Jeanné Collins
Superintendent of Schools, Burlington
August 15, 2008

Superintendent's Message

Dear Parents, Teachers, and Students:

Welcome back to school! I hope your summer has gone well. The school district has been quite busy this summer, getting the schools ready for the coming year even as they are used by community partners for summer programs.

We have had three major construction projects going on this summer. The last two walls of windows at Edmunds Middle are being replaced. The first two walls significantly reduced energy costs already; we are looking forward to the impact of having all four walls of windows being energy efficient as costs continue to rise.

We are also placing insulation in a wing roof at Hunt Middle School and replacing the rooftop air handling system in that wing. This project will increase energy efficiency and improve indoor air quality.

Our third project is an upgrade of a rooftop air handling unit the BHS E building to improve indoor air quality in a teacher office area.

We also had several smaller scope projects occurring this summer. These include new ceilings, new flooring, painting in 25 classrooms throughout the district, minor building modifications and other maintenance projects. We also are in the process of putting in a salad bar at CP Smith, the final school to receive one.

As I am on this energy theme, I wish to update you on the work of the architect firm of Lindbergh & Associates, who has been hired to do our facilities audit. This firm is systematically going through each of our buildings this summer to assess the age and condition of all major components of the facilities and to assess energy usage to see where we can tighten up. The comprehensive facilities analysis report will be given to the Board on August 28 at a special meeting.

Lindbergh & Associates is also providing some concept drawings and costs associated to the Board at the August 28 meeting as the next step in the Excellence and Equity process. Through a visioning and master planning process that occurred with community members and educators this spring, we have provided information to the architect to help us envision moving into the future in Burlington Schools. Following the August Board meeting, we anticipate attending NPA meetings, holding public meetings, getting information out through our website, etc, to ensure the community is fully part of the process. For more information on this initiative, please see our vision tab on our website at www.bsdvt.org.. We deeply thank the many community members who have given input into this process. School re-opens on August 27 for students. Please watch your mailbox for a letter with information for the coming year, or check out your school website for detail. As always, I welcome your feedback. You can contact me at superintendent@bsdvt.org or 865-5332.