Cavendish Update 5/26/23: Schools/News/Events

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The Cavendish Historical Society Annual Plant Sale begins this evening with their Early Bird Special from 5:30-7:00 in front of the Museum and tomorrow, from 9-noon.

5/26/23

1.    School/GMUSD/Restructuring/Resignations/Principal

2.    CVFD Citizens as first responder workshops

3.    Black River Water Testing Begins

4.    Cavendish Info

5.    Events

1. SCHOOL/ GMUSD/RESTRUCTURING FORUM/RESIGNATIONS/PRINCIPAL: Starting with the Green Mountain Unified School (GMUSD) Board meeting on Thursday, May 18, Cavendish Town Elementary School (CTES) and Green Mountain Union High School (GMUHS) have dominated the local news. At the GMUSD meeting, the board voted keeping the GMUHS mascot name of Chieftains. This prompted the resignation of three board members (two of Cavendish’s three reps, Kate Lamphere and Dennis Reilly) along with the resignation of the Two Rivers Supervisory Union (TRSU) Superintendent Lauren Fierman. Two of the three reps decided to return to their posts. After resignations, two former GMUSD members hope to return to posts. Chester Telegraph

On Tuesday, May 23, the CTES’s CPTG (Parent Teacher Group) held a forum on school restructuring. Due to the declining enrollment at CTES (projected to be 67 in the fall) and the overcrowding at the Chester Andover Elementary School (CAES) GMUSD has set up a Restructuring Committee. Approximately 40 members of the Cavendish community, representing parents, grandparents, alumni, home school families, concerned citizens, teachers and staff, came to the CPTG meeting and spoke about the importance of the school to the community. Among the suggestions made was aligning with Ludlow instead of Chester; expanding the use of the CTES building to include Pre K; offering specialized education (e.g. Waldorf, Montessori) and becoming a magnet school for the region. Frustration was voiced with the TRSU and their push to homogenize the education and breaking from CTES traditions that served students, staff and community. An informal show of hands indicated that many parents do not want to send their children to GMUHS, preferring school choice for high school. Following the meeting, many signed up to continue the discussion and help form a sub-committee of the CPTG that could help chart a new direction for the school, while also serving the community. A full report is available at The Dish.

Wednesday, May 24, was supposed to be the CTES Principal’s forum followed by a vote by the GMUSD board. With various candidates opting out, it left one candidate, Amanda Tyrell. While the Principal’s Forum was cancelled, the board chair, Deb Brown decided to meet anyway. The idea was to discuss next steps for the hiring of the principal, but in reality, she adjusted the agenda to discuss and act on resignations.

The board obviously didn’t think the meeting was “in-person worthy” and only one member, Cavendish rep Steve Parini, attended. With 80 + people on Zoom and 20 Cavendish community members in attendance the meeting was at best “a hot mess,” as one person described it, that no parent would want their kids to see.

The two members who wished to be reinstated to the board, including Cavendish Rep, Kate Lamphere, were able to achieve that, though it was not without quite a bit of Robert’s Rules of Order haggling.

The public comment period shed light on a number of issues at GMUHS as well as the negative impact the board is having on community, parents and teachers. The meeting was more “reality TV” than a school board meeting. A full report is available at The Dish. The Okemo Valley TV  video of the meeting is available by clicking here.

Proctorsville resident Zachary McNaughton has started an online petition for a Vote of No Confidence in Deb Brown as GMUSD Board chair.

While the expression “the only constant in life is change” is noted frequently, it doesn’t mean that it is easy or that we do it well. We have just gone through a major pandemic that upended every one’s life only to be greeted with the reality of what the declining birth rate in the last five decades, particularly 2008-2013, has done to the student population. Changes have to be made as it’s a situation that impacts all segments of our communities, regardless of whether you have children or not.

The methods employed this past week to address planning for the future showed what works and what doesn’t. While Zoom has its place, it contributed to the fiasco of Wednesday’s meeting. However, that wasn’t the only issue at play. We have an expectation of our board members to be Zoom as well as computer literate, understand the ins and out of the very complex Roberts Rules of Order, as well as to be on top of every topic and piece of paper generated by the TRSU, their constituency and the state’s Agency of Education (AOE), all the while working, and maintaining families. Also note they are basically doing this as volunteers.

Because of these requirements, many in our community are being left out of the process unless they are given the opportunity to participate in the type of event set up by the CPTG on Tuesday evening.

Modifications are needed in how the GMUSD board conducts its business. In person meetings, particularly where voting is involved, with Zoom as a back-up, need to return. In fact, a lot of what has transpired could have been avoided if members were present and not on Zoom, where wandering cats, noise and other distractions take away from the business at hand. Secondly, everyone needs to be educated in Roberts Rules of Order.

Knowing Roberts Rules inside and out definitely gives one the upper hand, and those that do can easily manipulate a meeting to their own ends. Note that while the Cavendish Select Board (SB) operates with the same rules, it rarely, if ever, dissolves into the type of chaos seen on Wednesday night. Further, people have a chance to be heard. It doesn’t mean that the SB members will agree with them, but they have a place to voice opinions and are not constantly being barraged by “points of order” etc.

On Tuesday night, at the Cavendish Forum, the community showed how to deal with the tough issues with civility and good problem solving skills. We need to keep that momentum going.  

2. CITIZENS AS 1ST RESPONDER TRAINING FROM CVFD: Accidents, injuries and other emergent health situations occur regularly in our community. You are the help until the help arrives and by taking simple actions immediately, you can help save a life.

The Cavendish Volunteer Fire Department (CVFD) is launching a series of training programs that are free and open to the public. Save the dates and more information will be provided closer to the event.  For more information on the programs scheduled below, please call 802-226-7790

• Blood Pressure Checks-Stop by the Fire House Mon-Friday from 8-4 for free blood pressure checks.

• CPR: July 15 (Saturday) from 1-4

• Stop the Bleed: Slated for September

3. BLACK RIVER WATER TESTING BEGINS: With warmer temperatures comes the joy of jumping in the river, and the annual "Adopt-A-Swimminghole" campaign with the Black River Action Team. Thanks to the ongoing generosity of local businesses, regular weekly sampling will be conducted on several popular swimming and recreation areas. Volunteers with the B.R.A.T. are trained to collect water samples every Wednesday morning between Memorial Day and Labor Day, which will be tested for E. coli bacteria at Endyne Labs in Hanover NH. Results are generated into simple charts by B.R.A.T., and are posted either on site or in the local town office. NOTE: Results are posted at the Cavendish VT Facebook page as soon as they are available and included in the Cavendish Update. Results may also be viewed at https://connecticutriver.us/it-clean, so anyone can check the trend at their favorite cooling-off spot before visiting.

Sites being monitored this summer through the Adopt-A-Swimminghole program are:

• Buttermilk Falls, sponsored by Okemo Resort since the program began in 2012

• Black River at Greven Field in Proctorsville  sponsored again by Betty McEnaney of Bean Group Real Estate

• Cavendish Gorge by Green Mountain Power

• Twenty-foot Hole by the Greater Upper Valley chapter of Trout Unlimited

• Recreation pond West Hill Rd in Ludlow sponsored again by Vermont Co-Pack. • Tolles Power Dam off Maple Street in Perkinsville is being sampled again this year, but the site is still available for "adoption" through the Black River Action Team.  The "adoption fee" of $500 covers all lab testing and chart generation for the full 14 weeks of summer, as well as volunteer mileage.

Thank you to our wonderful sponsors and intrepid volunteers! To learn about B.R.A.T. and the Adopt-A-Swimminghole program, contact Director Kelly Stettner at blackrivercleanup@gmail.com or leave your contact information at (802) 738-0456.

4. CAVENDISH INFO

• Peter Kelleher: It is with sadness that we report the passing of Cavendish resident Peter Kelleher. An active member of the Cavendish Baptist Church, a memorial service will take place on June 17, at 2 p.m., at the Cavendish Baptist Church, located at 2258 Main Street, Cavendish, Vt. Donations in memory of Peter can be sent to Cavendish Baptist Church, P.O. Box 425, Cavendish, VT 05142

• Dan Churchill Memorial: The Memorial for long time Cavendish resident, community leader and business owner will be on June 4 (Sunday), 2 pm at Dan’s  former home in Cavendish (Duttonsville School off of Rt. 131).

• Sign Up as a Volunteer for the CTES Carnival: A new event is taking place on June 5, at CTES-a Summer Kick-off Carnival! A fun family event for everyone! There will be games & activities, prizes, and the Rolling Rooster food truck! This event is free. Volunteers are needed to man the wide variety of booths and games. So families can enjoy this event, without a parent having to run off and man a booth, please consider volunteering. Sign up for a shift by going to https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090f4ca8a72bab9-carnival#/

5. EVENTS

MAY 26 (FRIDAY): Cavendish Historical Society (CHS) plant sale 5:30-7:00 pm in front of the CHS Museum.

MAY 27 (SATURDAY): CHS Plant sale 9 to noon

MAY 29 (MONDAY): Memorial Day. Town Office closed.

MAY 30 (TUESDAY): Cavendish Memorial Day program. 10 am at CTES, immediately followed by a parade to Hillcrest Cemetery.

JUNE 5 (MONDAY): E Tools Workshop at the 6:00 p.m., at the Cavendish town office to demonstrate battery-operated tools for the yard and garden. Free and open to the public. Light refreshments. FMI: CavendishCommunityConservation@gmail.com.

• CTES Summer Kick Off Carnival

JUNE 7 (WEDNESDAY): CTES Spring concert 6 pm

JUNE 15 (THURSDAY): CTES 6TH grade graduation, 6 pm

JUNE 16 (FRIDAY): GMUHS graduation, Last day of school for GMUHS and CTES

JULY 29 (SATURDAY): Cavendish Town Wide Tag Sale

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MAY 24 GMUSD MEETING: REALITY ZOOM

Last night’s special meeting of the Green Mountain Unified School District was a lesson in chaos, bullying, Robert Rules gone awry, and at best some form of “reality zoom.” With only one board member appearing in person, Cavendish rep Steve Parini was continually in a position of having to stand in front of the large monitor in Cavendish Town Elementary School’s (CTES) arts room and wave his arms to be recognized.

With 20 members of the Cavendish community in attendance and 80+ on zoom, it was the complete opposite of the Cavendish Forum which took place the evening before. See The Dish for a report on that meeting.

Without a Zoom option, and not being dictated to by Robert’s Rules of Order, people queued and took turns speaking. The Forum achieved its stated purpose and people left feeling positive about the experience. Last evening, while those in attendance were pleased to see that two of the GMUSD representatives who had resigned, Kate Lamphere (Cavendish) and Kate Murphy (Chester) were able to be re-instated to the board, the process was painful to observe and, as various parents noted, not one they would want their children to observe.

Between the mishmash of Roberts Rules being applied, the board not bothering to attend in person, and the technical challenges of Zoom, including the 21st century equivalent of “the dog ate my homework,” – board chair Deb Brown said she didn’t receive Lamphere’s e-mail-it was a lesson in frustration. It definitely calls into question the use of hybrid meetings when important business needs to be conducted.

What was the warned purpose of the special meeting, a forum to meet the principal candidates for CTES followed by a board vote, was changed several times as one of the candidates dropped out on Tuesday and the replacement candidate on Wednesday morning. While the Principal Forum was cancelled, board chair Brown still wanted to hold the meeting, with the purpose of discussing next steps in filling the position. However, it became quickly apparent, as she proceeded to change the agenda, she was more concerned about the resignations.

 The lone candidate Amanda Tyrell, a Cavendish resident and current 5/6 th grade teacher at Chester Andover Elementary, was told to be there. That purpose was a mystery as they clearly weren’t going to interview her. However, Tyrell did address the GMUSD board stating that she was in the job for the kids and what had transpired to that point was not about them.

As far as next steps for hiring a principal, Tyrrell said she needed to know one way or another by Friday June 2. If they were unable to do so by then, she would have to drop out as well. Assurances were given that there would be a principal’s forum for the public, but the desire was to have two candidates.

The most telling comments of the evening came during the public comment period. CTES’s principal, Amy Bouhren, who has taken a new job with Vermont State University, addressed what she referred to as “the elephant in the living room.” Having attended every GMUSD meeting since she was hired, she noticed that the activities of the board had gone “south” with the change in leadership. She was not the only person that indicated a change in leadership was needed.

While the issue of the Chieftains name being retained by the board was mentioned by several members of the public, Sarah Devereux, a recent GMUHS alum pointed out that the meaning of the mascot wasn’t discussed all that much. However, she did perceive the school as having issues with racism, sexism, homophobia, and transphobia. These were concerning to her and should be to the GMUSD board.

The take home words of the evening for many were delivered by Proctorsville resident, CTES parent and Ludlow Elementary School teacher, Lisa Marks. Speaking with a choked voice, Marks explained how she had just spent the most amazing day with 6th graders at Keewaydin. She had come directly from the camp to CTES for the meeting. “I’ve only been here 15 minutes and you have totally sucked the joy out of my day.” She further elaborated that the kind of behavior demonstrated by the board was also sucking the joy out of teaching. Minutes later, one of the CTES teachers, who was zooming in from Keewaydin, confirmed Marks’ sentiment.

CAVENDISH COMMUNITY FORUM: SCHOOL RESTRUCTURING:

At last night’s Cavendish Community Forum, organized by the Cavendish Town Elementary School’s (CTES) CPTG (Parent Teachers Group) a record was set for a CPTG meeting with approximately 40 people in attendance. With the three Cavendish representatives to the Green Mountain Unified School District (GMUSD) chairing the meeting, the tone was set on restructuring and not on recent events, where two of the representatives resigned due to the GMUSD board voting to keep the Chieftain name for Green Mountain Union High School (GMUHS). 

In keeping with the privacy assured to those in attendance, no names will be given in this article and comments have been grouped into broad categories.

With every segment of the community represented-parents, grandparents, alumni, home school families, concerned citizens, teachers and staff, these were the major take home points from the meeting

• CTES has been and is important to the community and needs to remain open. Its closure would negatively impact the town.

• A change has occurred at the school, with it no longer playing the role it once did as the heart and soul of the community. The specifics were a bit vague, other than it didn’t have its “oomph” or “fizz.” While Covid could explain some of it, the declining enrollment could also be a factor.

The school was renovated and expanded in 2004 for 140 students (classrooms sized for 20 students) but this year’s enrollment was in the 70s and fall 2023 is projected to be in the 60s. Some thought that increasing the enrollment could bring some new energy to the school.

Nationally the birth rate has been in decline since the 1970s, with Vermont having the lowest birth rate in the country. With the decline rapidly speeding up from 2008-the “Great Recession”-  to 2013, the birth rate has dropped faster and further. This has a direct impact on school utilization.

• Part of the change at CTES also stems from the Two Rivers Supervisory Union (TRSU) trying to “homogenize,” or create uniformity across all the schools. Aspects of CTES that helped to create happy teachers and staff, such as the half days on Tuesday for teacher collaborations, were eliminated by the TRSU. The school no longer has an after school program and has on-going difficulties with a bus driver.

• CTES has been known for decades for its academic performance plus it’s unique offerings to students and community. This continues to be whittled-away by the TRSU, which does the bidding of the state’s Agency of Education (AOE).

• While there was no formal vote of “no confidence” for GMUHS, a show of hands indicated that many parents want school choice for high school.

• Options for moving forward: A number of the options looked at a collaborative relationship with Ludlow, as Cavendish is more oriented to Ludlow than Chester.  Suggestions made included the following:

-       Expanding CTES to include Pre K. It was noted that Stepping Stones is in jeopardy as they need a new director and pre-school teacher.

-       Offering new programming at CTES - Waldorf and Montessori were both mentioned-and become a magnet school for the region

-       Combining programming with Ludlow so that Ludlow Elementary offered a middle school program.

-       Withdrawing from the GMUSD and joining the Ludlow/Mt. Holly District

-       Withdrawing from the TRSU altogether and become an independent school as some other towns have done since the supervisory unions were created per the directive of Act 46

-       Cavendish town becomes a destination for emigrants, many of which have school age children

In order for CTES to remain open and retain its status within the community, it’s going to take a collaborative effort of community along with parents and teachers. To that end those in attendance who wanted to help with this issue by being on a sub-committee of the CPTG were asked to sign up.  Many did.

Please note that tonight is the CTES Principal Candidates Open Forum. This takes place from 6-8 pm at the school. The Zoom link is https://trsu.zoom.us/j/85933410831  

Cavendish Update 5/19/22: Breaking News/School/News

READ THE CAVENDISH VT FACEBOOK PAGE FOR THE LATEST NEWS

 Breaking news: At last evening’s Green Mountain Unified School District (GMUSD) board meeting, two of Cavendish's three representatives-Dennis Reilly and Kate Lamphere- resigned from the board effective immediately. The board voted 5/5 to reinstate the GMUHS’s Mascot name Chieftains. The tie was broken by the board chair, Deb Brown, who voted in favor of the name. Both Reilly and Lamphere are state workers and as such, they cannot be part of a board that is violating state law (Act 152).  Before the meeting adjourned, Cavendish’s third representative, Steve Perani left the meeting.

5/19/23

1.    Fire District #2 Annual Meeting

2.    Cavendish Info

3.    Cavendish Forum School Restructuring

4.    Events

1. FIRE DISTRICT #2 (CAVENDISH) ANNUAL MEETING: At Tuesday night’s Annual meeting of Fire District #2 (Cavendish village), 27 people were in attendance. The budget of $164,450, which includes the one-time cost of $21,000 to insulate the fire house attic, was passed. Current officers of the Prudential Board will remain the same for the coming year: Abraham Gross (Moderator); Staci Bishop (Member 2025); Scott Ranney (member 2004); Stu Lindberg (member 2024); Diane McNamara (auditor 2024);  Maureen Savage (Treasurer 2024). 

CVFD has 40 hours of paid EMT time Monday-Friday from 8-4. Of the 97 calls responded to by CVFD-52 medical and 45 fire- this past year, only 26 occurred during the paid staff time. While it’s recognized that the staff has assigned tasks beyond responding to calls, such as being the distribution point for Covid test kits, people wanted to see more being done, such as offering blood pressure clinics, Stop the Bleed programs, writing of grants etc.

It was brought up that rumors have been circulating about responders not having proper equipment available at the scene. While Prudential member Stu Lindberg said it was of the utmost importance that these events do not occur, and if they do, he takes them seriously, member Staci Bishop voiced frustration about not having the proper equipment on a call she responded to. In addition, Bishop noted that she had requested that more programming be offered but that it had not occurred.

Yesterday, Cavendish Connects received a notice from CVFD that they will be offering weekly Blood Pressure clinics, and that people can stop by any time the EMT is there for a check. In addition, they will be offering other “citizen as first responder” training, such as CPR and basic first aid. They plan to have a schedule available in the next few weeks.

Issues were also raised about response times and having information about the impact paid staff has, the frequency of ambulances other than Ludlow responding to calls, and time from call to response. Bob Glidden, Fire Chief of District #1 and Cavendish Select Board (SB) chair, pointed out that since the SB signs the contract with Ludlow Ambulance, these type of questions need to be addressed by that board.

Since many people don’t know which fire district they belong to, it was suggested that the Annual Report be made available on-line and a post card about the Annual Meeting, including the web address/QR code for the report, be mailed in a timely manner before the meeting.

 2. CAVENDISH INFO

• GM board offers Bellows Falls principal contract: After a public forum and an interview with two candidates on Monday night, the Green Mountain Unified School District board voted to offer Bellows Falls Union High Principal John Broadley the principal post at Green Mountain High when Keith Hill steps down at the end of June. Broadley has been the principal at Bellows Falls for the past two years and assistant principal for 12 years before that. He has been at BFUHS since 2002, beginning as a special education teacher, then as a math teacher. Chester Telegraph

• Tick Check: Many people in town are saying this is the worst tick season ever. People are getting tick borne diseases so follow the recommendations for prevention, removal and what to do if you develop symptoms by going to the VT Dept. of Health website Be Tick Smart

• STOP the Bleed:  As we head into summer, and a lot more people are on the road, camping, cycling etc., it's good to know what to do if you come across someone badly bleeding. We’re all first responders until help arrives. Chester Ambulance is  providing a great opportunity for anyone who may come in contact with someone badly injured. A Stop the Bleed class will be held on May 31st at 6pm to 7pm. The FREE Class will be located at the Chester Public Safety building. You can save a seat by either messaging them on Facebook or calling (802) 875-2160. Walk-ins will be accepted as well. If you can't make this workshop, check out the Stop the Bleed video. Free handouts and posters are available on-line. 

3. CAVENDISH FORUM ON SCHOOL RESTRUCTING 5/23: Cavendish Town Elementary School (CTES), which was expanded/renovated in 2004 to accommodate 140 students (20 students per grade) is anticipating an enrollment of approximately 67 students in the fall. At the same time, Chester Andover Elementary School (CAES) has approximately 225 students and is cramped for space.

The per pupil cost (PPC) at CTES is $29,000 versus the PPC for CAES of $21,000 and $23,000 for GMUHS’s 328 students. Given the projected low enrollment at CTES, the coming year’s PPC is projected to be over $35,000. While the PPC does reflect enrollment and personnel costs, it also includes district wide costs.

A school restructuring committee (has been formed by the Green Mountain Unified School District (GMUSD) board to address what type of changes can be made to bring numbers up at CTES while providing much needed space at CAES.  

A first meeting to discuss this issue was held on May 8 [read The Chester Telegraph’s report ]. While a variety of suggestions were made, and another meeting scheduled for Monday, June 5, at 6 pm at GMUHS library, the Cavendish representatives to the GMUSD board are looking to the Cavendish community to understand what residents believe is in the best educational interest of Cavendish’s children as well as the school’s role in our community. Note: Even though two of the representatives have resigned, all three will be at the meeting.

To that end, a Cavendish Forum has been scheduled for Cavendish residents, parents and teachers on May 23 (Tuesday) at 6 pm at the CTES auditorium. This meeting is not opened to the media and Zoom will not be an option. 

In preparation for this meeting, it is important to recognize that nationally the birth rate has been in decline since the 1970s with an even steeper decline in response to the 2008 recession. Vermont has the lowest birth rate in the country. This is a variable that has considerable impact, but one we have no control over.

4. EVENTS

MAY 23 (TUESDAY): 6 pm at CTES Auditorium, Cavendish Forum on school restructuring-see item 3 above.

MAY 26 (FRIDAY): Cavendish Historical Society (CHS) plant sale 5:30-7:00 in front of the CHS Museum.

MAY 27 (SATURDAY): CHS Plant sale 9-noon

MAY 29 (MONDAY): Memorial Day. Town Office closed.

MAY 30 (TUESDAY): Cavendish Memorial Day program. 10 am at CTES, immediately followed by a parade to Hillcrest Cemetery. Free and open to the public.

JUNE 5 (MONDAY): E Tools Workshop at the 6:00 p.m., at the Cavendish town office to demonstrate battery-operated tools for the yard and garden. Free and open to the public. Light refreshments. FMI: CavendishCommunityConservation@gmail.com.

JULY 29 (SATURDAY): Cavendish Town Wide Tag Sale

    IF YOU READ THIS PLEASE HELP SUPPORT CAVENDISH CONNECTS