South Burlington Educators Clash With Board, Superintendent

South Burlington educators walking into the central office Credit: Alison Novak ©️ Seven Days

Updated on April 18, 2025.

A South Burlington High School counselor who is losing his job due to budget cuts was shut down from speaking at a school board meeting as he tried to confront the superintendent about a complaint he’d filed against her.

Aquilas Lokossou was one of about 70 district educators and staff members who attended Wednesday’s meeting to discuss concerns about school district leadership. The board wouldn’t allow many of the educators to describe specific issues, citing union contract negotiations that have recently begun and public comment guidelines.

Lokossou was cut short by the board because he tried to discuss an “ongoing personnel matter” involving superintendent Violet Nichols. The first-year high school counselor, who is Black, has alleged that Nichols accused him of encouraging a Black student to advocate for his position to be restored.

No other employee who is losing their job was asked whether they had influenced students’ advocacy on their behalf, Lokossou said in a complaint he lodged earlier this month. He believes he was singled out because of his race.

More than 60 South Burlington educators signed on to a separate complaint based on Lokossou’s and called for “an immediate, thorough and transparent investigation” into the matter, along with “a detailed response outlining the concrete steps that will be taken to address this incident and to ensure that all staff members are treated equitably and without prejudice.”

Board chair Chelsea Tillinghast speaking with school counselor Aquilas Lokossou Credit: Alison Novak ©️ Seven Days

When Lokossou began outlining his complaint at Wednesday’s meeting, he was stopped by board chair Chelsea Tillinghast, who told him it was inappropriate to discuss details about the situation. Lokossou proceeded anyway, prompting Tillinghast to bang a gavel on the table and call a five-minute recess.

“There have been attempts to send letters with no response, so I’d be very curious where’s the appropriate platform to speak,” one educator in the room said during the recess.

Tillinghast reconvened the meeting, and Lokossou continued to speak about his complaint. The chair again called a five-minute recess, during which she called the board’s legal counsel Joe McNeil.
When the meeting reconvened, McNeil addressed the crowd, saying the board had hired an independent attorney to conduct a confidential inquiry into Lokossou’s complaint. Therefore, he said, it was inappropriate and unlawful to discuss the situation publicly.
Other staff also shared concerns. Gary Russell, one of several Black teachers in the district, told board members that he was concerned that the number of teachers of color in the district is decreasing at a time when the number of students of color is increasing. He asked the board if they were aware of the situation and, if so, what they were doing to rectify it.

A high school counselor, Lindsey Hudson, said she had filed a complaint in the fall related to “conduct and questionable decision making from a district leader” that she felt was not taken seriously.

“Where is the accountability around supervision and evaluation of performance?” Hudson asked. “How are employees supposed to be able to provide feedback?”

Superintendent Violet Nichols (right) with board member Tim Warren and board chair Chelsea Tillinghast Credit: Alison Novak ©️ Seven Days

After employees spoke, Nichols thanked teachers for the work they do to support students and acknowledged that it was not easy. She said that in the case of Lokossou, it was her responsibility to “ensure that no staff member is using a power differential to influence students for personal gain.” Her comments appeared to violate legal counsel McNeil’s directive to refrain from discussing the situation publicly.

“I want to be very clear that I strongly support and uphold our DEI and anti-racism efforts,” Nichols said. “If folks want to connect, central office staff and I are going to be coming to schools, and we’re happy to hear from you at any time.”

But the dozens of educators that had gathered didn’t hear Nichols’ offer. They had walked out of the room while the superintendent was speaking.

After the meeting, Nichols sent Seven Days a statement refuting Lokossou’s complaint. “To suggest that there was any racial motivation or component to this inquiry is absolutely absurd and unfounded,” she wrote.

Nichols said she launched an investigation about the support for Lokossou after receiving “a large number of very similar messages from students within a very short period of time.

“Given the uniformity and timing of these messages, it was my responsibility to determine whether students may have been unduly influenced or pressured by a District employee—something that would be both inappropriate and concerning,” she wrote. “As Superintendent, it is my duty to look into such matters, which I did.”
Watch the full school board meeting here.

Disclosure: The author’s spouse is an employee of the South Burlington School District.