December 11, 2025
Dear BSD Community,
This month, I shared big news with the City Council and our Board. At this time, we have borrowed $159 million for the BHS/BTC project, and we believe that no further borrowing will be required. This means when all is said and done, we will have borrowed $6 million less than the amount approved by voters, which will provide immediate savings to our community. Borrowing the additional $6 million would have added $475,500 in debt service to next year’s budget, increasing the tax rate by half a percentage point.
I’m grateful to our team – BSD, Whiting Turner, PCI, and FFF – for working so hard to ensure we use our resources responsibly while we build amazing learning spaces for our students. As we enter what will be a challenging budget season, continuing to protect taxpayer resources while also delivering for students is my top priority.
On December 1, the Scott Administration released its annual education tax letter projecting an average 12% increase in education property taxes. This projection is based on a statewide estimated increase in spending of 6% across districts, as well as the lingering impact of last year’s tax buy-down.
Thankfully, in Burlington, we know our tax impact will be less than this state average. As a starting point, a budget that would maintain our current level of service would require a 10.6% tax increase. This is beyond frustrating because the majority of this increase is being driven by last year’s statewide tax buy-down. This move to buy down tax rates across the state created a fiscal cliff that pushes tax rates up in big ways that have nothing to do with our actual education spending in BSD. Without this gap created by the administration, maintaining level services would translate to only a 6% tax increase.
The Board and I recognize that a projected 10.6% tax increase is too much, even considering last year’s 4.5% reduction (which would make the overall impact only 6.1% over two years). We know many in our community are struggling and will be impacted by every percentage point increase. With that in mind, we will work hard to continue providing a high-quality education while also finding ways to reduce the budget below the 10.6% level. Striking this balance will be challenging. I am not happy we are in this position, especially because it was created in large part due to poor planning at the State level. This is why our Board Chair, Clare Wool, and I wrote an op-ed to bring attention to the issue.
I will be discussing this with our Board at our next meeting on Tuesday, December 16, where my team will outline how much of the budget would need to be cut to keep the tax impact below 10.6%. We will use that discussion to develop three budget-reduction scenarios, which we will bring back to the board on January 6.
Any cuts that we need to consider will be difficult. However, I am hopeful that our community can come together and put forward a budget that works for students, staff, and Burlington residents.
Thank you for your understanding, support, and partnership,
Tom
Coffee with Tom – Want to talk more about the budget or anything else BSD-related? Join me for “Coffee with Tom” on December 19 at 8:00 AM at the Skinny Pancake. This month I’ll be joined by our Director of Early Education, Stacie Curtis. We’ll share a bit about our programs for our youngest learners, but mostly we’ll just be ready to engage in discussions about BSD. Come late, leave early, or stay the whole time…either way, coffee (or tea!) is on us.
Bond Savings (Continued) – In addition to the figures above, over the term of the bond (20 years), we are saving taxpayers about $3.6 million in interest. We were able to accomplish borrowing less through strong financial management of the bond, the project, and our District. Specifically,
- When we borrow the money, we put it into savings until we use it. When we do that, we have earned interest, which has helped us leverage what we borrowed to support the project.
- We have received a few grants that have reduced the need to borrow.
- And every year, we have used some of our overall budget surplus and put it towards the project.
VTCAP – Reducing disparities and improving academic outcomes for every student remains a core focus, and we will be shifting more focus to this area. Despite progress over the past four years on our local assessments, our state test scores remain flat. As you can see from the chart below, most grade levels have similar proficiency rates in English Language Arts and math as the state. Though we are close to the state’s average, we have made it a goal to improve VTCAP scores for BSD students. We discussed these data in depth during our Global Ends presentation at the last school board meeting. We will also spend a significant amount of time talking about strategies to improve academic outcomes at the January 6th board meeting.
SCHOOL NEWS
Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day – On Friday, November 14th, HMS hosted the 2nd Annual Ruby Bridges Celebration. HMS students marched throughout the New North End, passing CP Smith, where students from that school supported Ruby Bridges’ legacy of courage and commitment to equality and cheered them on as they passed by (video!). The march culminated in an assembly in the auditorium where the BHS choir and HMS jazz band performed. Guest speakers were Korey Whitfield, AP African American History teacher at BHS, Esther Lokossou, BHS Senior and Office of Equity Intern, and HMS YPAR and Racial Justice Academy middle schoolers. Special shout-out to HMS YPAR class, Marissa Stokes, Autumn Bangoura, Melanee Alexander, David Kerr, and Myriam Bouti for their involvement in making this event a success! See photos below and news coverage on WPTZ and WCAX.
Lake House Cafe – Check out these photos of the grand opening of the Lake House Cafe, a group project facilitated at Eagle Bay Academy by Ann Gatch and Megan “Roz” Rozumalski. After building the cart from scratch with funds from a VPA grant, students gathered input from students and staff, conducted taste tests, and honed recipes that met budgetary limits to create a cafe menu for our school and beyond. They broke even on their first day, and they have been invited to bring their business on the road for another event already! The course will be a regular offering, and each quarter, the students in the class will develop their own recipes, themes, and events to continue to learn about culinary entrepreneurship.
Three Schools Attend OVX Conference – 13 students from BHS, Hunt, and Edmunds attended the Our Voices Exposed (OVX) Youth Leadership Conference with SAP Counselors Marissa Stokes and Heather Washburn and BPHC coalition director Mariah Flynn. Students learned new tools for tobacco and nicotine prevention and practiced sharing health messages through social media and video. They are bringing these strategies back to their schools to support positive youth health initiatives.
BTC Career Fair – Our Work-Based Learning Coordinator and Aviation teachers organized a new initiative: offering students a “career fair” specific to aviation-related companies and careers. Industry guests shared insights about their organizations and offered feedback on student resumes and cover letters. Some of the companies in attendance:
- Heritage Aviation
- Vermont Air National Guard
- BETA Technologies
- Pratt & Whitney
- Plane Sense
- Aviatron
MISC
We Stand with Winooski – Last month, I let our community know that we stand with Somali immigrants have been the subject of disparaging remarks from President Trump. Winooski School District, also home to many Somali immigrant families, raised the Somali flag in support of the community. Despite following the US Flag Code and acting with transparency and courage, they have faced swift and often racist backlash from across the United States. We know that much of what they are hearing does not represent Vermonters, and we want the Winooski School District to know we stand with them and support them in this decision.
Facilities Updates
Equipment UVM recently donated some very expensive custodial equipment to the district as they upgrade their equipment every 5 years. Thank you, UVM!
HVAC Software We are working with Burlington Electric to install new software in our building management system. This software will look at HVAC efficiencies and prompt us to make any needed adjustments, saving us money!
Champlain We have completed the Champlain stormwater project! New boilers are working well, and we are looking forward to possible rebates from VT Gas to offset the project costs. We are working with consultants to create a plan to remediate the PCB-containing window caulking in the cafeteria this summer. We will work with the State to identify any possible grant funding if it becomes available.
CP Smith We are keeping the gas boilers running this season and are likely going to be taking them out of service before the next heating season, depending on how they perform this heating season.
Edmunds We are working through parking issues in the back lot, per the Fire Marshall. We are also putting together a new and improved steam boiler maintenance plan. We have found a great water chemistry expert who has worked with our technicians to put this program together, and we are excited about the direction of this project.
Food Education Council – BSD’s Food Education Council had its 3rd meeting last month. Topics among council members included themes like: intergenerational experiences, requests for peer-to-peer learning, and resource sharing. Each school in our District was represented. Katie Wyndorf (EMS) shared the deep learning happening for her students through their place-based work with the Intervale. Students are growing and cooking culturally relevant foods while exploring justice and injustice in our food systems. Suzanne Weishaar, Lil Lawrence-Paine, Meghan Feena,n and Liam McManus (C.P. Smith) discussed how young learners engage in conversations around the foods they eat and where food comes from. Finally, we learned how 2nd-grade learners have spent a lot of time in their school gardens, collecting foods to taste test, making tea, and incorporating sunflowers into math lessons focused on measurement and graphing.
UVM Research – UVM is conducting a study about how immigrant parents view autism spectrum disorder. If you are an immigrant with a child with autism, UVM will provide $50 grocery gift card for participating in a survey. Contact Dr. Andrea Green at andrea.green@uvmhealth.org or call 802-847-4696.
POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
Updated Policy – The board updated our mandatory Responsible Computer, Network, and Internet Use policy. It is now online, and we’ll begin to create the required procedures in the next few months.
Policies Sunsetted – At last week’s meeting, the Board approved sunsetting of 41 old policies! Here are the ones that were on the website but are no longer in use.
E2 Fiscal Management
E6 Sales Calls and Demonstrations
E8 Risk Management
E9 Financial Reserves
E11 inventory
E12 Bldgs and Grounds inspection
E13 Bldg and Grounds Management
E14 Bldg and Grounds SecurityE16 Equipment – Authorized Use
E17 Food Services Management
E22 Sending Schools Tuition Payments
F18 Student Insurance Program
G10 Tuition – Continuing Education
H5 Charitable Solicitations
G19 Student Teaching and Internships
A3 School District Legal Status
A5 Non-Discrimination in Vocational Ed
Recently Approved Procedures – We are working hard to develop and document procedures, so our work is more consistent, clear, and transparent. The following have been finalized in the past month.
Administration of Medication
BSD Condom Availability Protocol
Naloxone Administration Procedure
Nursing Delegation Procedure
Snow Day Decision and Communication
Vision and Hearing Screening Protocol and Schedule
