Donovan Nichols - GMUSD Board Member

Donovan Nichols - GMUSD Board Member GMUSD Board Member, Cavendish Rep. Views are my own as an individual board member, I do not speak for the board.

This page should not be considered an official communication channel. Messages and Comments may be public records under Vermont Law.

Tonight the superintendent hosted an informational session about the TRSU Special Education Report by Meghan Roy. It is...
09/24/2026

Tonight the superintendent hosted an informational session about the TRSU Special Education Report by Meghan Roy.

It is unfortunate that the report itself was not included in handouts at the meeting, or included in the presentation and I hope you take some time to review its contents. I’ll include a link at the bottom.

While the superintendent did note the report was publicly available, I have only been able to access it from a past meeting agenda packet made available to the school board.

This sort of behavior is a poor attempt at being technically transparent while doing nothing to meaningful create access for community members to review public documents that deeply affect our students.

It’s important to note that as a board member, I don’t speak for the board as a whole. The reason you’ll see this disclaimer is that the board speaks through a majority vote at legally warned meetings. What I say here, is my own opinion. It’s also true that the superintendent regularly makes unsubstantiated assertions that the board or individual members will be putting themselves in a position of possible liability, which has a profound chilling effect on the governance process and meaningful conversations.

I’ve included screenshots of the “Findings” section in the report, as well as a link to a Google Drive where you can read the full report.


https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DZLCKl1qO7yMn4OQXVCe6tWq_USRi6Mh/view?usp=drivesdk

On 08-06-2026 the TRSU board was presented with the TRSU Special Education Review from Meagan Roy. I believe there are c...
08/09/2026

On 08-06-2026 the TRSU board was presented with the TRSU Special Education Review from Meagan Roy. I believe there are considerable differences between the consultant's findings and how those findings are characterized in the superintendent's report.

The GMUSD board included this report as an agenda item for the upcoming 08-20-2026 school board meeting, so I'm providing a link to both documents so community members can review the source materials and be informed ahead of those discussions.

I’ll add links in the comments.

Upcoming GMUSD Regular School Board MeetingMay 21, 2026 -- 6:00 - 8:00 pmIn Person:Green Mountain Union High School, 716...
05/20/2026

Upcoming GMUSD Regular School Board Meeting
May 21, 2026 -- 6:00 - 8:00 pm

In Person:
Green Mountain Union High School, 716 VT-103, Chester, VT 05143, USA, GMUHS-3rd Floor-Library Learning Commons

Zoom Meeting ID: 875 6864 2355

Links to Agenda and Meeting Documents in comments.

04/21/2026

A few things you should know about Average Class Size Minimums:

• Act 73 average class size minimums are part of the Education Quality Standards (EQS). The statute is 16 VSA 165

- Average class size minimums do not go into effect until July 1, 2026

- A district can be out of compliance for other reasons besides not meeting class size minimums.

- There is a 3 year compliance window. At which point after three consecutive years of non-compliance the Secretary of Education may make a recommendation to the SBE.

- Local school boards have the right to a hearing with the SBE.

• Act 73 charged the State Board of Education (SBE) with rule making to amend the EQS (Rule Series 2000). Rule making that defines these standards.

- The SBE is set to begin their rule making work, as designated by Act 73, on August 1, 2026 - 1 month after class size minimums are in effect.

• H.931 - An act relating to misc changes in education law identifies and aims to correct the misalignment of the rule making beginning a month after the class size minimums go into effect.

- It passed the house and went to the senate committee.

-If it is ultimately approved. It would move the implementation date to when one of two conditions are met;

1). SBE updates the EQS.

2). July 1, 2027

Districts have time to figure out the best path forward. Rushing into blind compliance with a poorly defined statute is risky and does not put education quality at the forefront of decision making.

I’ll include links on the comments.

Two things I think communities can all agree on are that nobody wants a higher cost of living, and we want the best for ...
04/10/2026

Two things I think communities can all agree on are that nobody wants a higher cost of living, and we want the best for our youth. The hard truth is that we can only significantly and immediately affect one of those.

Significant cost drivers in education are:

• Healthcare Costs
• Facilities Construction and Maintenance
• Support Services, such as special education.

These healthcare costs have and will continue to grow exponentially, there hasn’t been state aid for construction costs since 2007, and special education services are mandated by law. After narrowing down what services can’t be reduced, it forces districts to consider “non-essential” cuts. These cuts often come in the form of reductions in staff, extracurriculars, sports, and transportation. This negatively impacts opportunities and the quality of education for students, while doing nothing to reduce property tax bills.

Voting down the school budget doesn’t change our obligation to educate Vermont youth. Forcing a district to borrow up to 87% of last year’s budget to remain operational will result in fees and interest which must be paid back when the budget is finally approved.

Communities should work with, and hold their districts, school boards, and legislators accountable within their roles. It's also important that expectations be realistic. Our anger toward broader systemic failures that are largely beyond local control, should not inadvertently be taken out on students.

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05153

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