For BUUSD: Garrett Grant

Though a first-time candidate for the BUUSD school board, Garrett Grant cites his significant experience working with students and with the Barre schools as a reason to vote for him on March 5.

Grant moved to Barre City a little over five years ago to take a position as Youth Services Librarian at the Aldrich Library. In his position, he organizes programs, provides learning opportunities, and develops collections of books specifically for younger readers. He frequently partners with BUUSD schools and teachers to support students, and especially enjoys doing so around technology programs. He cites helping a student learn to code early in his library career as a major inspiration for working with young people.

In June 2023, Grant began serving as Interim Library Director, and worked in that role during the July 2023 flooding. He opened the Aldrich Library as a community resource, providing the front lawn as a volunteer hub and the Community Room as a location for organizing meetings, donation drives, and legal aid clinics. While facing a community crisis, he also inherited a difficult financial situation, and found himself going over the Aldrich Library’s budget line by line for cost efficiencies and savings - of which he says he found several. With the arrival of new director Kristin Baumann, he took on the title of Assistant Library Director while continuing his work with young adults.

As a school director, he emphasizes that he would bring that professional experience to bear on school board work. He believes deeply in the work of public libraries to provide a place for everyone, to “take in all sorts of views, and be as inclusive as possible.” He sees the forum of the public library as an analogue for the approach he wants to take to his school board work, listening to diverse perspectives and building a strong team to tackle the school district’s challenges.

One of those challenges is the perennially controversial school budget. Grant is familiar with the battles of recent years over the size and direction of the budget, and with an economic climate that feels tight. “Costs are rising everywhere - this feels like an area of control for people’s bills,” he acknowledges. But he sees investing in schools as a long-term benefit. Schools need to be “adequately resourced to support student potential” and a good school system will both attract young families to Barre and also keep young people in the community.

Act 127 has made headlines this year as an attempt by the legislature to address historically underfunded school systems has proven more complicated than anticipated. The BUUSD budget has been no exception to that trend, but Grant feels that the budget proposal this year represents “good work in a difficult climate.” He is particularly impressed with work by school administrators to explain the budget and funding requests, and believes that based on their explanations “they have really been on top of things” budget-wise.

If elected, Grant would be closer in age to the students at Barre schools than to other school directors - he has yet to turn 30. He believes his age would be an asset to his service, pointing out that he is part of the generation that grew up with lockdown drills and other features of modern schooling. That experience would provide a different perspective on the resources that teachers and administrators are requesting.

Though potentially new to the school board, Grant has served on a variety of other boards in the past and is currently the Vice Chair of board of the Barre Community Justice Center, work he has found fulfilling. He also works regularly with the board of the Aldrich Library.

As a first-time candidate, Grant is still getting used to campaigning, but says that he has enjoyed meeting and talking to so many people about Barre schools and his work at the library.

Further information about Garrett Grant can be found on his Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/GarrettForBUUSD?mibextid=dGKdO6) or on his Substack page (https://garrettforbuusd.substack.com/)

Disclosure: Phayvanh is hosting a houseparty in support of the campaign.