The Lamoille Ledger
Superintendent's Monthly News - May 23, 2025
Important Dates and Resources
May 26th - Memorial Day (No School)
June 14th - Stowe High School Graduation 11 AM
June 19th - Peoples Academy Graduation 6:30 PM
June 20th - Last Day of School (early release)
LSSU Family Handbook (2024-25)
Monthly Update
Dear Lamoille South,
As we sail through spring, there are many exciting events happening in each of our schools. From proms to baseball games, music concerts to field trips, things are busy and fun! This time of year, we celebrate everything positive about our schools and work to end the year on a good note. Don't be surprised if your learner is coming home tired. The teachers are working students hard to ensure they meet end of year standards and that, combined with the many additional events, can be a lot.
This weekend it is important to recognize Memorial Day and the many that have given their lives for our country. Both Stowe and EMUU are participating in Memorial Day events where our students and band members will honor those that served and died for the freedoms we often take for granted. Peoples Academy hosted their annual ceremony at 10AM this morning. Stowe is hosting a similar observance downtown at 10AM on Friday, May 30th. I am proud to be a part of a community where we take the time to teach our students how important this holiday is.
Below you will find two significant items. First, the Vermont Senate is set to discuss and vote on their version of Bill H.454 this afternoon. We are being told the version they introduced last week is out and they are planning to push forward a new version. Other than that, we have limited information. There are several concerns with this and I urge you to again contact our Senators as this has been extremely effective. Right now, we are just asking them to not vote on anything that lacks clear modeling. The last two versions would have been very detrimental to both of our districts and a rushed version could be even worse.
Below is also our annual family engagement survey for parents and caregivers. Please take a minute to complete this survey which is used to inform our strategic plan. This year, we are asking an important question regarding a potential shift back to the use the 100 point scale for grading purposes. A team of teachers and administrators has been meeting to review our grading and reporting system and determine if any additional changes are needed to enhance clarity for our students and families. Your input is crucial.
Thank you for your support and please enjoy a safe weekend,
Ryan Heraty
Superintendent
Lamoille South Supervisory Union
Legislative Updates
First, I want to thank those that responded to my action alert last week. Due to your advocacy, our senators received a flood of emails that quickly changed the direction of the Senate education bill. There has been some significant media attention around this and the two biggest issues are common in all three proposals being put forward by the Governor, House, and Senate:
1. The foundation formulas being proposed require massive swings in either tax rates or revenues. This will lead to districts either losing a significant amount of resources or experiencing crushing tax increases. This approach is being marketed as the only solution, yet there are much better ways to design such a formula and many states have taken a different approach.
2. Each version of the bill suggests radical governance change with limited public engagement and no clear modeling. Radically changing school district boundaries requires far more than two public hearings which is what was proposed in the latest amendment. We believe that communities should have voice in how these decisions are made and that clear modeling should be provided to determine how this impacts tax rates and the distribution of resources.
Please consider sending our Senators an email today with a simple ask: Please do not to vote on anything until it has been carefully modeled and we have had time to see how it will impact our communities. Right now, there are several ideas being rushed through that could be very harmful.
Here are their emails:
Senator Rich Westman - rawestman@gmail.com
Senator Ann Cummings - ACUMMINGS@leg.state.vt.us
Senator Andrew Perchlik - aperchlik@leg.state.vt.us
Senator Ann Watson - awatson@leg.state.vt.us
Parent and Family Engagement Survey
Please take a minute to complete this important survey. Since we analyze this data by school, please complete a separate response for each child if they attend different schools. This survey data was used to make decisions such as the implementation of our cell phone policy. This year, we are considering changes to our grading practices and your input is essential.
