Robert Millar
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robtheprog.bsky.social
Robert Millar
@robtheprog.bsky.social
240 followers 280 following 43 posts
Activist, organizer, and occasional politician. Current Winooski School Board President. Current Winooski Progressive Party Chair. Former Winooski City Councilor, WSD Treasurer, Housing Commission Chair, Justice of the Peace & More.
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robtheprog.bsky.social
Last night the Winooski School Board issued a statement condemning the inhumane detention of members of our community, including a 2nd grade student. I'm proud to live in a place where the response to this abhorrent act is empathy, anger, & most importantly, action. 💚
Statement from the Winooski Board of School Trustees: The Winooski Board of School Trustees was devastated and horrified to learn this week that one of our 2nd grade students and his mother were abducted by federal agents over the Thanksgiving break and are being held in a facility in Texas. There is no justification for detaining a student – it is amoral, unjust, and inhumane. This is not only a direct trauma to this student and his family, but has rippled throughout the entire School and Winooski community. We are grateful for the decisive and compassionate leadership Superintendent Chavarria has shown in supporting this student, his family, and our District during this time. We call on our local, state, and federal elected representatives to advocate on behalf of this student and his mother and secure their immediate release. We call upon all Vermonters to stand in solidarity with our community and demand their immediate release. Families belong together, and students belong in the classroom, not in detention facilities.
December 4, 2025 at 4:16 PM
robtheprog.bsky.social
Come join me on the WSD Board! We've had an unexpected vacancy we need to fill ASAP, before budget season starts. Contact me know if you're interested or have questions or send a resume or Letter of Interest to [email protected] by 9/26 to apply. 💚

h/t WSD Comms Director for the great image!
September 16, 2025 at 7:13 PM
robtheprog.bsky.social
Convocation 2025. Credit: Miriam Greenfield
September 5, 2025 at 8:42 PM
robtheprog.bsky.social
Yep, it's that time again! For the one hundred & eleventy time I am leading reorg in Winooski for the VT Progressive Party.

See you there? 💚

RSVP: vtprogressiveparty.nationbuilder.com/winooski_tow...
NOTICE Winooski Progressive Party City Caucus All Progressive voters of the City of Winooski, in the County of Chittenden, are hereby notified, in accordance with 17 V.S.A. § 2303, to meet in caucus on Saturday, September 20th, 2025, at 1:00 pm, at the O’Brien Community Center, 32 Malletts Bay Ave. The Agenda for this Caucus is as follows: I. Election of City Committee II. Election of Officers by the City Committee III. Election of County Committee Members IV. Discussion: 2026 Elections V. Discussion: Organizing in Winooski VI. New Business Robert Millar, City Chair For more information, email info@progressiveparty.org LEARN MORE ABOUT THE PROGRESSIVE PARTY AT WWW.PROGRESSIVEPARTY.ORG!
September 4, 2025 at 6:31 PM
robtheprog.bsky.social
Just finished giving my welcome speech at the Winooski School District 25/26 Convocation. Full text here, sans inevitable on the fly edits.

Thank you, teachers, staff, admin, & everyone, for inviting me to be a part of your celebration! 💚
Hello Everyone! It’s an honor to once again have the opportunity to stand up here as Winooski’s School Board President and welcome you all to another new school year. I’m so consistently proud of the work all our teachers, staff, and administrators do here every day to make sure our City’s kids get the best education possible. You all are truly amazing. But I’m going to be honest with you. I can’t just stand up here like last time and try to claim this is going to be a great, wonderful year. I won’t sugarcoat what’s obvious to all of us. We all know these are difficult times, especially for anyone working in education. Especially for anyone working with students like ours. None of us can really say for sure what education is going to look like here in Winooski – or in Vermont – in the coming years. None of us knows for sure what the Legislature or the Federal government might throw at us next. On top of that, it feels like almost every day now brings some fresh attack from Washington on the basic humanity of our friends, our neighbors, our families, and ourselves. It’s exhausting. It’s overwhelming. And I don’t know about you, but it leaves me feeling unsure what to do next, what I can possibly do to make a real difference in the face of just so much… noise. So what I do want to talk about today are two things that have helped me keep my bearings and keep moving forward, even in the face of all of that. They aren’t solutions. But they help me and they might help you. The first is rest. That might sound strange, given the constancy of everything that’s going on. But the reality is, rest is revolutionary. You can’t take care of anyone else if you don’t take care of yourself first. If you burn out, if you push yourself too hard or too long, you won’t be of help to anyone. But why is rest especially important right now? Because one of the main points of all the noise, all the chaos, all the consistent cruelty, is to keep us all off kilter and confused about where to focus next. Rest grounds us and brings us back to ourselves. Rest is necessary and human. So rest first and then deal with what you can – and never, ever feel like you have to do it all. Focus on the levers you can reach and let others take care of theirs. The second thing that has helped me is community. I was reminded of this a few months back at the District’s community Ishtar event. Hundreds of people from Winooski and well beyond came out to celebrate and support our Muslim community members, even in the face of so much hate in the larger world. It felt incredibly important and powerful to me. And the food was amazing. You might recall that community actually shows up in our District ENDS statement. There’s a reason for that. “WSD students will lead healthy, productive and successful lives and engage with their local and global community.” Think about that for a minute. Why is the ability to successfully engage with their communities a fundamental part of what we consider a successful graduate? So they can make a difference in those communities? Of course! But I’d also argue, community is one of our fundamental needs as human beings. We need our fellows. We need support. Being in community grounds us. It certainly grounds me. It reminds me I’m not alone, that it’s not just me versus the world, that we are all in this together. So those are my suggestions to you today. Find rest, when you can. Find community, wherever you can. And you know what, forget what I said earlier. This IS going to be a great year. Thank you.
August 21, 2025 at 5:30 PM
robtheprog.bsky.social
The Winooski School Board calls upon all Vermonters—and all Americans—to stand in solidarity with Superintendent Chavarria and his family. We urge our elected leaders and federal agencies to investigate this incident and take meaningful steps to prevent such abuses from continuing.
July 22, 2025 at 8:48 PM
robtheprog.bsky.social
Sometimes fighting fascism means a crowd like this, sometimes it's a quiet meeting in a coffee shop. Sometimes, it's as simple as refusing to sign on a document normalizing it all. Sometimes it's all 3 in one day...

However you're fighting, keep going. I've got your back - and so does my mom! 💚✊
April 5, 2025 at 9:09 PM
robtheprog.bsky.social
It was such a joy to attend tonight's Community Iftar at the Winooski Schools! The perfect contrast to the struggles of the larger world: a community coming together to share a meal, while lifting up & celebrating our diversity. 💚

Special thanks to Senator Peter Welch for stopping by to say hello!
March 21, 2025 at 1:14 AM
robtheprog.bsky.social
Join us March 12 at 6pm for our yearly Winooski School Board Reorganization meeting! We'll be electing a President, VP, and Secretary, a bit of other procedural housekeeping, then getting right back to work. I promise, the chances are very small that I break something two meetings in a row! 💚
The Board Chair holds up the lovely plaque for an outgoing Board Member that he just dropped on the ground.
March 11, 2025 at 10:31 PM
robtheprog.bsky.social
Thank you, Winooski! All items passed overwhelmingly & I was reelected. Another Town Meeting Day in the books. Onwards! 💚

Credit to Councilor Renner for the great photo!
A picture of two very chilly candidates at the Winooski polls
March 5, 2025 at 12:56 AM
robtheprog.bsky.social
I'm so proud of my community & Board today! At last night's meeting, 100+ people made their voices heard. All comments were in support of the Sanctuary Schools Policy, which passed unanimously, along w/ a resolution in support of our transgender, non-binary, & gender non-conforming community. 💚
Winooski Schools. We are the future. Resolution WHEREAS, the Winooski community demands explicit and updated stances that are responsive to the attacks on our community and aligned with our stated commitments to equity and antiracism; and WHEREAS, transgender people exist, and this existence is as old as humanity itself; and WHEREAS, members of the Queer community, particularly transgender youth, are disproportionately victims of violence in the United States, and this danger has been augmented exponentially at a rapid pace through the constant attacks and misinformation stemming from the highest office; and WHEREAS, our Ends Statement cannot be advanced when some in our care are dehumanized, threatened, and used for political opportunism; and WHEREAS, new Executive Orders advance violent language rooted in hateful prejudice that attempts to scare and erase; and WHEREAS, transgender people are entitled to the dignity and respect that every human being deserves. THEREFORE, IT IS RESOLVED, that the Winooski School District will continue to be a safe and inviting space to students, staff, caregivers, and community members who are transgender, non- binary, or gender non-conforming; and RESOLVED FURTHER, that the Winooski School District reaffirms its commitment to protecting the well-being of all members of our community through our policies, procedures, practices, and visible stances today and into the future. The WSD will resist in all possible legal ways, any attempt by external forces to erase the existence, value, and pride of transgender pupils and adults, and will defend with all strength our children’s right to exist and learn free from intimidation.
February 13, 2025 at 6:18 PM
robtheprog.bsky.social
A message from Winooski School District Superintendent Chavarria in response to the many questions from students, families, and staff about several of the Executive Orders issued so far. 💚
The Winooski School District will continue to abide by its existing policies designed to protect, respect, and value the dignity of each and every single one of our students. These policies are publicly available on our website and are to be strictly followed by the Winooski Educational Community. Regardless of what the news says, we retain our local power to come together and ensure the safety and sense of belonging of those most vulnerable, and we will not reverse all the progress we have made. I invite all families and Winooski community members to join me in that endeavor.
January 31, 2025 at 7:59 PM
robtheprog.bsky.social
Signatures are in and approved and I will be on the ballot on March 4! Thank you Bridget, Jean, Arica, Nick, Charlie, Kamal, and everyone for your help. On to Town Meeting Day!
January 28, 2025 at 1:05 AM
robtheprog.bsky.social
Come be a part of the WSD budget process, this Saturday (12/14) at 12:30 at the School Performing Arts Center! Lunch & childcare provided.

We want to hear from you, #Winooski! 💚
December 12, 2024 at 10:08 PM