Hello, Burlington!

This week, leading in to the Labor Day holiday, is the lightest week I’ve seen in awhile. There are a couple of subcommittee meetings today, but otherwise the town calendar is clear for now. Maybe some meetings will be added later this week, or maybe the town at large feels the fall approaching and is trying to hold on to those precious few days before September. (This is, incidentally, what I did this Sunday and why this Weekly Buzz is coming a day late: I started it writing it from the line for the Untamed ride at Canobie Lake Park and didn’t finish until the quiet of Monday morning.)

Today is the first of two work days for BPS teachers before students arrive. Schools start on Wednesday, and after two days of easing in, they’ll have a long weekend starting Friday. Much is new in the district this year, including Assistant Superintendent Liza Chen, an assistant principal at Fox Hill, and a contract with Whitson’s, the food service management company the district worked with for the last couple of months of last school year. Some facilities work has been done over the summer, too: As of last week, the work to reconfigure instructional space at Pine Glen, repair the Marshall Simonds air conditioning unit, and resurface the stairwells at Francis Wyman were all underway and expected to finish prior to the school year.

Expect the conversation about rebuilding the Fox Hill school to be ongoing this school year, along with the push to review the Equity Audit that’s been two years in the making and create and post a job description for a Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, a job with has been vacant for nearly a year.

The dates for the next School Committee and School Building Committee meetings aren’t on the town calendar yet, but mark your calendar for the community forum on September 18 at BHS, during which the SBC will update the public on the work they’ve done since July to come closer to a final decision about whether to build a single, 325-student school on the Fox Hill campus or follow a two-school-in-one-building “butterfly” model for 640 students on the Fox Hill campus.

Broken Record Alert: This decision will affect every single person in Burlington for one or more reason:

• Considering this school project along with other upcoming capital projects such as the high school and the police station, taxes are going to go up.
• Elementary students are going to be redistricted, particularly those already going to Fox Hill; no matter what the ultimate decision is, if a new school is built it will be for more than 100 fewer students than currently attend Fox Hill.
• Traffic patterns will change—though how and how much has been a matter of much contention.
• Equity between school facilites could be affected.

So, again, mark your calendar so you can learn more about the School Building situation and have your voice heard. September 18, BHS auditorium.

This Week in Burlington

Municipal Meetings and Community Events

Monday, August 28

12:00 PM - Select Board Alcohol Subcommittee (Town Hall Basement Meeting Room)

More Details

• 7:00 PM - Virtual Trivia Night - Zoom (Library event; Register)
• 7:00 PM - An Evening with Bestselling Authors Lisa Jackson & Nancy Bush (Virtual Library Event; Register)
• 7:30 PM - General Bylaw Review Committee (Virtual)

Tuesday, August 29

• 10:00 AM - Inked Botanicals card making class at Made in Burlington
• 6:00 PM - Cornhole Tournament at 3rd Ave.

Wednesday, August 30

• First day of school, grades 1-12

Thursday, August 31

• 3:30 PM - Inked Botanicals card making class at Made in Burlington
• 6:30 PM - Free blood pressure screening at the library, provided by the Burlington Volunteer Reserve Corps
• 5:00 PM - Live music on the Green at 3rd Ave.

Friday, September 1

• No School
• 5:00 PM - Live music on the Green at 3rd Ave.

Saturday, September 2

• 9:15 AM - Free Saturday morning yoga on the Green at 3rd Ave.
• 5:00 PM - Live music on the Green at 3rd Ave.
• Library Closed

Sunday, September 3

• Library Closed
• 10:00 AM - Kids’ Painting on the Green at 3rd Ave.; Register

Monday, September 4

• No School
• Town Offices & Library Closed

Sports and Activities

Lots of a scrimmages and games this week: soccer, football, volleyball, golf, and field hockey will all be playing and practicing.

That’s all I have for you today. I’ll see you again tomorrow!

Nicci

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