BBA Board Chair Seth Bongartz Steps Down
After fifteen years as chair of the Burr and Burton Academy Board of Trustees and a total of nineteen years as a member of the board, Seth Bongartz announced this week that he is stepping down from the board effective September 21 to focus on his campaign to represent the Bennington-4 district in the Vermont House of Representatives.
“The four towns I seek to represent—Arlington, Manchester, Sunderland, and Sandgate—have perhaps the greatest range of excellent education opportunities for families in all of Vermont,” he wrote to BBA faculty and staff. “I have come to the conclusion that with a seat in the legislature I can best serve all the children of our communities by being a voice for choice—letting towns think creatively and make their own education decisions.”
Bongartz leaves behind an extraordinary legacy of leadership at BBA, having worked closely with two long-serving headmasters to guide the school through nearly two decades of thoughtful growth and public service. Current headmaster Mark Tashjian praised Bongartz’s remarkable impact and dedication to providing opportunity to the students of southern Vermont.
“During Seth’s nineteen years on the board, we launched the Student Success Program, the Mountain Campus semester, and the Dene Farm collaboration, while also completing the Rowland Center for Student Life and launching construction on Founders Hall,” Tashjian noted. “Every one of those projects has been about expanding our ability as a school to bring out the best in every student—that’s our mission, and it’s also Seth’s passion. If elected, I know he’ll pour his heart into representing his district, and working tirelessly to advocate for all of its schools, its families, and its future.”
Letter from the Chair of the Board of Trustees
To the BBA Community:
I have served on the Burr and Burton Board of Trustees for nineteen years and as chair for the last fifteen. I am stepping down from the board because I am running for the legislature. The September board meeting will be my last. A new chair will be elected at that time.
Even through difficult times, I have enjoyed every minute of my involvement with what is, by any measure, one of the finest high schools in the country. I love the school for a lot of reasons. At the top of the list is our commitment to look at our students as individuals and do the hard work of providing them with the individualized opportunity to achieve to the best of their ability. I also love the fact that we are so committed to those for whom life circumstances have thrown up obstacles. There is a profound spirit of caring among the faculty, staff, administration, our large family of donors and across all the communities we serve. Collectively, we are deeply committed to providing opportunity for all young people.
The four towns I seek to represent in the legislature—Arlington, Manchester, Sandgate and Sunderland—have perhaps the greatest range of excellent education opportunities for families in all of Vermont. From Arlington’s unique stand-alone elementary and high school system, to the rich mix of public and independent schools serving the Northshire, the mountain and other towns, we do it differently than most of Vermont. Despite the fact our system has produced some of the finest schools in Vermont, doing it differently is not always favored by the education establishment. I have come to the conclusion that, with a seat in the legislature, I can best serve not only Burr and Burton, but all the children of Arlington, Manchester, Sunderland and Sandgate by being a voice for choice – letting communities think creatively and make their own education decisions.
During my time on the board we have been blessed with two first-rate heads of school in Chuck Scranton and Mark Tashjian. From the creation of the Mountain Campus semester, to the Success Program, to the Hildene Collaboration, the building of an endowment and, now, the soon-to-be Founders Hall, it has been a privilege to work with them, the members of their teams and the entire Burr and Burton community.
I will miss walking through the parking lot to meetings and saying hello to the members of the faculty and staff I have come to know so well. I admire you all and I will miss you. But, should I be fortunate enough to be elected in November, I will have good reason to stay in close touch so I can truly be your voice in the statehouse.
I am grateful for the trust you have placed in me. I like to think I have made a difference. I look forward to making a difference in Montpelier.
Thank you for the honor of being a part of something so deeply meaningful.
Seth Bongartz ‘72
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“The four towns I seek to represent—Arlington, Manchester, Sunderland, and Sandgate—have perhaps the greatest range of excellent education opportunities for families in all of Vermont,” he wrote to BBA faculty and staff. “I have come to the conclusion that with a seat in the legislature I can best serve all the children of our communities by being a voice for choice—letting towns think creatively and make their own education decisions.”
Bongartz leaves behind an extraordinary legacy of leadership at BBA, having worked closely with two long-serving headmasters to guide the school through nearly two decades of thoughtful growth and public service. Current headmaster Mark Tashjian praised Bongartz’s remarkable impact and dedication to providing opportunity to the students of southern Vermont.
“During Seth’s nineteen years on the board, we launched the Student Success Program, the Mountain Campus semester, and the Dene Farm collaboration, while also completing the Rowland Center for Student Life and launching construction on Founders Hall,” Tashjian noted. “Every one of those projects has been about expanding our ability as a school to bring out the best in every student—that’s our mission, and it’s also Seth’s passion. If elected, I know he’ll pour his heart into representing his district, and working tirelessly to advocate for all of its schools, its families, and its future.”
Letter from the Chair of the Board of Trustees
To the BBA Community:
I have served on the Burr and Burton Board of Trustees for nineteen years and as chair for the last fifteen. I am stepping down from the board because I am running for the legislature. The September board meeting will be my last. A new chair will be elected at that time.
Even through difficult times, I have enjoyed every minute of my involvement with what is, by any measure, one of the finest high schools in the country. I love the school for a lot of reasons. At the top of the list is our commitment to look at our students as individuals and do the hard work of providing them with the individualized opportunity to achieve to the best of their ability. I also love the fact that we are so committed to those for whom life circumstances have thrown up obstacles. There is a profound spirit of caring among the faculty, staff, administration, our large family of donors and across all the communities we serve. Collectively, we are deeply committed to providing opportunity for all young people.
The four towns I seek to represent in the legislature—Arlington, Manchester, Sandgate and Sunderland—have perhaps the greatest range of excellent education opportunities for families in all of Vermont. From Arlington’s unique stand-alone elementary and high school system, to the rich mix of public and independent schools serving the Northshire, the mountain and other towns, we do it differently than most of Vermont. Despite the fact our system has produced some of the finest schools in Vermont, doing it differently is not always favored by the education establishment. I have come to the conclusion that, with a seat in the legislature, I can best serve not only Burr and Burton, but all the children of Arlington, Manchester, Sunderland and Sandgate by being a voice for choice – letting communities think creatively and make their own education decisions.
During my time on the board we have been blessed with two first-rate heads of school in Chuck Scranton and Mark Tashjian. From the creation of the Mountain Campus semester, to the Success Program, to the Hildene Collaboration, the building of an endowment and, now, the soon-to-be Founders Hall, it has been a privilege to work with them, the members of their teams and the entire Burr and Burton community.
I will miss walking through the parking lot to meetings and saying hello to the members of the faculty and staff I have come to know so well. I admire you all and I will miss you. But, should I be fortunate enough to be elected in November, I will have good reason to stay in close touch so I can truly be your voice in the statehouse.
I am grateful for the trust you have placed in me. I like to think I have made a difference. I look forward to making a difference in Montpelier.
Thank you for the honor of being a part of something so deeply meaningful.
Seth Bongartz ‘72
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PO Box 498
Manchester, VT 05254
Phone: 802.362.1775, Fax: 802.362.0574
