Contact the ACSD Board:
email: Board@acsdvt.org
voicemail*: 802-382-1700
The school board welcomes public comment at board meetings. The Board's role is governance. If you have an issue related to a student or school, it is best to begin with the person or department who can best answer your questions. Our Who Do I Contact page can help direct you.
*The Board voicemail is checked weekly.
Board Meetings Calendar
About the Board
The ACSD Board is made of 13 elected members who represent the citizens of Bridport, Cornwall, Middlebury, Ripton, Salisbury, Shoreham, and Weybridge. The Board’s mission is to provide high quality, equitable, and varied learning environments that inspire a passion for learning and growth among our students. Board members represent the interests of all students in the district, not just the town in which they live. This brochure explains the ACSD Board's role. To learn more about the essential work of school boards, or if you are interested in running for the school board yourself, please visit the Vermont School Board Association website.
The vision of the ACSD Board is for all students to reach their full learning potential, have a sense of belonging in our schools, and enrich our community and the communities where they live in the future. The Board currently has five committees to support this work; Communications and Engagement, Facilities, Finance, Negotiations, and Policy Committees. Information about each committee can be found on our Board Committees page.
In addition, some ACSD Board members represent ACSD interests on Boards of other partner organizations, including the Patricia A. Hannaford Career Center, the Middlebury Parks & Recreation Department, Middlebury Community Television (MCTV), and the Addison Central Special Education Parent Action Coalition (SEPAC).
Board member biographies can be found below.
Board Updates
- ACSD School Board News ~ Winter 2025
- ACSD School Board News ~ Fall 2024
- ACSD School Board News ~ Spring 2024
- ACSD School Board News ~ Winter 2023-24
- ACSD School Board News ~ Fall 2023
- ACSD School Board News ~ Spring 2023
- ACSD School Board News - Winter 2023
- ACSD School Board News - Fall 2022
- School Board News - Summer 2022
ACSD School Board News ~ Winter 2025
ACSD School Board News ~ Fall 2024
ACSD School Board News ~ Spring 2024
ACSD School Board News ~ Winter 2023-24
ACSD School Board News ~ Fall 2023
ACSD School Board News ~ Spring 2023
ACSD School Board News - Winter 2023
ACSD School Board News - Fall 2022
School Board News - Summer 2022
Final ACSD Board Goals 2025-26
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Community Engagement
The ACSD Board will adopt a Community Engagement Policy that adheres to the recurrent AOE rules 113.1.1 and 113.2.3, and establishes a written communications and engagement plan for applicable District/Board work.
AOE Rule 113.1.1: The Board follows an inclusive process to invite and incorporate community input into the vision and goals for the school system.
AOE Rule 113.2.3 The Board annually evaluates the effectiveness of community engagement and public communication efforts.
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Student Academic Progress and Wellness
The ACSD Board will develop and follow a timeline to define a process for public review of multiple measures of academic progress and student wellness. The timeline will incorporate a regular reporting schedule for student data, as well as targets for identifying policy priorities and additional measures of academic progress and wellness.
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Board Member Commitment/Engagement
The ACSD Board will establish and assess expectations regarding Board member engagement (e.g., attendance, preparedness, and participation in the annual Superintendent Evaluation process).
ACSD Board Members
Tricia Allen
Tricia Allen was born and raised in VT. She holds degrees in English and Psychology as well as a Masters in Library Science with school library certification. For six years Tricia worked as Assistant Youth Librarian before taking over as the head of the department in Salem, MA. When Tricia’s oldest child was approaching school age, the Allen family decided to move back to Vermont and Tricia jumped at the chance to serve as the Ilsley Public Library’s Youth Services Librarian. 10 years later, Tricia and her family count themselves as lucky to be living, working, and serving in such a supportive community.
Term expires: 2026
Suzanne Buck
Suzanne Buck of Bridport has served on the ACSD Board since its creation in 2016, and also serves as Chair of the Board of Directors for the Hannaford Career Center. Suzanne is serving her second term on the ACSD Board, and is a member of the Policy & Governance Committee. Suzanne grew up in a small farming community in rural New Hampshire, and applies that community spirit and farming work ethic to all of her public service. She holds degrees in Dairy Management and Occupational Education from the University of New Hampshire, as well as a Masters degree in Special Education. Suzanne and her husband raised their two children in Vermont. During that time she worked as a special educator and education leader. She has served on local school boards for over 10 years and continues to contribute to the community through her service work for the Hannaford Career Center, 4-H, and the FFA.
Term expires: 2026
Steve Cash
[Biography coming soon]
Term expires: 2028
Jason Chance
Jason was elected to the ACSD board in 2023. He grew up in East Wallingford, VT and graduated from Mill River Union High School in North Clarendon. In 1999, he earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Electrical Engineering from Tufts University. After graduation, he served two years as a high school math teacher in the U.S. Peace Corps in West Africa, where he met his wife, Nicole. They settled in Addison County in 2002 and have lived in Middlebury since 2003. They have two children in the ACSD. Jason works in Information Technology and earned a Master’s in Business Administration from the Isenberg School of Management in 2017. He enjoys gardening, cooking, snowboarding, basketball, and mountain biking.
Term expires: 2026
Laura Harthan
[Biography coming soon]
Term expires: 2027
Ron Makleff
[Biography coming soon]
Term expires: 2028
Jamie McCallum
Jamie McCallum began his first term on the ACSD Board in 2022. He’s a professor of sociology at Middlebury College, where his research and teaching focus on labor and work issues, American politics, social movements, and public health. He's also taught throughout the CUNY public schools in New York City. His son attends Weybridge school, and he is active on the Friends of Weybridge Elementary group. In his spare time, Jamie’s a volunteer firefighter, an Executive Board member of the Rights and Democracy Institute, and sells his own home grown artisanal hot sauces from a backyard garden. He's from Bethlehem, PA, where he was raised by a writer and a second grade teacher.
Term expires: 2028
Mary Heather Noble
Mary Heather Noble of Middlebury was elected to the ACSD Board in 2021. She is an environmental scientist, community volunteer, and writer whose work is often influenced by her former career as an environmental regulator. She holds a bachelor’s degree in geology from The Ohio State University, a master’s degree in environmental science from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, and a master of fine arts degree in creative writing from the University of Southern Maine. Mary Heather currently works for the New England Review literary magazine at Middlebury College and the Stone Mill Public Market in Middlebury. She has two daughters in ACSD, and has volunteered with the Middlebury Elementary School Association, Everybody Wins!, Girls on the Run, WomenSafe, AgeWell, Porter Hospital, and the Better Middlebury Partnership. In her free time, you can find her supporting her kids in their activities, running, skiing, gardening, and otherwise enjoying everything that Vermont has to offer.
Term expires: 2027
Steve Orzech
Steve Orzech served on the former MUMS/MUHS board in 2015 and was elected to the original ACSD Board in 2016. After a brief break in 2019, he was re-elected in 2022. Steve began his career as a Computer Systems Analyst before switching to Social Studies education in 1992. He recently retired from teaching Technology and Social Studies to students ranging from the middle grades to high school seniors, and spanning many states and Brazil. With an A.A.S. and B.S. Computer Information Systems from Purdue University and an M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Virginia, Steve’s formal education spans both the STEM and Humanities curricula. Originally a native of Indiana, he has lived and traveled widely before settling here in Middlebury in 2009 with his wife and youngest son – now a graduate of Mary Hogan, MUMS, MUHS and the PAHCC ART technical program. Steve can often be found walking around Middlebury or hiking the TAM with his Entlebucher Swiss Mountain dog, Circe (no she doesn’t have “some Beagle in her”).
Term expires: 2028
Ellie Romp
Ellie Romp was elected to the board in 2023. She is a long time Addison County resident and graduated from Middlebury Union High School in 2005. In 2019 she earned an associate's degree from CCV, and later attended Castleton University studying in the Social Work Program. She now lives in Salisbury with her four sons and two nieces. Four of the children are currently attending ACSD schools. Her work experiences include running a riding stable and 4-H club, community mental health/social work, and is currently a small business owner. In her free time Ellie enjoys playing the fiddle, going on adventures with the children, skiing and riding horses.
Term expires: 2026
Jess Venable-Novak
[Biography coming soon]
Term expires: 2028
Ellen Whelan-Wuest
Ellen Whelan-Wuest was elected to the ACSD board in 2023. She is a program director for a national nonprofit that works with states to reform criminal justice systems. Ellen received her B.A. from Middlebury College and her Masters in Public Policy from Duke University, and lived in a variety of places before returning to Addison County with her husband and two young children in 2017. Ellen sits on the boards of the Red Clover Children's Center and WomenSafe and is a member of the UCC Congregational Church of Middlebury. For fun, Ellen enjoys running, reading & writing, spending time with her friends and her sisters, and traveling to new places.
Term expires: 2027
Barbara Wilson
Barbara Wilson was elected to the ACSD Board in 2021, and has lived in Shoreham for over 12 years. Barb grew up on a small dairy farm in Michigan and graduated with a B.S. in Secondary Education and Mathematics from Michigan State University. She spent 38 years working for a large telecommunications software development company in New Jersey, where she designed, implemented and deployed engineering support software. Upon moving to Shoreham, Barb started a small fruit farm where she grows berries, peaches, and other fruits to make value added specialty products, such as jam and sorbet. Barb is a member of the Middlebury Farmers’ Market and Rights and Democracy, where she currently serves on the Board of Directors. She is also a member of the Shoreham School Community Partnership Committee and has volunteered at the school in a special 2nd grade reading program where students read to her dog, Java. Barb lives with her husband, George, and enjoys the outdoors -- whether it be working on her small farm, hiking, biking, kayaking, sailing, cross country skiing, or sledding on her awesome hill.
Term expires: 2027