Bennington-Rutland Supervisory Union seeks candidates for T&G, Winhall, Mettawee districts

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Running for your local school board is another endeavor altered by the pandemic. For 2021 elections, signed petitions are no longer required to qualify to run for any of the 19 open positions in the three school districts of the Bennington-Rutland Supervisory Union: Mettawee, Winhall and the Taconic & Green Regional.

“Finding candidates to run for the school board is always a challenge, but Covid makes this an even steeper hill to climb,” says BRSU chair Jim Salsgiver. “Thankfully, the state of Vermont has created an option designed to expand, not limit public participation at this time when collecting petition signatures would be difficult.”

A new streamlined procedure has been instituted to minimize possible spread of the virus and encourage prospective candidates to step forward. Multiple signatures from designated towns are not needed. Candidates seeking any office this year must simply complete and submit the Consent of Candidate Form to your Town Clerk Office by 5 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 25, 2021. Forms can be picked up at your Town Clerk Office or found online by clicking here: Open Positions (Seats up for election) for the Consent of Candidate Form.

Each BRSU District has at least two open positions up for election. (School Board members are formally called directors.) The elected directors hold an organizational meeting following the vote to determine board officers, such as board chair, board clerk and board vice-chair. In addition to directors, the T&G and Mettawee districts also have open positions for District Moderator, District Clerk and District Treasurer. The Winhall District will be electing a District Moderator.

The approved T&G Articles of Agreement requires that all residents from its nine communities vote for every director position on the 13 member board. To guarantee balance, nine of the seats are designated to be represented by a resident from a specific community. The remaining four “at large” seats must be filled from candidates from one of the four largest T&G communities: Danby, Dorset, Londonderry, and Manchester.

A complete list of the 19 open positions in the three BRSU Districts follows:

Taconic & Green Regional School District: All positions voted district-wide

• At Large Seats: Three Directors (candidates must reside in Danby, Dorset, Londonderry, or Manchester), one-year term expiring in March 2022.

• Danby Seat: One Director, three-year term expiring in March 2024

• Londonderry Seat: One Director, three-year term expiring in March 2024

• Manchester Seat: One Director, three-year term expiring in March 2024

• Peru Seat: One Director, two-year term expiring in March 2023

• Weston Seat: One Director, three-year term expiring in March 2024

• District Wide: Moderator, one-year term expiring June 30, 2022

• District Wide: Clerk, one-year term expiring June 30, 2022

• District Wide; Treasurer, one-year term expiring June 30, 2022

Winhall School District

• Winhall: One Director, three-year term expiring in March 2024

• Moderator, one-year term expiring June 30, 2022

Mettawee School District:

• Pawlet: Two Directors, three-year term expiring March 2024

• Rupert: One Director, three-year term expiring March 2024

• District Wide: Moderator, one-year term expiring June 30, 2022

• District Wide: Clerk, one-year term expiring June 30, 2022

• District Wide: Treasurer, one-year term expiring June 30, 202