Harwood School Board keeps ‘dream team’ leaders for the coming year

March 16, 2023  |  By Lisa Scagliotti

Kristen Rodgers of Moretown and Kelley Hackett of Waterbury are the chair and vice chair of the Harwood Unified Union School District School Board for another year. Courtesy photo

The Harwood Unified Union School District School Board unanimously re-elected its chair and vice chair for another year as what one board member dubbed its “dream team” leaders at this week’s organizational meeting following the Town Meeting Day election. 

Moretown board member Kristen Rodgers and Waterbury member Kelley Hackett were named chair and vice chair respectively for the second consecutive year as the board gathered on Wednesday for the first time since the March 7 vote. 

Members introduced themselves as several newly elected representatives joined for their first meeting. Ben Clark of Moretown, Danielle Dukette of Fayston, and J.B. Weir of Waitsfield were new faces in the group after their recent elections. All were unopposed for their seats. 

In addition, several members were elected for the first time after having been appointed in 2022 to fill vacancies: Life LeGeros of Duxbury, Jake Pitman of Waterbury, and Mike Bishop of Fayston. Bishop was unable to attend on Wednesday. 

Cindy Senning of Duxbury returned after having been elected to a new three-year term following a year and a half of service finishing an unexpired term. Hackett also was re-elected on Town Meeting Day after serving one full term; she ran for a one-year spot in an unexpired term previously held by multiple board members. 

The annual organizational meeting was brief, lasting just about 45 minutes. As is customary, Superintendent Mike Leichliter opened the meeting with the first order of business to elect a chair. Once Rodgers was voted in, she then oversaw the remainder of the meeting. 

Warren member Ashley Woods nominated Rodgers for another year in the leadership role. A second nomination came from Waterbury member Marlena Tucker-Fishman who offered LeGeros for consideration. LeGeros thanked her but declined with humor: “My wife would just kill me,” he said. “Marlena, I’m so honored. I’m very tempted to nominate you back.” 

Various board members spoke in support of Rodgers serving a second year as chair. “I full-heartedly support Kristen as chair,” Warren board member Jonathan Young said. “She’s done an amazing job moving business along without strife or controversy and that’s no small task.”

Clark nominated Hackett to serve another year as vice chair. Senning, in supporting Hackett in the role, commended Hackett for navigating the various technical tasks during board meetings to share information on screens in person and online. 

Woods commented that Hackett and Rodgers worked well together and were particularly helpful at keeping a positive atmosphere and assisting new members with blending into the group. “I for one am super-glad they even want these jobs again,” she said. 

“I hope we can keep the dream team together,” Young added. 

Rodgers and Hackett were elected unanimously. They each thanked the board for the votes of confidence. 

Other roles were also decided for the coming year: 

• Waterbury board member Jake Pitman was chosen to serve as Finance Officer. Woods, who held the role for the past year, explained that it entails visiting the district central office twice monthly to review payments and invoices for the district. The duties are shared with the Assistant Finance Officer; the board named Waitsfield member Bobbi Rood to that position for the next year. 

• Woods was chosen to be the board’s representative to the Central Vermont Career Center School District School Board for the coming year. Young held that role for the past year. He said his schedule prevented him from attending meetings in person in Barre and suggested that another board member might be better suited for the commitment.

• The board also chose Waterbury member Victoria Taravella as Recording Secretary who would cover taking minutes in lieu of the board’s hired secretary if needed. 

Another vote was taken to designate an administrator at each of the district’s schools as the building’s truant officer. 

In addition, the board designated the weekly Valley Reporter and daily Times Argus as the district’s newspapers of record where official notices will be printed. State law requires that printed newspapers be used for that purpose. The board last year included the weekly Waterbury Reader print edition produced by the Times Argus with the Waterbury Roundabout. That paper ended publication in September 2022. 

During public comment, the board heard from one individual, former board member and former Brookside Primary School staff member Brian Dalla Mura. He urged the board to “move quickly” to adopt a new policy that would ban the use of prone and supine restraints and seclusion with students. 

After Dalla Mura called attention to the practices nearly a year ago, the district has since banned the use of such restraints this year and a committee of the board has been meeting to draft a new policy. 

Dalla Mura noted that Waterbury state Rep. Theresa Wood has introduced a bill, H.409, in the state Legislature that would ban prone and supine restraints and seclusions in all Vermont schools that accept public funds. He said he expects the topic to receive more public attention as a result. “Passing a policy will show that Harwood wants to be a leader in this and that we’re taking it seriously,” Dalla Mura said. “It’ll be a great step to show the state.”

The Restraint and Seclusion Policy Subcommittee met prior to the full board meeting on Wednesday. It convenes again on March 20 at 5 p.m. via zoom to make revisions to the draft policy with the goal of sharing the draft with the full school board by its April 12 meeting. A new policy would be warned for a public hearing before the board would vote to adopt it. 

The zoom link can be found on the committee agenda on the school district website under the Board heading in the committees category. 

The school board’s next regular meeting is Wednesday, March 22, at 6 p.m. in the Harwood library and online via Zoom and YouTube. Meeting recordings are online on the district’s YouTube channel and on Mad River TV.