crisis and it’s impacting the wonderful work that we know is best for supporting our students, our staff, and our community. “Moving forward with far less is something that we’re going to have to get really creative on. I’m engaging in preliminary conversations with other school districts on how we can enter into BOCES (Board of Cooperative Education Services) agreements and how we can continue to maintain programming with significant reductions. So, it’s really a time in our District where we’ve never come across such a significant challenge. As a school community, we’re going to have to work really hard to determine what we’re prioritizing and how we’re going to move forward to support our students.” And yet, Nichols is determined to stay positive. “The South Burlington School District is an incredible place,” she states. “We’re one of the few districts in the state that is growing and we’re consistently ranked the number one district in the state. There are unique cultures at each school and this is a place where staff at all levels and positions want to be. We have a lot of heart here and a lot of soul.” “I am honored to be the Superintendent who has the privilege of learning and working alongside our students, staff and community.Those are just two of the necessary attributes of a continuously evolving profession.” PREFERRED VENDOR/PARTNER n Highland Electric Fleets www.highlandfleets.com “Highland Electric Fleets is the leading provider of Electrification-as-a-Service (EaaS) for school districts, governments, and third-party fleet managers in North America. With Highland’s expertise, customers are able to transition their fleets to electric for the same amount or less than what they pay for operating traditional diesel fleets.” is being significantly diminished. So, we’re looking at a switch from robust programming that is best practice for supporting students in our community to providing what could look like bare bones. We have significant facility needs that we need to address at the middle and high school level and we’re in no position to bring a bond to our community, given the potential double-digit tax rates seen throughout the State that we could be facing. So, this is very much a 282 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 05, ISSUE 12
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