Gamers unite
Choral concert
Mobile game diet provides inspiration
All Souls hosts Freedom and Unity chorus
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South Burlington’s Community Newspaper Since 1977
the SEPTEMBER 19, 2024
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Schools prepare for ‘extraordinary fiscal headwinds LIBERTY DARR STAFF WRITER
After a harrowing budget cycle that saw a third of Vermont’s school budgets fail on Town Meeting Day, local and state leaders are sounding the early alarm on the upcoming budget cycle that could be even worse than the last one. The situation has leaders from the state’s largest school district, Champlain Valley School District, and the South Burlington School District prepping their communities in the earliest weeks of the fall semester for the “extraordinary fiscal headwinds” that lie just around the corner. Both districts experienced significant repercussions during last year’s budget cycle when the state introduced unprecedented
changes in the education funding system. That shift, meant to equalize education across the state, led to significant tax hikes in the Chittenden County towns that make up the two school districts. While South Burlington residents are seeing a moderate tax increase of 8.1 percent — in comparison, Shelburne’s school taxes went up 16 percent — the district’s projections for this year are alarming and even “quite dire,” South Burlington School District superintendent Violet Nichols wrote in a letter to legislators last month. The district made out better than some of its neighbors last year by leveraging $3.2 million from its See SCHOOL BUDGET on page 13
VOLUME 48, NO. 38
Burlington Pride Parade
COURTESY PHOTO
Members of Frederick H. Tuttle Middle School’s Queer Straight Alliance, South Burlington High School’s Gay Straight Alliance, and staff and families attended the Vermont Pride Parade in Burlington on Sept. 8.
Testing shows declining PFAS levels after National Guard foam spill LIBERTY DARR STAFF WRITER
The levels of PFAS in effluent at the South Burlington Wastewater treatment facility have been steadily declining since a toxic chemical spill in June.
The 800-gallon chemical foam spill at the Vermont National Guard’s aviation facility that partially leaked into the city’s treatment facility have leveled off after spiking at 2,000 parts per trillion. The foam, a fuel fire suppres-
sion liquid that contains perf- and polyfluoroalkyl substances known as PFAS, which are linked to many known health problems, leaked June 20 and by the next day had already made its way to the city’s treatment facility. A post-incident investigation found that a sealed
rubber gasket at the base of the holding tanks ruptured, causing the release. Approximately 650 gallons of the foam were captured in the Army Guard facility by an environmental remediation company. Up to 150 gallons of the foam
entered the wastewater system owned by the Guard through a floor drain and eventually made its way to the city’s Airport Parkway Wastewater Treatment Facility. See FOAM SPILL on page 12
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