OPINION: It’s time to die - Vote NO on the bond

October 28, 2021 | By John Kerrigan

I taught high school science at Harwood for 38 years. I would love it if the present students and my former colleagues had brand new state-of-the-art science labs. I started the Harwood Track and Field team, built the Cross Country trails, and coached three varsity sports for four decades. I am currently coaching my third generation of Harwood students as head Cross Country coach.  It would be nice to see a brand-new modern track facility at Harwood.

Yes, Harwood needs renovations. Our students would greatly benefit. But now is not the time. New construction costs are at their highest rates ever. (A common joke heard at Home Depot is “Do I buy those 2x4’s or do I send my kid to college?”) 

Schools built before 1979 (Harwood in 1965) are subject for investigation of cancer-causing PCBs. This analysis will not take place for another year or two. What happens if we spend $50 million on renovations and PCBs are discovered in the soil? This is what happened at Burlington High School. 

The timing for the vote on this bond is poor. Our service-oriented community has been severely impacted by the pandemic. Businesses have closed, employment has been terminated. For many in our community, especially those on fixed incomes, paying the fuel bills this winter and buying groceries are the top priority. Renovations can wait until families are healthier financially.     

Harwood is dysfunctional.  A decade or more of ignoring the voters has changed a school that was once one of the finest in Vermont.   

A good measure of the spirit and productivity of a workforce is its stability. In my first 25 years at Harwood, only a handful of teachers left to take positions in nearby schools. Thirty-six faculty and staff have left their positions at Harwood last year!  Many left to take positions in nearby districts. Sure there was COVID-19 and some early retirements but, 36! 

The once awesome school spirit at Harwood is broken. I have observed teachers sobbing in their cars in the parking lot. Recreational equipment purchased through COVID money lies broken and scattered and is left out in the fields for the custodial staff to mow around.  Toilets and sinks are ripped out of the high school bathrooms.   

Years ago members of the community pleaded with the HU administration not to eliminate honors classes. The vast majority was also opposed to proficiency-based grading rather than the traditional letter grades. The scores that Harwood students received on standardized tests were always above average when compared to our neighboring schools. Not so anymore. Harwood students that have met the Math proficiency are 27%. Neighboring U-32 and CVU are 35% and 52% respectively. Harwood students did not test well in reading with 52% meeting the proficiency. U-32 students were 60% and CVU students 72%. 

There have been no national merit scholars at Harwood for a number of years. When I spoke at the 2015 graduation one-fourth of the Vermont national merit scholars were Harwood students! Our school board does NOT give you this information. They don’t want you to know. Parents know it. It is easy to find this information on the internet. Is the Director of Curriculum sending these results to the school board? Why isn’t the school board holding the Harwood administration accountable for these results? As a science teacher if only 27% of my students passed an amalgamated science department final exam, I would have been held accountable!  

The elimination of honors classes, industrial arts classes, numerical or letter grade evaluation, and failing test scores has motivated parents to remove their children from the district. Recently, I asked several of the 2020 graduates how they are doing at college. Their response was alarming. “Not too well, I am struggling. It is not like what I was used to at Harwood, they actually give graded tests and you don’t get a do-over.

Many members of our community were also opposed to the superintendent-driven request for school consolidation. 

How is that going for you HUUSD? It has seriously divided our community. At least one town (Moretown) in our district is considering leaving altogether and another (Fayston) has been threatened with losing its elementary school when it was promised that this could not occur for several years.  

But we trusted our leaders at Harwood; after all, you were the professionals. You were on the front lines. We always thought that ultimately you would do what’s best for our students. 

This is not true anymore. 

Members of the past three or more senior classes have decided to miss out on the excitement and festivities of their final year at Harwood.  Instead they have chosen early enrollment at college. Some parents have chosen home schooling for their children.  Families are moving out of the district to attend quality Vermont or New Hampshire public schools (Hanover for example) or enrolling their children in Vermont private schools. (St. Johnsbury, and Rice are just two examples.) We don’t know the exact numbers of students that have sought alternatives. Our board and superintendent are in denial.  

School governance should be much like our federal government where checks and balances exist. Our faculty, administration, community members and superintendent should all be equal in their influence.  Not true at Harwood where the superintendent (and board members that are drinking the Kool-aid) are governing the school. Pleas from members of the community are totally ignored. 

For example, a petition was signed by over 1,300 citizens to investigate the firing of the Boys’ Ice Hockey Coach. Dr. Butch, legendary surgeon, founder of Central Vermont Hockey and a much-respected member of our community, was barely given the time of day when he asked for the alleged incident to be investigated. 

If a home had a cracked foundation, a builder would not install new doors and windows. If a patient were suffering from a malfunctioning heart, a surgeon would not surgically implant a prosthetic hip. If a car had a blown head gasket, one would not spend money for bodywork.

Harwood has the equivalent of a cracked foundation, malfunctioning heart and a blown head gasket and more. Let’s fix these problems first.

Does one really think that letting in more light into the building or construction of a new gym will solve these problems? This is like performing cosmetic surgery on a patient with a cancerous brain tumor.

Harwood’s top priority should be the hiring of a new superintendent. This should be an intelligent, dynamic, creative individual. This person should be willing to listen to and act upon the needs of the community. 

They should be someone that tries to unite this community.

The Harwood board has not even done their homework on the bond. In a television news report, as the camera panned the surface of the Harwood track, the voice in the background stated, “The Harwood track was built in 1965 the year Harwood was built.”   

The area where the Harwood track is presently located was a swamp in 1965. The swamp was drained and the Harwood Track and Field Hockey field were built in 1982. I know because I helped build it. Looks like we have another swamp to drain before we approve a $50 million bond. 

When I was teaching, students that did not do their homework usually failed. Harwood, you have not done your homework. Do you really expect the voters to make financial sacrifices when you have not done thorough research? When you haven’t been honest about failing test scores? When you have ignored the needs of the community? You have failed us.

Come on, Harwood board, you can do better. Hire a new progressive superintendent and come back to the voters in March with a new plan for renovation that reflects the needs of the students as well as the community. 

For this bond – It is time to die! 

Duxbury resident John Kerrigan is a former Harwood Union science teacher and current Cross Country head coach.