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The fur is starting to fly as a consequence of Gov. Phil Scotts willful misunderstanding of collective bargaining law as it applies to teacher health benefits and the continuing fallout from the pushback against the statewide school consolidations mandated under Vermont Act 46. But one positive result of all this really bad politics has been the creation of a new school board advocacy group called The Alliance of Vermont School Board Members (on the web at AVSBM.com).

If youre wondering how we ever got into such an unnecessary mess, its important to know that one of the principal instigators has been none other than the Vermont School Boards Association, which since rewriting their bylaws last fall in order to exclude as much of their voting membership as possible from policy formulation, has cast itself in the rather unique position of actively advocating for putting local school boards completely out of business by its aggressive lobbying before the Legislature in favor of Act 46.

Just in case you didnt know it, there is also a Vermont Principals Association and a Vermont Superintendents Association, who along with the VSBA are all conveniently housed under the same roof at 2 Prospect Street in Montpelier and who all utilize the same coffee machine and office copiers. No Chinese wall here between these various interests.

And it makes for an interesting comparison with the firewall the VSBA has built between itself and the school boards. As a result of that bylaw change, the voting members of the VSBA are no longer the local boards, but rather school supervisory unions and the new merged superdistricts, all with one vote each. Nice and tidy for stuffing an unpalatable agenda down our collective throats.

All in all, what it adds up to is a direct assault on the Vermont values, which are embedded in our town-meeting style direct democracy, all of which are headed the way of the dodo bird as a likely consequence of this illinformed gutting of local control.

Now would be a good time to get involved with the Alliance of Vermont School Board Members, even if you dont sit on a school board, and help us put the brakes on this runaway train.

DAVID M. CLARK

(Board chairman,

Bellows Falls

Union High School)

Westminster

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Gutting local democracy - Rutland Herald