Skies for days at Mary Cummings Park. Photo by author.

Good morning, Burlington!

Last night at the Select Board meeting, members of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, an advisory committee to the Select Board that was charged from late 2021 to November 2022, appeared to state their case for continuing to work with the Select Board. While members of the Board recognized the importance of ongoing work, they also expressed that they weren’t in agreement with renewing the Committee in its current form.

Chief among the concerns was the fact that the municipal structure is comprised of several different boards that all operate autonomously (and differently). Both the former Committee members and the Select Board seemed to think there was a need to focus on training for the Select Board, but while DEI Committee Chair, Dr. BJ Addison Reid, asserted that the Committee had presented a structure that had just not been followed to its completion, the Select Board opted to pursue outside training before continuing.

The Select Board also expressed a need for some kind of metric to measure the effectiveness of the work.

Select Board Chair, Nick Priest, insisted this is not the end of focused work on DEI at the municipal level; Dr. Reid mentioned she is working with Superintendent of Schools Eric Conti to further the work in BPS and will continue to do so.

Also at Select Board, Member Joe Morandi proposed the idea to rename the entrance way to the high school. The new name, “Dottie’s Way,” would commemorate Dottie Yeadon, who impacted many in our community with her positivity and enthusiasm before passing away in December. Best known as the school bus driver for generations of children, Dottie was remembered fondly by many at the meeting. The Select Board voted to approve the proposal and it will be taken to the School Committee next.

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Today in Burlington

Meetings and Events

The School Committee continues its budgetary discussions with the Ways & Means Committee today.

Memorial Kindergarten Registration (by appointment)
11:00 AM – Free blood pressure screening at the library
4:00 PM – Teen event at the library: Pixy Stix Heart Ornaments (Register here!)
7:00 PM – School Committee – Joint Ways & Means School Sub BHS School Committee Room and online. They’ll be viewing a presentation from Whitsons, the new food service company, discussing a handful of policies, hearing from the Superintendent about the operating budget, talking about the rising cost of special education services, and more.