by Paul Sciortino

There are too many days off with little consistency in classroom time.

I have resided in Lamoille North School system for close to 40 years, our two children went through the system with great results. 

Currently the number of consistent classroom days and early dismissals days are out of control.

My back of the napkin analysis shows that the first 19 weeks of school starting this past fall,

There were only 10 weeks with 5 consecutive school days. You can’t provide a good learning environment without daily consistency in learning and coaching.

Having been a youth coach for many decades, I cannot instill skills with inconsistent practice times, the same as classroom time.

Consider the following:

• Teacher in service days – they should not close the schools for this.

If you’re a local service provider such as fuel, plumber, election, HVAC, etc. your techs have to have continuation credit hours, but they don’t close down the business.

Knowing teachers in the school district, they tell me that very few teachers show up for these in service days, they call in sick! My hair cutter tells me that those are her busiest days of work because these said in service teachers come in to get their hair cut.

• Early Dismissal days now at 5 per year. Why, to fill out report cards. Don’t they get paid a salary to do this. Show me two parents who support this idea. With daycare at crisis point and very expensive, we pay over price education taxes, why can’t they keep children in school to learn with more classroom time. Why, the Teachers Union, Principal Union, Superintendent Union et al.  My dental hygienist comments about early dismissal days for her elementary school children, I either have to not go to work, work a half day or pay for my childcare.
• Very high educational school taxes, test scores are declining and the  number of students are also lower.
• Do other private schools provide a fuller classroom schedule? Rice, Bishop Marshal, etc. that’s the need for school choice. Yet there are many legislators stomping for public schools while their pockets are lined by teacher union political donations.

I am going to try and make this an issue this year. The Lamoille school union contract started last July 2025.

So, we need to bring this issue to forefront before next contract negotiations.

If you had Exxon, Shell, Occidental, BP sitting on one side of the negotiating table, people would be up in arms! Why not the same for the heavy handed teachers’ unions.

We also need to identify all legislators who have received political donations from these same unions and call them out on their voting records.

I presented these points at the Legislative Breakfast in Johnson earlier this month to a hearty round of applause.

Author ran for House Representative Waterville/ Cambridge last election.