Fairfax School Board to Host Community Forum on Nov 12th

[Franklin West SU]

[hunter]

The Boards Vision should be To Lead and Not Follow. I encourage all community members to attend this forum and stay for their regular board meeting. Come ask questions.

[Rev. Elizabeth]

From what I know of life in the school, I would say that indeed, BFA Fairfax is leading..!

[hunter]

I encourage you to attend the board meeting because Im not talking about our teachers/students. im talking about our board and how they follow in their decision making.

[Chris Santee]

bump

[Harold]

Unfortunately, Nicole and I were unable to attend. Did anyone jot down the bullet points?

[AbbeyC]

I agree to LEAD not Follow. Thank you Julie for your service you are a value to our community. A resignation letter from julie followed by a letter read to the board last night. Im embarrased about the way Julie was treated.
October 15, 2012
Fairfax Board of School Directors
75 Hunt Street
Fairfax, VT 05454
Dear Board Members,
I am resigning from my position of recording minutes for the Fairfax School Board effective
immediately.
I met with Mr. Kirsch on Monday, October 8th, for a personnel related matter. Prior to the
conclusion of that meeting and completely off the topic of the meeting, he stated that my
physical presence at the table, the place where I have always sat while taking minutes for the
Board, was creating confusion. He requested me to sit elsewhere. Needless to say, after years of
sitting where I had, the same spot that those before me had sat, I was shocked and a bit
confused myself at this sudden change.
Later that evening when I arrived at the regular board meeting to take the minutes I would
agree with Mr. Kirsch that confusion was an appropriate word. Some members present verbally
expressed surprise and discomfort at my relocation and for others it registered on their faces
when they walked in the room. While I respect the Board's decision to have only Board
members sit at the official table, it is the manner in which this change occurred that I find so
unprofessional and so unsettling. Did this need to happen in this way after seven years of my
often praised and dedicated service to the Board?
As an employee, a parent, and a tax paying citizen who cares deeply about our school and
supports it in many ways, I am extremely troubled as to how and why an event such as this
could ever occur. Am I wrong in my conclusion that this was retribution for speaking up for
myself and others as a school employee? It is my personal experiences that leave me feeling that
dissent and opposing opinions are not welcome from Mr. Kirsch and that bullying and
harassment are seen as acceptable ways of silencing anyone who dares to speak up for
themselves, stand for their convictions, or question their treatment. I am not the first to
experience this at BFA nor do I think I will be the last. As school board officials of this town,
you are elected to represent the public and to be independent thinkers in making decisions
concerning the governing of our school. I encourage each one of you to step forward and ask
these questions among yourselves: How effectively are procedural changes being communicated
at the Board level as well as at other levels of our school? Is the Superintendent effectively
communicating the wishes of the Board as a whole? And are these perceptions I and others
have garnered truly reflective of the leadership model you have envisioned for our school?
Regards,
Julie Filiberti

[AbbeyC]

A letter read 

[lena6]

Julie, I am proud to call you a friend.  What  happened to you never should have happened.  It makes a person wonder you else has been treated that way.  Keep the faith.

[YouAnnMos]

Thank  you AbbeyC for making Julie's letter available.   For those who would like to read the attachments you must be logged in to be able to 'see' the link and download the file.

[AbbeyC]

Each of you as board members know me as a person and have valued the work that I
have done for this school over the years. You know me as a dedicated parent,
employee, and community member who does what I can to benefit and support our
students and their education. In the past you have valued my opinion and have asked
for my input on a variety of topics. You know me as an individual who is willing to stand
and speak for what I believe. This is what I believe:
It is my belief that you as a board, we as a school district, and each of us as individuals
need to condemn any and all behavior that can be construed as bullying or harassing in
nature -condemn it from the students, condemn it from the staff, and condemn it from
the administration. It is my opinion that the course of events that led to my resignation
were initiated not by the board, but by the superintendent himself, and I feel these
events were in retribution for my involvement in a personnel matter completely
unrelated to my job taking minutes for the board.
I question whether any of you can honestly tell me that prior to 3:00pm on October 8th
you had a conversation about the location of where I sat to take your minutes causing
confusion. That's when I was informed of your wishes by the superintendent. If you
can't, then clearly my relocation was not a board decision, but one made by the
superintendent on your behalf.
It is my belief that a well functioning school board should have an independent identity.
It is not an outlet or an extension of the opinions and beliefs of the administration it
serves. In the code of ethics you agree to "Retain independent judgment and refuse to
surrender that judgment to individuals or special interest groups." You also agree to
"Accept the responsibility to secure facts before arriving at conclusions." This is an
agreement you promised to abide by when you were elected to represent us. We as a
community expect you to stand firm in your own beliefs for what is right and just and to
not be easily swayed into impromptu decisions that go against those beliefs.
It is my belief that a Vermont NEA affiliation should in no way pose a conflict of interest
to the job anyone does in documenting minutes for this board or any board. The person
who keeps this documentation is merely writing down what happens at a meeting. They
aren't making decisions where they can be swayed by such an affiliation and if their
documentation reflects such a bias, it is within a board's power to have that bias stricken
from the record.
It is my belief that a public meeting is public. It is within the right of any person attending
a public meeting to ask to be heard if they would like to comment on or question an
item. It is within the board's right to decide whether to acknowledge and hear the
speaker. Precedent in Fairfax has been that most who have something to say on a topic
have been given the opportunity and have been heard, including myself.
It is my belief that any long valued employee, regardless of whether they are an at-will
employee or not, should be given the courtesy to be provided with the reasons why their
job was found unsatisfactory and why they are no longer found suitable for their job.
What can be inferred when an employee requests this information but the board is not
at liberty to share it? Does this qualify as transparency?
I remember the board publicly announced transparency as one of its goals. The course
of events that led to my resignation has been very opaque. It needs to be transparent.
In the grand scheme of education at BFA, this is a small and fairly personal issue. It
really only affects me and the job I did taking minutes for the board. However, people
within the school and within the community at large are asking me what happened and I
am at a loss as to what to tell them. Judging by their reactions, I am seeing this is as a
potential public relations disaster for the board and the the supervisory office. They are
shocked that this could happen to me and they are asking the bigger questions.
When we as a community look at the bigger picture, we can only question if this type of
conduct from you and our superintendent is reflective of how other decisions are being
made and followed through. Personally, as a parent, a taxpaying community member,
and an individual who cares deeply for the integrity of our school, that is what really
offends and deeply worries me.
The board chair has assured me that this will be looked into. As a citizen and parent in
this town, I ask you, what will that look like? What procedures will you follow to allow our
community to trust the decisions the board is making? How can you assure this
community that you will not condone inappropriate intimidating behavior on the part of
this superintendent? And how will you make your own conduct transparent enough to
garner our trust?

[sue]

 Julie,     Thank you for all you do for our staff and students.  I am so sorry you were treated in such a manner.  Hopefully something positive will result from your informative letter.  Sue Mitchell