimbursement requests. Additionally, a number of unavailable parties especially at our SU are unable to attend. Apologies for the late notice. 

We will be discussing the Schoolhouse for the majority of the meeting. We contacted the select board to discuss times/dates for a meeting regarding the town’s involvement with the building. We will have more details to report following our meeting for those meeting details. Additionally we have a build request to discuss by the Windham Energy Committee. We will also discuss a number of topics revolving around Building Operations. Finally, there is interest in a Family Fun Day around school start to come together – food, drinks, games. 

Please note – there may be changes to the agenda prior to next Thursday. Either in-meeting or reposting the agenda 48 hours before depending on our correspondences in the next week. We will update you with any changes made prior. 

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions about any of the above or more. 

Regards,
Dan Roth
Vice Chair
Windham School Board