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Superintendent's Message

Violet Nichols

Superintendent'sMessageViolet Nichols

January 9, 2025

Now that we’re back in full swing, I hope everyone made it through the first full week of the year with little stress and feels ready for the rest of the school year!

Dear Parents/Guardians and Staff,

FY26 Budget

At last night’s board meeting, the School Board adopted the FY26 Budget, which will be brought to voters on Town Meeting Day on March 4th.


This budget is designed to increase special education and behavioral supports, it preserves full-time APs, the arts and the literacy and math specialists that we added in the last few years at the elementary level, it increases multilingual supports, expands teacher voice K-8 with the addition of Teacher Leader stipends, and includes funding for future facilities needs. This budget has a homestead tax rate increase of 8.10% and a 15.76% increase in per pupil ed spending from this year. The net FTE reduction is just under 15 staff members. We greatly value each member of our school community, and we worked hard to try to minimize staff reductions. Given the budget limitations due to Act 127, and factors not within the District's control, we are in an unavoidable position requiring reductions. Please know that I will keep advocating for funding for our schools. We will get through this together.


See the full presentation here


Please visit the Budget FY26 page on our website for all budget information including presentations from the board meetings.

This video offers a good explainer on how Vermont funds school budgets:

How does Vermont fund its schools? Vermont Public explains

Here is the schedule for board meetings in the coming months and when the budget will be presented:


January 22: Steering Committee Meeting at 4pm (Prior to board meeting at 577 Dorset)

FY26 Board Approved Budget information at board meeting

February 5: FY26 Board Approved Budget information


March 3: Pre-Town Meeting and Public Hearing of City and School District Budget (This meeting will be at City Hall)


March 4: TOWN MEETING DAY

School Climate Update

I want to thank all those educators who attended the AOE’s Listen and Learn Tour that we hosted. Your voice matters and I was glad the AOE accepted our invitation to listen to our educators. Below is an update from Secretary of Education Zoie Sanders:


"I want to share some valuable feedback received during our recent Listen and Learn Tour. It is clear that fostering a sense of belonging and addressing school climate concerns are priorities for educators across Vermont. Your voices were clear: creating inclusive, supportive environments where every student feels valued is central to their well-being and success.

The Agency is committed to partnering with you in this work. We know that when students feel they belong, they are more engaged, motivated, and able to thrive academically and socially. To support your efforts, we will compile a range of tools and resources to share in the New Year to help you foster inclusivity, belonging, and positive school climates in your classrooms and school communities.


I am pleased to share with you the Final Summary Report from the Listen and Learn Tour. This document represents the culmination of our work over the past few months and provides a comprehensive overview of our findings and insights.


Additionally, as we prepare for the upcoming legislative session, I wanted to share previous reports including the State Profile Report and the Education Funding Report. These documents provide further context and detail on how the Agency is approaching our strategic planning process.

Thank you once again for your dedication and support. I look forward to our continued collaboration and the positive impact we can achieve together."

Transportation Update from Operations Director, Jean-Marie Clark

Happy New Year! We are all thankful for a restful winter break week.

We have added several brand-new licensed bus drivers to our team and want to be sure you know them all:


  • David Hilbich is a new driver for the Rick Marcotte Central School

  • Greg Tuffy and John Elowson are new drivers for the Orchard School

  • Peggy Russin is our new driver on the Georgia route

  • Kit Olson, Talan Bryant, Rick Cota, and Charlie Giannoni are new trip drivers


We are so happy to have all these new transportation team members.

We are still hiring bus monitors and van drivers! If you have a flexible schedule, like kids, and want to help out in your community, reach out today to learn more about the positions!


Visit our Transportation Update page for up to date information.


For questions and concerns about transportation, please contact Stephanie Hyatt, Transportation Dispatcher. Stephanie is the point of contact for families with questions about transportation in-the-moment. She can be reached at 802-233-0673. You can also call the bus garage at 802-652-7479. For general questions, please reach out to Jean-Marie Clark, Operations Director, at jclark@sbschools.net.


For information about Safe Routes to School, including minutes from their recent meetings, visit this page.

Employment Opportunities

The district is hiring! Please follow the links to read the full descriptions for these roles.


Benefits Manager


Grant Coordinator and Administrative Assistant for Educational Support Systems


Interventionists


Bus Drivers (and Bus Aides)

Training available obtain Commercial Driver's Licenses to eligible candidates, full and part time positions available as well as van drivers and bus monitors


Traffic Monitors


Full job descriptions are available on School Spring. If you have questions on hiring processes or on employment, please contact Alanah Rockwell, Employee Specialist (arockwell@sbchools.net) at (802) 652-7247.

District Calendar

Thank you for reading!

Violet

For information about each school please visit our website or download our app. If you are new to the district or haven’t had a chance to explore, the website is the best place to find all the information on the district and your students' schools. You can also follow us on social media: @SBSchoolsVT on Twitter, @southburlingtonschoolDistrict on Instagram and on Facebook.

SBSD App

Along with the website, the dedicated app will be your best resource for updated menus, schedules and other important information in the event of school closures and delays.


  • Download the SBSD app (Apple and Google) to stay up to date on events and announcements (or scan the QR code )!


Stay in the loop with our Live Feed


  • Access breakfast and lunch menus
  • Get your daily dose of news
  • Stay updated with the events calendar
  • Connect with our staff directory
  • Receive important notifications, like school closures

The South Burlington School District is on Social Media! Please follow us for updates and District happenings:

South Burlington School District

@SBSchoolsVT

@southburlingtonschooldistrict

South Burlington School District
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