The Lamoille Ledger

December 23rd to January 1st - No School (Winter Break)

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

January 15th - EMUU Board Meeting (5:30 PM) MES

January 16th - SSD Special Board Meeting (6:00 PM) SES

January 20th - NO SCHOOL (MLK Day)

LSSU Strategic Plan

LSSU Family Handbook (2024-25)

Annual Report

Healthy Lamoille Youth Resources

Prior Newsletters

District Website

District 2024-25 Calendar

Lamoille County - Find Help Page

Dear Lamoille South Community,

Seasons Greetings! I wish you all a peaceful and healthy holiday season. There is some fresh snow on the ground, and I hope our families will enjoy the many outdoor activities Vermont offers throughout the beautiful winter months. This is the time of year when we typically see the most academic growth from our students, and if your students seem a bit tired, it's because they are working so hard!

Thank you to the many families who participated in our latest round of parent-teacher conferences. We recognize that an additional half-day is hard for families and will seek your feedback as we prepare a new calendar to propose to the LSSU school board. According to our parent portal, conference participation rates have increased substantially in every school, and middle school families have reported that the extended time allowing them to meet with all teachers was very beneficial.

Budget is a big topic at this time of year; you will find the latest information below. We are hopeful that through careful planning and fiscal responsibility, our proposed budgets will be well received by each of our three towns. There is good news, as the proposed budgets will have a limited or beneficial impact on tax rates while maintaining the resources needed to provide our children with a high-quality education. Each of the school boards has been provided with detailed presentations, and then their input and direction will lead to the creation of final budgets that will be proposed on Town Meeting Day in March.

In other news, we are off to a great start with winter extracurriculars. Please consider attending Hadestown at Peoples Academy this weekend, the first time this show will be presented in Vermont since its Broadway debut. The News and Citizen did a great piece on this. I would also like to congratulate Stowe High School on the excellent performance of Mamma Mia and all of our youngest performers in their many winter concerts. There are too many positive things to keep track of! One of our proudest moments in our students' participation in the Unified Sports Special Olympics (please see below).

Please always reach out with any questions and/or concerns.

Happy Holidays!

Ryan Heraty

Superintendent

802-888-4541

ryan.heraty@lamoillesouth.org

Over the past two months, we have been developing our proposed school budgets for the 2025-26 School Year. Based on preliminary information from the state, the budget looks more manageable than last year, with tax rate decreases in Morrisville and Elmore and a minor increase in Stowe. This information is preliminary, and the state may announce changes at any time.

The board approved the LSSU budget on Monday night. From there, we built local budgets for EMUU and SSD, which were presented to each board for the first time this week. We have worked hard to present a level service budget that accounts for an 11.9% healthcare increase and significant increases in special education and transportation costs. Regardless of these cost drivers, the preliminary budgets are projected to reduce the tax rates in EMUU, and there is a slight (3%) increase projected in Stowe.

This year, we have changed the design of our budget page on the website to improve accessibility to key budget information. All three budget presentations are linked. Additionally, the state has created a new report designed to help explain Vermont's complicated funding system to the general public.

The Lamoille South Student Advisory Council launched its first leadership meeting of the year with over 70 students in attendance The council meets throughout the year at each school and is focused on supporting the creation of cumulative projects at each of our school's highest grade levels. The goal is to demonstrate the Lamoille South Portrait of a Graduate at each transition from elementary to graduation. This is also embedded in our LSSU Strategic Plan.

We are proud of our young athletes who recently took home gold medals at the Special Olympics. Peoples Academy and Stowe High School participate each year in the Unified Sports Program, which exemplifies the values of our supervisory union. Here is a formal description from their website:

With sports as the foundation, Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools is a strategy that offers a unique combination of sports, education and leadership activities to equip young people with tools and training to create sports, classroom and school climates of acceptance and inclusion. The activities and opportunities provided through the program help to reduce bullying and exclusion, promote healthy activity and interactions, combat stereotypes and stigma, eliminate hurtful language in schools and engage people in social activities that lead to personal growth.