programs specifically for gender-creative kids and transgender individuals), attend conferences at the University of Vermont, visit the state house to lobby, and sponsor activities at the school to help parents become more comfortable with gender decisions that their students may be facing,” explains Tim Jarvis, SBSD’s Senior Director of Finance and Operations, who has two high-schooled-aged daughters.“We go way beyond the norm and tradition to ensure that our extra-curricular activities are inclusive for all our students.” INFRASTRUCTURE, OPERATIONS AND CAPITAL PROJECTS Maintaining the District’s buildings and infrastructure is Jarvis’s main responsibility, and he notes that many of SBSD’s capital investments are climate-friendly, as well. “We had an overcrowding situation at two of our elementary schools that demanded action,” he recounts. “So, we have constructed zero energy modulars (ZEMs), which are extremely efficient classrooms at those two schools. That was a major initiative that we had to address that aligned with our climate action goals. We have four electric buses in our fleet and we were one of the early adopters in Vermont for adding electric buses, partnering with Highland Electric Fleets on the implementation. We worked closely with Green Mountain Power and other entities to receive grants to fund them and we’ve just utilized a new EPA grant to add two more electric buses to our fleet. “Working with many of our community partners, we’ve initiated a few other significant projects in the last year. One was adding heat pumps at two of our elementary schools. They had never had air conditioning and as the temperature started rising in August and September, we felt it was critical for 280 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 05, ISSUE 12
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