The Lamoille Ledger
Superintendent's Monthly News - March 21, 2025
Important Dates & Resources
March 27th - Parent/Teacher conferences (EARLY RELEASE)
March 28th - Parent/Teacher Conferences (NO SCHOOL)
April 9th - Stowe School Board / Select Board Joint Meeting - 5:30PM
April 16th - EMUU Board Meeting - 5:30PM (MES)
April 21st - 25th - Spring Break (No School)
LSSU Family Handbook (2024-25)
Monthly Update
Dear Lamoille South,
First, I'd like to thank our communities for supporting our school budgets. In a time of uncertainty around public education, it is encouraging to know our local budgets passed by a significant margin. Vermont stands strong behind our schools, providing our children with stability and a solid foundation. When our budgets pass, it also allows our principals to quickly fill any openings with the highest caliber candidates.
This week, our admin team continued our instructional rounds. This is a practice taken from the medical field where a team visits a variety of classrooms to spread best practices across the larger system. We visited Stowe High School, where we saw dynamic lessons, including a language class designed as a restaurant where students were taking orders from their peers and only French was heard throughout the entire block. It is this type of creativity and fun, combined with rigor, that is common throughout our schools.
Yesterday, I had a chance to observe the Peoples Academy WHOW Project. This is an exciting event that has not taken place since pre-COVID where dozens of local business owners and professionals speak to students in small groups to explain how they selected their careers and life lessons they have learned along the way. The guests included dental hygienists, doctors, musicians, local machinists, graphic artists, and many more. Local businesses such as Concept 2 and Piecasso also dedicated their time and we are very grateful.
Next week, we will be holding our second round of parent/teacher conferences. You should have received communication from your principals around sign-ups, but please just call the main office of the schools if you need any support signing up for a slot. It is important that all of our families have a chance to connect with our educators as we continue to build strong partnerships.
There are a few other important updates below regarding recent legislative proposals and federal policy changes.
As always, please reach out with any questions or concerns.
Thank you and have a wonderful weekend,
Ryan Heraty
Superintendent
Lamoille South Supervisory Union
Important State Legislative Updates
I have been paying close attention to the legislative process and recent proposals for change to Vermont's public schools. Based on the large property tax increase that followed Act 127, there are several bills being put forward that could drastically change the way schools are funded and structured in our state. When reviewing these bills, there is a common theme: each proposal will likely increase property taxes while also reducing local control and negatively impact our local schools.
The two most discussed proposals (Governor Scott's and Senator Bongartz's) specifically target district size and class size. Neither of these will benefit our communities. For example, if our high schools were required to have 25 students in every class, many of our AP courses and flexible pathways would be eliminated. We do not have the student population to simultaneously run large classes while still providing rich diversity in courses. We also do not have the infrastructure to combine schools. Our variety of coursework is what keeps our students engaged and our schools are the heart of each community. The proposals being put forward would require us to either reduce opportunities or close our schools. Considering that our spending levels are far below the state average, this feels unjust.
Legislators are also disregarding the importance of local control and providing communities an opportunity to decide how resources are allocated in their local schools. The governor's proposal would shift all decision making for EMUU and Stowe to a board of five that spans 47 towns. The Elmore School would certainly be closed under these proposals, even though they operate efficiently with one classroom teacher and average class sizes of 15-17 students.
One of the most concerning elements of these proposals is they are likely to increase property taxes. Act 46 and common sense tells us that when you merge multiple school districts, contracts are "leveled up" to the highest pay scale. Although pay equity may be positive, this will certainly result in a substantial increase to the education fund and consequently taxes and rents.
I have shared this presentation with lawmakers and published a recent op-ed in newspapers across the state advocating for our schools. The EMUU Board has also joined the Rural Schools and Communities Alliance and we are working closely with this group to advocate at a state level. Stowe is also considering becoming a member and is waiting to evaluate their funding proposal.
We will continue to keep you informed of any serious proposals and how you can best advocate for our schools and communities.
Federal Updates
We are also paying close attention to any changes at the federal level in regards to funding and oversight. Last week, the Agency of Education testified to the Senate and House Education committees regarding what we should expect. The agency has indicated they are not expecting any cuts this year or next year to our funding. Of course, we know that this is always subject to change but it is reassuring considering the media attention this is receiving.
Building Bridges
A group of future engineers at PAML is competing in the annual bridge-building contest at Vermont State University. The group presented their design this week to the EMUU Board.
Come watch our Robotics Team at UVM March 29 + 30!
Bad Weather is a non-profit robotics team of students from Stowe High School, Stowe Middle School, and People's Academy. Every year, they design, build, and code a fully functioning 150 lb robot to compete in FIRST FRC global robotics competition.
And for the first time ever they will be competing at UVM alongside 32 of New England's best high school robotics teams!
The tournament is super fast-paced 3 versus 3 match play, it's a super-engaging blend of STEM and sport, with a ton of energy and fun for all ages!
Please stop by for an hour or so to watch from the stands, visit the team pits, and get a close up look at these amazingly complex robots, and learn more about this growing robotics and STEM initiative in our community.
When: Sat., March 29, 10am - 6pm or Sun., March 30, 9am - 4pm
Where: UVM Patrick Gymnasium, 97 Spear Street, Burlington, VT 05405
The event is free and open to the public.
Concessions available.
Free parking.
More Questions? Email frc.9096@gmail.com
WHOW Project
Friday Program - THANK YOU VOLUNTEERS!
Superintendent of Lamoille South Unified Union School District