Editor’s note: This article is by Derek Carson, of the Bennington Banner, in which it was first published Aug. 15, 2015.
[A]RLINGTON — The boards of the Battenkill Valley Supervisory Union have begun having introductory talks with surrounding districts regarding consolidation.
At least two neighboring school districts have reached out to the BVSU about possible mergers in the wake of this year’s Act 46 legislation. According to the state Agency of Education, the law is designed as “an opportunity for districts and supervisory unions to unify existing, disparate governance structures to preferred governance structure by 2020.”
The preferred, or “conventional” merger listed in the law is the creation of a supervisory district, pre-K through 12, with at least 900 students in the first year of operation. School districts that transfer into approved models by July 2017 will receive tax incentives, and schools that are not yet using approved models by July 2019 risk assignment by the Agency of Education.
The supervisory district would operate as an individual school district, and would thus only have one school board, unlike the current model, in which there is an supervisory union board in addition to boards for each member district. Staff and funding would be easily transferable between the schools in the supervisory district.
“The Rutland Southwest Supervisory Union contacted me,” said BVSU superintendent Judy Pullinen at the BVSU meeting on Wednesday, “Joan Paustian is their superintendent, she said that board members would like to informally meet with our board,” on Aug. 24. The RSWSU, like the BVSU, has fewer than the 900 students necessary for the supervisory district model.
“Act 46 requires all districts to look to create a single school district responsible for all resident students with one education structure,” wrote Paustian in a letter to parents last month, “As you can see, there are some huge challenges for our school districts. Most challenging of all is the fact that we only have 750 students in RSWSU and the new law requires 900 students for a new structure.” RSWSU will be holding forums in the fall for residents of the towns that it serves in the fall to discuss the community’s feelings on the options available.
When a board member questioned Pullinen about what would be discussed at that meeting, she responded, “I think it will be just to open up a conversation very informally about, well, how could this work, would it work, are we interested? It would be to kick the tires, see if we’re interested.”
Pullinen said she had also been contacted by the Winhall School District about the possibility of a merger with Sandgate. Winhall joined the Bennington-Rutland Supervisory Union in 2013, after previously being a part of the Windham Central Supervisory Union. Pullinen added that a meeting has been tentatively scheduled for Sept. 10, between the Sandgate and Winhall boards.
“It’s starting,” she said, “and it’s just talk for now, it’s not commitment, it’s examining the possibilities and gathering information.”
Pullinen said that the state has not been very helpful in giving guidance to districts on how to move forward, which echoed sentiments expressed by Southwest Vermont Supervisory Union superintendent Jim Culkeen at a meeting of the Shaftsbury School district on Wednesday. There will be a Bennington County meeting of the Vermont School Board Association on Sept. 1 at the Southwest Vermont Career Development Center in Bennington, where Secretary of Education Rebecca Holcombe will answer questions regarding Act 46.
