Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger was scheduled to show up at the Bagel Café Wednesday morning for a weekly ritual that dates back to his campaigning days in 2012. “Mornings with Miro” is the mayor’s regular standing date with residents of the city’s New North End — and anyone else who wants to chat with him from 8 to 9 a.m.
On this particular morning, there was plenty of news to discuss: Fewer than 48 hours earlier, Weinberger had called for Burlington School District Superintendent Jeanne Collins to step down, as a result of a series of school budget blunders that have recently come to light. Collins responded by saying the mayor was out of line to call for her ouster.
On Tuesday, Collins notified residents through Front Porch Forum that she and departing school board member Keith Pillsbury would be at the Bagel to talk with residents about school-related issues from 8:30 to 9 a.m.
Café staff had anticipated that sparks might fly. But Miro was a no-show, negating the possibility of a bagel brouhaha. A staff member from the mayor’s office said Weinberger couldn’t attend due to a “time-sensitive scheduling conflict” that arose Monday. According to his office, it had nothing to do with Collins’ presence, and scheduling conflicts periodically force the mayor to forgo his Wednesday morning bagel.
In his stead, Weinberger sent Bill Ward, director of code enforcement, who gamely fielded questions about city finances from a few of the locals. 
In another corner of the café, Collins, along with Pillsbury and two supportive former school board members, Katherine Chasan and Linda Deliduka, discussed the district’s plight. Collins traced the district’s budgeting errors to a transition from what she says was a faulty financial accounting system to a new, soon-to-be-fully-operational one.
Collins told the half-dozen residents in attendance that calls for her departure amounted to a “politicization” of the situation.
Got something to say?
Send a letter to the editor and we'll publish your feedback in print!
We were at the Bagel Cafe on Wednesday morning and joined the conversation with Superintendent Collins. As relatively new residents of Burlington, we were disheartened by Mayor Weinberger’s comments calling for school superintendent Collins to step down. We have been immensely impressed with the mayor and the actions that he has taken to repair financial problems that he inherited. We are surprised that he does not see a parallel between his own situation and the situation the superintendent was in having inherited financial problems and faulty financial systems.
The superintendent has revealed errors that her financial manager found in past budgets as soon as the errors were verified. This is an action that was responsible and part of the solution process. The school board, the school administrators, and the town will likely be facing some very tough decisions. It would seem that everyone should be working to solve the problem, not spending their energy on finding scapegoats.
Eric and Karen Corbman
Northshore Drive
She has been on the job since 2005 and there have been a number of deficits since she took over.
The difference, Eric & Karen, is that the mayor didn’t cause the problems he has been hard at work fixing. The same cannot be said for Collins, who has in her near-decade tenure has presided over all of the issues that have recently surfaced.. not to mention many that were previously known.
Her aggressive attempt to hijack the mayor’s bagel ritual illustrates how she sees her job – politicking and jockeying for position, not actually leading the district and resolving its persistent problems.
Bill Ward is a class act as a retired police officer and present code enforcement officer he is cool, calm collected and only deals with the facts in situations. Bill Ward is one of the shining stars of this city and he has proven it often especially at ward 4 and 7 NPA meetings where citizens have attempted to discredit and insult a particular property owner in the city with comments Bill Ward knows as facts are not true.
Bill Ward could be a hanging judge or a Secretary of State soothing negotiations with any factor. Multi talented shining star of this city.
Dale Tillotson