The South Burlington School District faculty and staff union is making the call for a new superintendent. In a press release June 5, the South Burlington Educators Association (SBEA) said that feedback from members showed the school district “needs a change in leadership.”
The union said they have been soliciting feedback from members for the past year, by having what it called Listening Tours to hear from members and following up with surveys.
The survey questions asked employees what they enjoyed and what worked in their jobs, what problems they are experiencing and what they would change if they had the power to do so.
Over 300 South Burlington School District employees across the five schools responded to the survey.
Three of South Burlington School District’s electric buses are on display during a one-year celebration of clean busing in the city on Aug. 28, 2023.
What are the issues with the superintendent?
According to SBEA, the points of concern for employees is the “distrust and fear of district leadership.”
SBEA said that those interviewed don’t trust Superintendent Violet Nichols and other central office administrators to make decisions that have the best interests of students in mind. The union quoted one of the surveys where an employee said that the district administrators “have no connections to teachers and have no clue what’s going on here.”
The survey results led to a follow-up survey that asked more specific questions about Nichols’ leadership.
More than 80% of employees who received the survey took it, or 324 educators.
The results skewed strongly out of favor of Nichols, with 93% of responders disagreeing that she “acts according to and promotes the professional norm of integrity, fairness, transparency, trust, collaboration, perseverance, learning, and continuous improvement.” In addition, 91% disagreed that she develops and supports “open, productive, caring, and trusting working relationships among leaders, faculty, and staff.”
An in-depth breakdown of each question has been made public by SBEA.
Nichols has served in the position since 2022.
Superintendent Violet Nichols responds
Nichols released a response June 9 stating that it was “disappointing to see the South Burlington Educators Association take this approach just as we are beginning the work of rebuilding trust and strengthening communication across our district.”
She said she understands why some budgetary decisions may frustrate faculty, but like many Vermont school districts, decisions had to be made in the interest of students.
She said that she has “made it a priority to address the very concerns the Union has raised. In response to their concerns around the need for more engagement in the budget process, we partnered with Tassant Partners to lead a robust community-informed process that will shape how we build future school budgets. In response to their concerns around consistent communication, support and engagement from the Central Office, I launched a staff engagement initiative focused on creating more direct, transparent and meaningful dialogue.”
Sydney P. Hakes is the Burlington city reporter. Contact her at SHakes@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: South Burlington Educators Union calls for school chief to step down