The Lamoille Ledger

June 2nd - SSD Board Meeting (SES @5:30PM)

June 9th - EMUU Board Meeting (MES @5:30PM)

June 11th - Peoples Academy Graduation

June 13th - Stowe High School Graduation

June 16th - Last Day of School (early dismissal)

LSSU Strategic Plan

Bus Routes

Lunch Menus

LSSU Family Handbook

Annual Report

Healthy Lamoille Youth Resources

Prior Newsletters

District Website

District 2026-27 Calendar

Lamoille County - Find Help Page

Dear Lamoille South Community,

As we head into the final weeks of the school year, our days are filled with many exciting events, including proms, field trips, and spring performances. Our teachers are simultaneously working hard to ensure students reach end-of-year standards and high-quality instruction remains a priority. Every school has completed or is currently completing our benchmark STAR assessments, which provide a math and literacy report that helps our teachers review student strengths and areas for growth with a national comparison. Currently, our data is indicating that students in all schools are making strong gains in both areas.

In Morrisville, we are lowering our flags in remembrance of Morristown Police Sergeant Ron Audet, a strong advocate for students and a pillar of our community. As stated by the Morristown Police, "Sergeant Audet exemplified the highest standards of leadership and professionalism, embodying what it truly means to be an exceptional police officer. He consistently inspired those around him to strive for excellence. Few worked harder, and few cared more deeply. He believed firmly in integrity, diligence, and unwavering dedication, never accepting shortcuts in the pursuit of service." Our hearts go out to Sergeant Audet's family and the Morristown Police.

Please take a minute to review the important information below and thank you to everyone that completed our annual family engagement survey. Those results are currently being analyzed and will be used to inform our strategic planning goals for next year.

Have a wonderful weekend,

Ryan Heraty

Superintendent

Lamoille South Supervisory Union

ryan.heraty@lamoillesouth.org

802-888-4541

This week, Peoples Academy students dedicated a day of giving back to the community through their annual day of service.

Last week, our Stowe / PA combined athletes recognized mental health and the importance of removing stigma as we encourage open and honest conversations on this topic. A national campaign, Morgan's Message, is an organization that helps students lead these conversations. The mental health of our students and community members is something we are paying close attention to, recognizing that social media and other factors are only elevating this concern. Athletics are a highly valued and important part of our community and can be an avenue for raising awareness.

Recently, our local newspapers covered an important topic that is being discussed across our supervisory union - the role of technology in our schools. With the advancement of artificial intelligence and the proliferation of the educational technology industry, we are taking an important step to reflect on our use of technology and how various tools are either helping or detracting from our most important work - teaching and learning.

A technology committee composed of parents, students, teachers, board members, and administrators, met several times over the past few months. That committee recommended a technology policy that has been presented to the school board for review. The policy requires LSSU to submit an annual technology plan that details how technology is used across grade levels, how programs and platforms are evaluated, and what important steps are being taken to protect our students' data and learning. A draft template of that plan can be found HERE. The technology committee will continue this important work over the summer and the plan will be shared for community feedback once it has been drafted. We knew when cell phones were removed from our schools that the use of devices would be our next agenda item. It is important work that will only benefit our students and help us continue to be leaders in this area.

Last week, I sent an important update regarding the legislature's efforts to curb the cost of education and navigate the growing tax pressure we are all experiencing across the state. Bill H.955 will most likely be approved today and sent to Governor Scott for signature. Overall, I am in support of this bill as it avoids forced, large-scale mergers and allows for community voice.

What this bill means for our two districts:

- We will be required to join a study committee that will evaluate the benefits of creating a much larger school district. The tentative grouping for our district is with these current districts: Cambridge School District, Craftsbury School District, Hazen Union High School District, Lamoille North Modified Unified Union School District, Mountain View Union Elementary School District, Stannard Town School District, and Wolcott School District.

- A facilitator will be hired to independently evaluate this configuration and lead a study committee charged with determining if a new district with these members would be in the best interest of students and taxpayers. Each current district will have one school board representative on this committee, which will start meeting in the fall of 2026.

- The study committee will issue a final report by September 1, 2027. If the committee decides to recommend the merger, each district will then have a chance to vote on whether or not to join this new district on March 8, 2028. New board members would also be elected on this day to serve on the new school board serving this district.

- If the voters decide to move forward, the new districts would go into effect on July 1, 2028. These new districts would have one year to plan while the current districts remain in effect. The new district would take over operations of all schools on July 1, 2029.

- A new funding formula would also go into effect at this time that provides each new district with a foundation formula payment that is determined by the state's proposed formula. This is a payment that is guaranteed and not an amount determined by local voters. The district can propose an amount up to 10% higher than the foundation payment and the tax rate would be increased accordingly. That 10% number then decreases to 5% over the next few years.

- Districts that have capital debt would have 75% of their debt forgiven by the state.

Important Details:

- The study committee can decide to also pursue different configurations; for us, this could mean a joint merger between EMUU and Stowe or something completely different.

- The committee is required to avoid any configuration that allows for districts that have under 750 students. Currently, both of our districts are very close to the 750 student number, meaning it is unlikely that continuing with our existing district structure will be supported during this process and we should be prepared for those discussions.

- Ultimately, the current districts decide on whether or not to merge with a vote on March 8, 2028.

Below: On Thursday, I had the opportunity to hear a group of Stowe High School students present their ideas for school reform. This group was well-prepared, informed, and had many great ideas for consideration. It was a great reminder that student voice needs to be central to these conversations.