Editor’s note: This commentary is by Akara Draper and Linnie Jones, of Dummerston, concerned citizens who have recently attended Act 46 meetings, both for and against.
[O]ver the last few months, there has been a lot of controversy around the Act 46 school consolidation merger law.
Act 46 was passed by the Legislature in 2015. The Windham South East Supervisory Union includes Brattleboro, Dummerston, Guilford, Putney and Vernon. As residents of Dummerston, we have been trying to understand both sides of the issue. We have attended Act 46 Study Committee meetings, as well as the Local Communities for Local Schools meetings, and have come to the conclusion that Act 46, in the way that it is presently written, needs significant revision.
This spring, WSESU towns will vote on whether or not to accept the study committee articles of agreement, per Act 46, as the law is written now. A “no” vote would give our communities more time to work together towards fulfilling the goals of Act 46 while preserving local governance.
Voting “no” would also give our legislators more time to seek guidance from their communities regarding alternative structures.
Due to the fact that many towns have protested against Act 46, the Vermont Senate Education Committee is currently reviewing modification proposals. Several Vermont legislators have introduced amendments to Act 46 that would restore the flexibility in governance, and extend deadlines for processing possibilities. Our Windham County representative, Mike Mrowicki, has co-sponsored two such proposals, House Bills 7 and 15.
In states across the nation, school consolidation has not automatically saved money, improved student outcomes or created school equity. Some of our concerns within our own supervisory union are:
• If we vote in favor of this bill, there is no way out in the future if we find that it is not working well. Act 46 has “no exit” policy.
• The best-case scenarios predict just 1 percent in savings. In fact, projections indicate that taxes could increase after four years.
Act 46 promotes another version of cookie cutter standardization that threatens to further disengage and disempower local involvement in our schools.
The unified school board will have the power to eliminate grades, move teachers and students around the district, as well as close schools if deemed necessary.
This would disrupt the collaboration that occurs between teachers who work together over time as well as our students’ sense of safety and home as they are torn from their school community.
Act 46 will create a larger and centralized bureaucracy that can dictate policy at the state and local levels. Schools have already been profoundly altered by the federal government imposing standardized curriculums and testing. Data driven approaches do not necessarily increase performance or proficiency.
Act 46 promotes another version of cookie cutter standardization that threatens to further disengage and disempower local involvement in our schools.
Declining student populations are a real problem in our state. We must advocate at the local and state levels to create more jobs that attract young parents with children to Vermont.
After many hours of exploring this issue, we are convinced that Act 46 must be revised before moving forward. Voting “no” this spring will give us an opportunity to slow down, assess and revise Act 46.
