By LAYLA KALINEN
Eagle Times Staff
CHESTER, VT — As tensions mounted over the Chieftains rebranding plans in the past seven months, what transpires at the 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 19, Green Mountain Unified School District school board meeting is anybody’s guess.
The agenda does not report on any official actions or votes being made; however, Chair Deb Brown said there will be an executive session with legal counsel, and she will present a public update on where the district stands with the State of Vermont on the rebranding issue.
There will be opportunities for citizen comments at the beginning and end of the meeting, a 5- minute block for citizen’s questions after Superintendent Fierman’s report and a 10-minute block for questions for Principal John Broadley’s report.
According to officials, there are rumors circulating about memes sent via email to the school board from board member Steve Peroni in an attempt to criticize the racial aspect of keeping the Chieftains title. The memes depict the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders and Braveheart in absurd indigenous reference. There is fear that the images could be leaked on social media. Attempt to convey his feelings on the removal of the Chieftains title have had an equally damaging effect as the racial purporting on the mascot on the board settling the matter.
As of Monday afternoon, Oct. 16, Chair Brown could not confirm whether legal counsel had been officially ceased by the GMUSD school board, but she did say she hopes the meeting will be productive and less controversial than past meetings.
“We are giving an update on what our legal counsel has found in their research. I have every hope that we can get through the items that are currently on the agenda,” Brown said.
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