Parents and students press Burlington school committee on after‑school fees, lunches and survey participation

Several parents and students used the public‑comment portion of the Burlington Public Schools School Committee meeting on March 24 to raise issues they said affect access and student well‑being.

Erica Hedrick, a parent of two children at Francis Wyman (S7), complimented the after‑school program overall but said recent changes to break‑week and professional‑development‑day fees make coverage cost‑prohibitive for some families. Hedrick said families now face an additional $220 per student for February break and receive no prorated tuition when program hours are not used, a structure she said “pushes families to look elsewhere due to the cost, not the preference.” She told the committee she will submit detailed cost comparisons by email and asked the district to place the item on a future agenda for fuller review; a committee member agreed to do so.

A student, Bryson Toothaker (S8), said the quality of middle‑school lunches is poor and described specific concerns including an example of milk he said was a week‑and‑a‑half past its expiration and chicken that appeared undercooked. He urged the district to investigate, saying unhealthy lunches affect students' ability to learn and can cause illness.

Parent David Hannifin (S10) criticized a recent school‑climate survey presentation, saying participation in the middle school was lower than presented and asserting that a large share of families opted students out; he stated that roughly 30% participated and, in his remarks, suggested up to 70% opted out. District staff (S9) contested that figure, saying about 10% of students actively opted out and promising to return with exact participation data at the next meeting. The committee agreed to request precise numbers and to revisit the survey discussion.

On mental‑health screening (SBIRT), district staff clarified the legal requirement (Chapter 71, Section 97) to offer verbal screening for substance‑use disorders, explained that parents and students may opt out at any time, said counselors are trained to conduct confidential one‑on‑one screenings that take about 3–5 minutes and noted that all screening questions will be posted on the district website.

Committee members thanked the commenters and asked staff to bring follow‑up information to a future meeting so the committee could consider policy or fee adjustments if warranted.