On June 18th, Governor Scott signed Act 170 which is Vermont's latest education reform law. These discussions have been closely monitored by families and communities across the state and we will continue to share accurate and timely information.
This law does several things, including the establishment of merger study committees and the creation of new government entities called Cooperative Education Service Agencies (CESAs). Below is a quick explanation of how this may impact our local schools in the coming years.
Merger Study Committees
Every current district in the state is required to participate in a merger study committee. New groups have been formed for these committees to examine the benefits and drawbacks of district consolidation. For Lamoille South, our two districts are in a committee with the following districts: Cambridge, Craftsbury, Hazen, Lamoille North (Belvidere, Eden, Hyde Park, Johnson, Waterville), Mountain View (K-6: Greensboro, Hardwick, Woodbury, Stannard), Stannard (7-12), and Wolcott.
Per the law, our two districts will send at least one (probably more) representatives from each school board to participate in good faith on these merger study committees. The committee is then charged with determining if it is "advisable" or "inadvisable" to form a new, larger district with these member towns. If the committee determines it is advisable, the electorate of our current districts will then vote on Town Meeting Day in March of 2028 on whether or not to move forward with this recommendation. If the electorate votes yes, we would then be in a new, larger district. If the electorate votes no, we would remain in our current configuration.
If the merger study committee determines it is "inadvisable" to form this new, larger district, there are several options. The merger study committee can then dissolve and decide whether or not to propose other potential district configurations.
Things to note:
- These committees will be overseen by an independent facilitator.
- The law specifies that committees and facilitators should work to prevent any district with fewer than 750 students to be left out of the formation of a new school district (Both of our districts have right around 750 students). It is unclear how the legislature will treat smaller districts and if forced consolidation will be on the table.
- Any district that does not operate in "good faith" during this process may be ineligible to receive future school construction funding.
Cooperative Education Service Agencies (CESAs)
The second major shift in Act 170 is the formation of CESAs across the state. Our two districts are now in the Winooski Valley CESA which is composed of the following districts / SUs: Barre Unified Union SD, Harwood Unified Union SD, Lamoille North SU, Montpelier Roxbury SD, Orange Southwest UUSD, Orleans Southwest SU, Washington Central UUSD, White River Valley SU, Central Vermont SU.
This new entity will be tasked with finding ways to reduce costs across the geographic region by centralizing services such as special education programs, business services, or professional development for educators. Lamoille South will be meeting consistently with these other school districts / SUs to determine where we can gain collective bargaining power or share costs for services. There is no requirement that we must enter into any contracts or incur any expenses unless there is a clear benefit.
Summary
Over the past few years, we've consistently advocated that any changes to our district structure be locally driven and clearly beneficial. This new law certainly has many requirements and will take substantial time and resources to navigate. However, there may be some excellent opportunities that emerge from this process and at the end of the day, our local voters decide how they would like to move forward. Before any serious decisions are made or considered, it will be important to gather significant community feedback and we are dedicated to ensuring your voices are heard throughout the process. We will provide opportunities for the community to weigh in throughout the year during board meetings or other forums.
Where things will get complicated is with the law's language pertaining to any district with under 750 students. The law mentions repeatedly that districts with less than 750 students may face future action from the legislature and we are unsure if this will mean forced consolidation or financial penalty. Since both districts are right at 750 students, we must be very thoughtful in our approach to potential consolidation discussions and stay very involved in the process.
