Editor’s note: This op-ed is by Armando Vilaseca, the Vermont Commissioner of Education.
Recently, the Times Argus published an editorial critical of my decision requiring Montpelier School District to hire an interim superintendent rather than a permanent one, and to explore options to increase the efficiencies of the district and improve opportunities for its students. For clarification, I will try to briefly explain the Montpelier situation and how it mirrors other districts around the state.
First it is important for readers to understand our statewide funding system for education. Since the passage of Acts 60 and 68, we have moved from a system of funding our schools mostly based on local taxes to one where the tax rate is set by the state. Currently, statewide school tax dollars are sent to the State Education Fund, and districts are then reimbursed for the bulk of their local school expenses. This means that local decisions made by one community are paid for by all of us, and from a funding perspective we are basically one district. This change alone requires that we all look at more efficient ways of operating while improving opportunities for all kids.
Last year, our legislators passed a forward-thinking voluntary school merger bill called Act 153 that encourages four or more districts (or fewer if the combined total of students is at least 1,250) to merge into one K-12 district. This Act includes incentives by providing reimbursement grants for consultants to offset costs of a merger study, up to $150,000 in implementation funds to offset any costs associated with a merger, and tax rate reductions for the first four years of a merger. The resulting savings could be substantial in reducing the overall school tax rate paid by community members. We currently have at least five districts that have qualified for this initial study reimbursement.
Act 153 outlines recommendations regarding student to superintendent staffing ratios: these are the guidelines that I abide by when making my recommendations regarding whether a district should hire an interim or permanent superintendent. For SU’s with fewer than 1,250 students, I have been recommending an interim, and for those above that number I have been allowing for a permanent hire.
If a district wants an opportunity to participate in Act 153, it must have other districts or SUs that are contiguous to it willing to consider merging. In the past few years, Washington Central Supervisory Union District (WCSU) and Montpelier have had public discussions on a potential merger of the two SUs into one larger district. I attended one of these meetings and followed its progress throughout, and was very impressed with the tone and discussions and the great progress being made.
Montpelier has had a steadily declining student enrollment over the past 10 years. Currently, Montpelier School District (MSD) has around 900 students, and WCSU has around 1600 students. This merger would create one larger district with a school board made up of representatives of each of the six communities.
Some of the ideas discussed included closing the current (Montpelier) Main Street Middle School; designating U-32 as the high school for both the current WCSU and Montpelier high school students; and the current Montpelier High School building becoming the new middle school for both districts. Both districts would benefit by saving costs of operating one less school and increasing options for students because the combined high school would be able to support even more diverse and advanced course and extracurricular offerings.
For those unfamiliar with these districts, the Montpelier School District is geographically surrounded by Washington Central, and buses from a couple of the Washington Central towns must drive through Montpelier to access their schools. Montpelier and U-32 are three miles from each other, but operate completely independently of each other. Both school districts are very good districts and, in my opinion, both would benefit from joining forces. A combined middle school would serve approximately 320 students, and could offer more options and more diverse opportunities for those students as well.
The savings involved in a change like this include a reduction of a central office (including a superintendent, staff and overhead), a closure of an entire school with all of the costs associated with that aging building, and a reduction in the staff required to operate the district.
Such a consolidation could not only improve opportunities for all students, but also reduce the school district educational expenses, having a direct and positive impact on local school taxes. This concept, which I saw discussed by local citizens, is what drove me to decide to require MSD to hire an interim and investigate this option.
Unfortunately, I believe Act 153 may have derailed these discussions, since WCSU is now able to pursue a merger without Montpelier. However, Montpelier, remains a “donut hole” surrounded on all sides by WCSU towns, cannot pursue this option without WCSU.
I realize that there are folks who want things to stay the same, while others still have some deep seated feelings about when the two districts split many years ago. Some folks will still argue that because of what occurred back in the 1960s, they should remain apart. Whatever happened then needs to be put aside, and a decision about what is best for all kids should dominate the conversation. Not what is best for adults, but what is best for kids.
My decision regarding Montpelier is similar to decisions I am making regarding other districts around the state. My goal in everything I do is to maintain and improve the excellence in our schools for all of our students, while addressing the fiscal realities we face as a state.
