Notes from Montpelier
by Rep. Bill Frank

On January 3rd I was sworn in for the second time as one of your two representatives to the Vermont Legislature. It was an exciting day and I was thrilled to have my wife Bev and my mother-in-law present. It is indeed an honor to serve you in Montpelier. My seat in the House chamber will again be in the front row, number 15.

I am very pleased to be assigned to again serve on the Human Services Committee. There are seven members returning to the committee from the last biennium. During the first weeks of the session we will be introduced to and updated by members of the Agency of Human Services and many advocacy groups. I will be updating the committee on three committees I worked on during the summer and fall. One part of the Advance Directive Act is an on-line registry where you can optionally record your Advance Directive; I was a member of the group to bring this registry on-line. The technical parts of the registry are completed and concerns by many groups are being worked out so the registry can go online. I am a member of the committee to implement the Vermont Prescription Monitoring System. This committee has only had its organizational meeting; the next meeting is January 22. I was also appointed to the Long Term Care System Sustainability Task Force. We met monthly from June through January and just completed a report for the legislature. The report is available at the Legislative web site, or you may contact me for a copy.

In May 2006 the Commissioner of Education Richard Cate released a white paper entitled The Governance of Education in Vermont 1777 to 2006 that outlines the history of Vermont's education governance structure. It addresses several concerns about education in Vermont, including the cost and quality of education, stagnant student enrollment and a short supply of school leadership candidates. In addition, it outlines a model for redesigning education governance in Vermont. "I want to encourage all Vermonters to participate in the discussion on this important topic," said Cate. "This affects our students and all the people of this state."

Commissioner Cate has scheduled 30 meetings to gather statewide public input. At each meeting, facilitators and department staff will explain the current education governance structures, both statewide and in the local area of the meeting. The citizens who attend the meetings will participate in small group discussions responding to the following questions:
  •  What are the most important results that you want from our education system?
  •  How does the current education governance structure affect our ability to achieve those results?
  •  What elements of an education governance structure could help us achieve those results?

Following these meetings, the facilitators will report their findings to the commissioner. This public engagement process, which concludes in May, will culminate in a final detailed report on what the people of Vermont say they want from the state's education system. This report will be the commissioner's recommendations to the State Board of Education, the Governor and the Legislature.

The meetings closest to us are:
January 30th - Burlington High School Cafeteria
February 13th - Champlain Valley Union High School Cafeteria, Hinesburg
March 8th - Crossett Brook Elementary School, Waterbury

Please consider attending one of the meetings, they all begin at 6:00pm. For a list of all the meetings and more information visit the Education Department's web page or I can send you the list.

I really enjoy hearing from you. Write, call or stop in at the Village Cup in Jericho on Monday morning February 5. Gaye and I will be there for an informal discussion between 7-9 am. We will also be at The Cup April 16th and at the Deborah Rawson Memorial Library on the evening of February 20th. Contact me at Rep.BillFrank@verizon.net, 899-3136 or 19 Pokerhill Rd, Underhill 05489.