Often at odds with powerful teachers’ union

By Guy Page

The superintendent of the South Burlington school district resigned Tuesday night. A school board member who also resigned said the majority of the school board sides with the school teachers’ union in opposition to the superintendent.

As reported by resident Gerry Silverstein July 22 on the South Burlington Resident Forum on Facebook: ‘’At tonight’s SB School Board meeting Superintendent Violet Nichols of the SBSD announced she is resigning her position. Her last day will be August 1, 2025.”

Silverstein’s report was confirmed by a news story in The Other Paper, the community newspaper for South Burlington.

Silverstein said that Violet gave no reason, but that she thanked the District for allowing her to participate in the education of children in South Burlington. 

“She will be missed and I for one am greatly disappointed with her decision. I wish her the best in her future professional endeavors, whatever they may be,” Silverstein, a UVM retiree, said. 

The school district is regarded as one of the best-paying school districts in Vermont. According to the school district/teachers’ agreement, in 2025 the minimum starting salary for teachers is  $53,378, with the maximum salary $107,772. The teachers are represented by the South Burlington Educators’ Association.

On July 18, school board member Tim Warren resigned – and in his letter, blamed the board for following the union’s lead in opposing the superintendent. His letter of resignation, appearing on the resident forum site, said in part:

“I also must protest the significant weight the board majority has placed on narratives about the superintendent promoted by the SBEA. While a healthy, positive school climate is critical to the success of our district and work in this area needs to be done, the board has appeared to me to be more invested in aligning with the SBEA and staff concerns than in working constructively with and through the superintendent, as effective policy governance requires. 

“At no point has it collaborated meaningfully with the superintendent to address staff concerns; rather, I believe the board has used the feedback as a cudgel to implement a performance improvement plan (PIP) rather than as a basis for dialogue and resolution,” Warren said.

One forum commenter echoed Warren’s sentiments, saying “Nichols was disliked by many in the teacher’s association (SBEA), BUT she was very well liked by many senior administrators, many professional educators including myself, and by many past school board directors and school board Chairs. It is not unusual for “worker bees” to be unhappy with decisions of individuals who have responsibility for the entirety of a system such as a school district. I have followed events in the SBSD for 20 years and I believe the biggest problem in the District is the SBEA. In 2017 when their initial bargaining position was one that even the word absurd would not do justice to the greed of their position, some residents including myself complained about their greed and arrogance. The SBEA took out an ad in the Other Paper that said: “Teachers want to teach, and SB students deserve a year free of disruption created by adults in the community”. The adults they were talking about were citizen-taxpayers, many of whom know more about education that most members of the SBEA. 

‘My translation of the message in the SBEA ad: SBEA to SB citizen-taxpayers: ‘Shut your mouth and pay your taxes’. The FY26 cost per SB pupil will be $29,258. The FY26 budget is up 5% compared to the FY25 budget. If the budget were to increase 5% per year over 16 years going forward (3 years pre-K and then K-12) the cost to educate one child in SB would be more than $700,000. The biggest expense in the District is personnel. Spending is not sustainable BUT the SBEA always wants to spend more and their motto in contract negotiations, in my opinion, is gimme, gimme, gimme….more, more more.”

According to her bio on the South Burlington school district website, Nichols previously served as the District’s Executive Director of Learning. She is a Vermont native who has been a public school teacher, STEM educator, mathematics instructional coach and administrator both in Vermont and nationally. Holding a master’s degree in education and a second master’s in educational leadership, she he is a licensed superintendent, curriculum director, principal, English language teacher, and elementary teacher. Violet is a member of the Vermont Principals’ Association, Vermont Superintendents Association, and Champlain Valley Superintendents Association.

Nichols was the subject of a racial harrassment complaint, which the board announced in June was not substantiated. “We want to inform the public that the independent investigation into a racial harassment complaint filed against Superintendent Nichols has been completed. After a thorough and impartial review of all relevant facts and circumstances, the complaint has not been sustained. Accordingly, the third-party evaluator and the Board finds no evidence of wrongdoing by the Superintendent. The independent investigation found that Superintendent Nichols acted within the scope of her responsibilities and in accordance with her duty to uphold the integrity of the educational environment. The investigation confirmed that her actions were appropriate, professional, and not racially motivated in any way.”

As shown on the school district website, current members of the school board: