By Guy Page
An East Montpelier school serving more than 700 children grades 7-12 closed before noon today due to a “perfect storm” of staff shortages. And school officials say they’re not certain the school will be open tomorrow, either.
Also, Spaulding High School in neighboring Barre reported it, too, will be closed due to staffing shortages. “We are very sorry for the late notice, but over the course of the morning, it has become clear that we have too many faculty and staff out to safely open school,” the Spaulding Facebook page said. “We will have more details about after-school activities, making the day up later this morning, etc. Our apologies for the very late notice. Again, we will have more details later today.”
U-32, the East Montpelier-based high school – middle school serving grades 7-12 for East Montpelier, Calais, and Berlin, Worcester and Middlesex, announced shortly after 8 AM today it would close at 11:25 AM today.
The notice did not indicate the nature of the staff shortage. However, Superintendent Meagan Roy provided some details in a followup email at 10:50 AM this morning to Vermont Daily Chronicle.
“Yes, U-32 is closing after lunch today due to unforeseen staffing shortages,” Roy said. “I would describe the situation this way: Like many schools in our region and across Vermont, we are experiencing a critical staff shortage. The district continues to have unfilled vacancies across employment categories. This shortage makes it difficult to weather the “typical” absences we see, especially as we enter the Fall cold, flu and of course COVID season. The situation today became critical enough that we needed to restructure U-32’s day to prioritize morning classes and then we will dismiss. I would describe it as a perfect storm of sorts. We certainly hope this is a one-time event, but unfortunately our staffing shortage has been ongoing since the start of the school year. A lack of substitutes on top of existing vacancies makes it challenging.
“Certainly our hope is that we will be able to manage the situation and hold school as usual tomorrow. Our team will be working this afternoon to understand the situation from today and look ahead as best we can.”
Food service staff are among the shortages, according to comments made at a recent school board meeting, and a September 30 advertisement for a food service worker.
At the Sept. 21 U-32 school board meeting, newly-appointed student representative Willow Mashkuri expressed concerns about lack of food service workers. “Willow shared about lack of staff in the lunchroom; this creates fewer choices, including lack of options for vegetarian items. There is an idea circulating that students help out with lunch; there is a hope that this will improve the compliance with recycling, trash, composting,” the minutes for the September 21 meeting say.
According to Schoolspring.com, the public school employment website, U-32 advertised for a full-time food service worker on September 30, to start immediately. The site also has open job listings for a special education teacher, two paraeducators, two custodians, an administrative assistant, a mechanic, and a behavior interventionist.
Statewide, 1307 Vermont school jobs are advertised on schoolspring.com.
Categories: Education
This country is in an economic crisis. Too much money is being sent to the top. We need more enforcement of anti-trust. Too much capitalism, not enough genuine free enterprise.
Yes, this country is in economic dire straights. Brought about by government- both state and federal. Ramping up ‘enforcement’ of anti trust increases government, the very cause of current problems. You’d be correct in wanting more free enterprise, but increasing government is the exact opposite of a solution. We’d be just fine with less regulation, laws and rules surrounding every aspect of our lives…unless one prefers to be ruled, not governed. This article reports on the lack of government employees showing up to work- and the inability to get people to work for this school system. Remember when bernie was all about a $15 minimum wage? That $15 threshold was surpassed in the last 2 years, adding to the mess we are now in.
More government is no solution.
Hey School Boards & Unions: Do as YOUR president ORDERED you to do: “Pay Them More……. Shhhhhh……”
The schools in Bennington County are paying substitutes, which they need desperately, just slightly above minimum wage. Do they pay more for candidates with a bachelor’s degree? Nope. Do they pay more for those with sub experience? Nope. Any cola increase beginning in January? Uh….nope. But the fish market in town is hiring delivery drivers at $20 an hour.
Their past cries of $15 to $20 for folks flipping burgers apparently wasn’t meant to apply to THEM. Therefore? They continue to desperately need staffers & subs.
Ah well, you reap what you sow. Self-inflicted wounds, I’d assess.
Also, just out of sheer curiosity – How many schools were desperately seeking staffers during the Trump administration? Sorry, but Covid19 is long over and educators alone have apparently left in droves….
What is truly the driving force here? Is it attrition? Doubtful. Is it the extremist philosophies teachers are being forced to insert into curricula & extracurricular studies & programs? Very possibly.
I mean, Vermonters seem to just adore “virtue signaling” one another UNTIL it involves their “kiddos”. The Dorset Public Library held a “Drag Queen Story Time” for children this summer and NOT a single child was escorted to the event. Maybe teachers & parents really DO think it’s wrong to attempt to convince children that gender is an “illusion” and can be changed. After all, these folks follow the “party of science”, correct?
Deviant ideologies need to be driven out. Sane and dedicated teachers need to be able to stay put.
School Choice for all…..the $ follows the child, your tax $ truly at work
I will no longer work in any school, whether K-12 or college level, despite years of doing so in the past. Between the vax and mask mandates, and the chance that I’ll mess up someone’s personal pronouns or not realize that they are a “they” and not a he or she, and get flak for it, it’s just too painful to consider doing anymore.
You hit the nail on the head, who in their right mind wants to work in an indoctrination camp? If you have independent thoughts you will not be accepted as an employee. You will be shunned and ridiculed by these woke teachers and administrators and you will receive very little support from the sheep in the community. I’m so glad my children got through school before all this indoctrination started. I had to defend my daughter in 8th grade who was refused to leave class to go to the bathroom, can you imagine that. I also refused to give my children’s social security numbers that the school used as their computer ID numbers. I won both times because these administrators are not used to being approached by a parent. Parents need to protect their children from the schools like this one that are out of control. This Millington guy should be fired and he can take his BLM flag with him. Schools are owned by the people not the administration. There should be no political propaganda flown on any school flagpole. That flagpole is for the United States flag and the State of Vermont flag, period. If you all voted for this progressive take over of everything, this is your results.
If they are short staffed, its a perfect opportunity to reduce staff. If the remaining staff doesn’t like, they can go too.
hahahahahahaha – Those “people” who masked our kids and tried to jab them all and are now trying to make school about sexual orientation and slavery and abortion and abusive reverse racism… well they got shot in their foot. But I am told I do not understand because ….well…. I thought school was about learning self respect by excelling in your interests : art, math, reading, writing, sports, theatre … No no no it is about being crazy pants. – suicide squirrel.
Wokism, endless bureaucracy, low pay, abusive administrations… add covid hysteria, and ever increasing moral panics… it’s no wonder there’s a shortage of upstanding Party members willing to step up. As I recall, teachers tend to be the first to go when the Revolution nears its end and starts purging itself. The smart ones saw it coming and got out.
Those with surpressed immune systems courtesy of the jabberdoodle can no longer fight off or manage to function with a common cold or minor ailment. The ethical and moral medical practioners warned of these issues about the jabberdoodle. Yet, they were all censored and maligned for giving out misinformation. So be prepared for many to get sick and sicker as Fall turns to Winter. Don’t forget we also have children and young adults dying “suddenly” or “unexpectedly” of heart attacks and strokes. As well as early onset dementia, increased cancer, reoccuring cancer, and many other ailments unheard of in staggering numbers. The evidence is piling up across the globe. Crimes against humanity. Nuremburg 2.0.
At the Sept. 21 U-32 school board meeting, newly-appointed student representative Willow Mashkuri expressed concerns about lack of food service workers. “Willow shared about lack of staff in the lunchroom; this creates fewer choices, including lack of options for vegetarian items. There is an idea circulating that students help out with lunch; there is a hope that this will improve the compliance with recycling, trash, composting,” the minutes for the September 21 meeting say. That statement right there says it all, and what’s happening too much The Kid’s and not responsible adults run the place. What grown up adult would even want to put up with that?