Discover More from This Category: Letters
6 reasons why you should get help for your mental health
July 10, 2024
Dear Editor, Many people underestimate the impact that mental illness can have on an individual or family. It can be difficult to admit that you have a mental health problem in your life. Secondly, it can be just as difficult in getting the people you know to understand your situation without making any kinds of…
Good edu. results but at a high cost
July 3, 2024
Dear Editor, The Vermont Legislature has passed a 13.8% increase in Vermonters’ property tax to fund our public education system. Now that we are paying more, what educational outcomes are we getting for our money? According to Forbes Magazine, Feb. 7, 2024: “Which states have the highest standardized test scores,” Vermont ranks 10th in the nation…
Act 76 is leading to newfound stability forchild care programs and families
July 3, 2024
Dear Editor, Editor’s note: This letter is authored by 15 child care program directors and owners from across the state. They are listed at the end of the letter. Last year, we came together as child care program owners and early childhood educators from around Vermont to sound the alarm on the dire state of Vermont’s…
Working together toward affordable, quality ed solutions
June 26, 2024
Dear Editor, Back in late February, I had to stand up at Town Meeting and tell my community that I anticipated our taxes would increase by double digits. It wasn’t fun. We’re looking at a 15% increase and I’m not at all happy about it. I have to pay it, too. My town elected me…
VSBA seeks to address root cause of high ed spending
June 26, 2024
Dear Editor, As this school year ends, schools are celebrating graduations. This is an important moment for all our students, families, and educators across Vermont. It is a celebration that public education is at the center of our communities and the foundation of our democracy. As our high school graduates around the state go out…
AJGA is a good fit for GMNGC
June 26, 2024
Dear Editor, As many may know, this week was the annual AJGA (American Junior Golf Association) tournament at Green Mountain National Golf Course (GMNGC) here in Killington. It is a wonderful event bringing in families from around the world. I have been lucky enough to volunteer there for a number of years and I always…
Vermont values under ‘atax:’ Vermonters rally to challenge threat to food, water, shelter
June 19, 2024
Dear Editor, A broad cross section of Vermonters gathered in the State House cafeteria to express their displeasure with the direction the state’s political leadership is taking them. (And that was April 25; things have not improved since.) Feeling ignored or otherwise discounted and marginalized, and in some cases, even mocked, the diverse group chose…
VTSU should renew its commitment to diversity office
June 19, 2024
Dear Editor, In the summer of 2020, the nation watched 8 minutes and 46 seconds of video of a Minneapolis police officer kneeling on the neck of a detained man named George Floyd until Floyd was asphyxiated to death. It was horrific, and Floyd was only one of several people of color who died at…
Scott was right to veto H.887
June 19, 2024
Dear Editor, Our state Legislature is meeting this week to vote on overriding Governor Scott’s vetoes of legislation introduced during the latest session. One of the bills for consideration is H. 887, the annual “yield bill,” which funds our public education system through property taxes. Governor Scott has rightly vetoed this bill because, according to…
Short-term rentals are a scapegoat for every housing issue
June 12, 2024
Dear Editor, Short-term rental owners are not the evil housing tycoons we are sometimes made out to be. Vacation rentals peppered around our state make up just 2.5% of our housing stock yet contribute hundreds of millions of dollars to our state budget in the form of rooms/meals taxes and consumer spending. I’ve lived in Guilford for…
Override Scott’s veto to protect pollinator, ecosystem, public health
June 12, 2024
Dear Editor, In the peaceful farmlands and meadows of Vermont, a silent emergency unfolds. Bees, the heart of our agricultural ecosystem, face unprecedented threats to their survival. Despite Vermont Agency of Agriculture Food and Market reports claiming that bee populations are thriving, beekeepers around the state emphasize the deteriorating health of their colonies. These adverse…
‘Time we stopped, hey,what’s that sound? Everybody look what’s going down’
June 5, 2024
Dear Editor, The movement to stop Israel’s murderous campaign against Palestinian civilians is up against the entire American military/industrial/congressional complex and assorted American war/death culture allies like AIPAC, The Heritage Foundation, and Fox News. Leaders of the most powerful American institutions and major party presidential candidates Donald Trump and Joe Biden want to continue official…
Starting June 1, bobcats, foxes, bears, others are in danger
June 5, 2024
Dear Editor, Every year, beginning on June 1, bears, bobcats, foxes, and other wildlife are pursued by packs of hounds, potentially over miles of land, during Vermont’s hound “training” season. Since this is also the time of year when wildlife is tending to their young, this “training” may lead to orphaned animals, as well as vulnerable wildlife suffering…
Why Act 127 is vital for Vermont’s rural education
May 29, 2024
Dear Editor, In Vermont’s quest for equitable education funding, Act 127 represents a beacon of hope, especially for our rural communities. This legislation, informed by thorough research from Rutgers and the University of Vermont, revises the state’s school funding formulas to reflect the actual costs of educating students in diverse socio-economic settings, with a significant focus…
Act 127 balance ed resources; aims for equity
May 29, 2024
Dear Editor, The debate over educational equity in Vermont, particularly around the implementation of Act 127 and the Pupil Weighting Factors Report, touches deeply on the state’s social and economic disparities. This conflict is starkly illustrated by the historical and current attitudes of certain towns towards neighboring communities, especially in the context of educational funding…