Letter from the Superintendent

PRESS RELEASE – DECEMBER 7, 2015 – Two Rivers Supervisory Union Superintendent and Associate Superintendent Announce Retirementsg

After several decades each in education, Two Rivers Supervisory Union (TRSU) Superintendent Bruce Williams and Associate Superintendent Linda Waite have announced they will retire from their respective positions, effective June 30, 2016. They made their individual announcements to the TRSU Executive Board this fall. b

Williams has devoted 42 years to education. He started out in teaching at the elementary and high school levels, in New Hampshire and in Vermont, where, among other things, he mentored Armando Vilaseca, who later went on to become Commissioner of Education in Vermont. After a 16-year tenure as a principal in New Hampshire, Williams became the interim Superintendent of the former Rutland-Windsor Supervisory Union, which evolved into the Superintendency of the TRSU.

“This was a difficult decision because I still thoroughly enjoy supporting this Board, our constituent Boards, our leadership teams, our staff and, most importantly, our students in the ongoing effort to become the best learning organization we can be,” explained Williams in a post Monday to the entire TRSU organization, adding that he had “benefited from a generous and thoughtful partnership with our Associate Superintendent of Schools, Linda Waite.”

Waite has dedicated 26 years to education in Vermont, as a teacher, principal, curriculum coordinator, superintendent at Flood Brook School, Green Mountain High School, Manchester Elementary & Middle School, the former Windsor Southwest Supervisory Union as well as the Associate Superintendent of TRSU.

Both Waite and Williams were instrumental in helping to create the Two Rivers Supervisory Union, a 2013 merger of the former Windsor Southwest Supervisory Union with the former Rutland-Windsor Supervisory Union that united the schools of Chester, Andover, Baltimore and Cavendish with those of Ludlow, Mt. Holly and Plymouth.

“It has been my pleasure and honor,” said Waite in describing her career in education, “I am ever grateful for the opportunity to lead our schools with such fine administrators, teachers, boards and communities,” adding that while “it will be very difficult for me to end such an important chapter of my life...I look forward to maintaining a relationship with the TRSU community.”

Following Williams's and Waite's announcements, TRSU Board Chair Bob Herbst expressed the Board's appreciation for the breadth and depth of the work Williams and Waite have done for the Supervisory Union, especially during a time of significant change and challenges.

“It has been an honor and a privilege to work with both Bruce and Linda,” said Herbst, “They have provided excellent leadership for the Supervisory Union and our schools. They have consistently guided the boards to decisions based upon improved educational opportunities for our students and prudent financial management. We will certainly miss the insights and enthusiasm they brought to their work.”

Williams noted that while the TRSU had gone through a “remarkable process of creation,” it also was on the “cusp of perhaps even more significant change,” and that the timing was right for a change at the top.

The change to which Williams refers lies in Act 46, the Vermont education reform law passed earlier this year, which calls for larger school districts to be formed with one school board, one budget and one tax rate, with the aim of creating greater and more equal educational opportunities for students and a more cost-effective and sustainable educational system.

The search for a new Superintendent will be handled by an outside search firm. At this time, the TRSU Executive Board has recommended there be no position of Associate Superintendent in the 2016/2017 budget. That recommendation will be presented to and voted on by the full TRSU Board later this month.