Voluntary Merger Study Committee meetings are on the fourth Tuesday of the month from 5-6:45 at the OSSU office in Hardwick, across the river from the Buffalo Mountain Coop Food Store. Observers are welcome. Craftsbury's representatives to the Committee are Anne Morse and Jen Lescouzec. Below are notes from Anne Morse's recent report to the Craftsbury Schools Community Collaboration.
Voluntary School Merger Study Committee SUMMARY
October 11, 2011
Act 153: provides for voluntary mergers of school governance. The idea is to merge school boards in order to improve economies of scale, promote sharing of resources, reduce school board turnover, and increase educational opportunities.
Regional Educational District (RED): this is what the merged school system would be called. OSSU school boards have all voted to study what merged school governance within OSSU would look like. This is an administrative merger; it means that instead of each town having its own school board, there would be one school board with representation from each town. It does not require or rely upon any school closures.
Some Frequently Asked Questions about REDs: Incentives- within the RED, equalized homestead property tax rates will be decreased by $.08 in the first year following the merger and by smaller amounts in the subsequent three years. School Closure- Within the first four years a RED cannot close a school without the voters in the town in which the school is located voting to do so. A RED can create a process for how a school could be closed after those first four years. In other words we would write the rules for how a school might be closed in the future, so we could ensure a democratic process. School Board Composition in a RED- with our four towns, we would have a maximum of 18 board members; with numbers proportional to each town’s population.
Voluntary School Merger Study Committee: this is a committee that has been constituted within OSSU to study the possible creation of a RED. The towns that are essential to the creation of this RED are Hardwick, Craftsbury, Greensboro and Woodbury. The towns that have “advisory” status are Stannard and Wolcott; these towns may choose to join this RED but the RED can proceed without them if they don’t want to be included.
Composition of Committee: The Committee is composed of two representatives from each town, with one representative being a School Board member and the second being a community member. Craftsbury representatives are Jen Lescouzec of the Craftsbury School Board and Anne Morse, community member. JoAn Canning, OSSU Superintendant, also meets with and supports the committee.
Consulting: David Ford serves as a consultant to the Committee, funding provided by Vermont School Boards Association.
Timeline: The Committee meets once a month and anticipates completing a report by February 2013. This report goes to the Commissioner of Education and the State Board of Education. Each town will review the findings of the Committee in March of 2013, and vote whether or not to form a RED in April 2013.
Public Engagement: It’s important that all the communities involved be apprised of what the process is and have opportunities to provide input and ask questions. When this finally comes to a vote, we don’t want anyone to be surprised about what we’re voting on. It’s important that concerns and questions, ideas and visions held by Craftsbury community members be communicated to Anne or Jen so we can bring these to our Committee.
Process: We have a Draft Report by David Ford that identifies potential benefits and challenges associated with creating a RED. We also have a template that will walk us through the process of creating a hypothetical RED. In each meeting we will be discussing one or more of the challenges or benefits identified in the Draft Report, and discussing one or more sections of the template. In doing so we will begin to co-create a vision for how a RED might best serve our communities.
How the CSCC can be involved in this process: It is really important that the community stay involved. Some people may just want periodic updates and a chance to express views and ask questions. Others may want to dig into the details and provide more in-depth feedback. Your input here will help us to construct a process for maintaining open communication between CSCC and the Study Committee. Please respond to the following questions and bring your responses to the November meeting.
1. What level of involvement would you like with the Study Committee process?
Circle one or more: Monthly meetings to work in a subcommittee
Monthly meetings to hear updates and have question and answer
Meeting every two months or so for updates & question & answer
Would like to receive written summaries by e-mail
Don’t want to be involved at this time
Comments or other ways you’d like to be involved:
2. What are your questions about this process so far?
Please bring your responses to the next meeting of the Collaborative (November 3rd, 6:30 p.m., at the Craftsbury Town Hall) or e-mail them (csccsteeringcommittee@gmail.com).
