South Burlington School Board candidates talk Act 127

The South Burlington School Board has three uncontested seats up on Town Meeting Day with a new candidate, Elaine Cissi, vying for the two-year seat vacated by the board’s current chair, Kate Bailey.

Incumbent Chelsea Tillinghast is running for reelection to her three-year seat, while Tim Warren, who was chosen by the board following the resignation of Bryan Companion in September, is seeking reelection for the one year remaining on the term.

Warren, a resident of South Burlington for 25 years, said he has enjoyed working with his constituents and the school community, but his work is not over yet.

“I look forward to continuing my service to South Burlington,” he wrote announcing his candidacy.

Tillinghast, who has been on full-time mom duty for the last few months, has still found time to commit to the board even during what many have called one of the hardest budget years South Burlington has ever faced.

As board clerk for the last two years, Tillinghast says this year’s budget season highlighted some major issues with the state’s current education funding formula known as Act 127 and dealing with the law will be a major role for school board members for months after Town Meeting Day.

“This year’s budget season has differed greatly from years past largely by the state change in the education funding formula putting a much bigger tax burden on our community,” she said. “The current tax hikes are totally unsustainable and a major detriment to our city.”

While she believes in the equitable spirit of Act 127 as written, the law is not equitable to South Burlington students or other districts like South Burlington, and she noted that a failed budget this year would be “abysmal for our students and community.”

Although Cissi is new to the school board scene, she is not new to the South Burlington School District and currently serves as the president of the Frederick H. Tuttle Middle School parent-teacher organization.

“I’ve been quite involved in my daughter’s education and have been a present figure in all of her schools to date,” she said. “During the pandemic, we were much involved in her day-to-day learning. I have been vocal through the years on all things related to the district and have made it a priority to know not just what happens in our daughter’s classroom, but also what the climate is in her school at any particular time and in the district as a whole.”

She and her family moved to South Burlington over a decade ago, less than one year after her daughter was born, and, naturally, her first two stops upon arriving in the new city were “getting a South Burlington library card and registering to vote,” she said.

But the decision to run for school board now, she said, is due to her commitment to democracy, and because her daughter is now old enough for her to begin branching out. She said since being involved in the PTO and the theater program at the middle school, she has become more aware than ever of the many unique needs that students have.

“I believe in civics education and model, whenever I can, the idea that we all must be critical thinkers and give back and be aware and involved to make our democracy work,” she said. “I recognize this is a problem for the state to address and not one we in South Burlington can rectify — the potential effects of Act 127 on our schools and community have galvanized me.”

She said she is also deeply concerned about talk of cutting several extracurricular programs in the district should the budget be voted down in March.

“Act 127 has wrought so many difficulties in the South Burlington School District. Even if the school budget increased zero percent — not possible in this economic climate — taxes in South Burlington would still rise by double digits. South Burlington can’t fix the state mandates of Act 127,” she said. “We are thus left to deal with the repercussions. Our schools and children are left to deal with the repercussions.”

In addition to that, the district also faces some massive infrastructure needs due to its aging buildings.

“I do think discussions regarding transferring fifth grade to the middle school, while I respect the impetus behind this discussion, is rather tertiary, given the needs at (the middle school),” she said, speaking about a committee this year that discussed the viability of moving fifth graders to alleviate space and manage facility needs. “Any movement of fifth grade to (the middle school) is rather akin to kicking the can down the road.”

She said this year, the district’s top priorities should be steering budget discussions in an Act 127 world, while also maintaining necessary extracurricular programs, including advanced placement and honors opportunities, and career and technical education.

“My job as a school board member is to listen respectfully, to ask thoughtful questions, to bring what I know of education and my daughter to the table and to represent all members of this community but especially the working-class people in South Burlington who value education greatly and who are so concerned about the impacts of Act 127,” she said.

Both Cissi and Tillinghast said they both were in favor of the Town Meeting Day vote to expand the board to include seven members.

“It allows for a diverse representation, healthy discussion, and a lessening of the load for individual members. I do believe, however, that any increase in the school board must come with a commitment from the community to serve and be a voice not just for adult individuals, but also for all our children,” Cissi said.

Tillinghast explained that the current five-member model has caused an immense workload for school board members in the past two years, and two additional members would allow for a well-trained board to proactively address problems in the coming years.

“Expansion to our school board is much needed,” she said. “More members would mean greater efficiency for the district.”