[I]t’s been called the biggest vote in the towns of Ludlow and Mount Holly in the last half-century.
Strong and emotional opinions have been voiced in letters to newspapers and online postings. Recent meetings have started with calls for civility and respect.
On Tuesday, residents of Ludlow and Mount Holly head to the polls to cast ballots on a measure that would close Black River High School in Ludlow and send the high school aged students of the two towns to Mill River Union High School in North Clarendon.
“We’re here to learn about what I believe to be the most important issue that has to come to a vote for the town of Ludlow in almost 50 years,” said Martin Nitka, kicking off as moderator a recent meeting on the proposal held at Black River High School.
Act 46, the statewide law that has led to the mergers and consolidations of school districts across Vermont, has prompted the proposal. A local Act 46 study committee put forth the plan for the towns of Ludlow and Mount Holly after an agreement was reached with Mill River.
The options explored by the committee in addition to merging with Mill River included:
- Joining along with West Rutland, Proctor and Poultney in a Quarry Valley district.
- Becoming a district through grades six or up to grade eight, and tuitioning out secondary students.
- Merging with the Green Mountain Unified District.
Voters in each town, Ludlow and Mount Holly, need to approve the proposal for it to advance. In addition, voters in the towns in the Mill River district, which include Shrewsbury, Tinmouth, Clarendon and Wallingford would also have to approve the measure. Votes in those towns would take place sometime in August, if both Ludlow and Mount Holly voters approve moving forward.
At the recent forum in Ludlow, some speakers talked of losing the personal and close-knit community that a high school of 150 students provides while others talked of the expanded opportunities a larger school could offer.
Speakers also talked of the driving distance students will travel from Mount Holly and Ludlow to attend classes in North Clarendon. Winter weather creating slick road conditions and travel time had some speakers questioning the proposal.
David Younce, Mill River superintendent, said his district was committed to keeping bus commute times to 45 minutes or less. “If this occurs we would like to expand that same concept,” he said.
Also, Younce said at the meeting, he understood it’s a difficult vote for Ludlow and Mount Holly residents.
“This is not a decision you have before you that is a simple decision,” he told the crowd. “I think it’s very fair to say that the decision you are tasked with will have implications that last longer than most of us in this room are on the Earth.”
Mount Holly School and Ludlow Elementary School will remain open under the proposal for pre-K through sixth-grade students. Students from seventh to 12th grade would attend Mill River.
If the proposal is rejected in one town, Black River High School and the two elementary schools would remain open. School Board members have said they would explore other options should that occur, but those options may be more limited.
Trying again with a Mill River proposal might not be among those option. Younce said at the Ludlow meeting that Mill River has put off other decisions pending the outcome of the proposal for Mount Holly and Ludlow students attending the high school.
Supporters and opponents debated financial and educational benefits and drawbacks of the merger proposal. Some speakers said more study should be done to explore more options while others said the proposal before voters may not be perfect, but it’s the best one available.
Based on several projected factors, including a yearly 2 percent increase in spending, taxes in the towns of Ludlow and Mount Holly are expected to go down with the merger. In Ludlow, a home valued at $175,000 would see an estimated tax decrease from $3,023 in FY 2017 to $2,876 in FY 2022; and in Mount Holly, a home with a value of $170,000 would see taxes go from $3,086 in FY17 to $2,876 in FY22, according to information from the Two Rivers Supervisory Union.
Closing Black River will result in the elimination of 40 staff positions, and the addition of 11 at Mill River. Those who lose jobs at Black River could apply at Mill River, but Younce couldn’t say for certainty if those hired would keep their seniority.
At the meeting in Ludlow as well as one held in Mount Holly last week, former graduates of Black River spoke. They talked of how attending a smaller high school that provides for individual attention from staff and faculty had prepared them to succeed later in life.
Current students also spoke. Several at a meeting in Mount Holly wore shirts with messages in support of keeping the high school open. “Keep the Mill out of our River,” read one.
Aiyana Fortin of Mount Holly is a senior at Black River and following graduation is on her way to the University of Vermont. Speaking at the Ludlow meeting, Fortin said whether a school is big or small, it is up to each student to take advantage of the opportunities available.
She said she believed a large majority of students at Black River want to see the high school remain open. “I think that it’s important for the community to know that we really care,” Fortin said, who added that at age 17 she won’t get a chance to vote on the issue.
Not everyone was agreement that smaller necessarily mean better, citing greater options of activities and course offerings at a larger school.
“I think kids learn with more kids, not less,” one speaker said, adding that enrollment at Black River has been on a downward trajectory. “If we don’t do this, we might not get as good of an offer.”
Another speaker at the Ludlow meeting urged all voters to study the issue before casting ballots, and not to rely on rumors.
“Please don’t vote because you had coffee with your neighbor and think this might be what’s happening,” she said. “Find out if that’s happening.”
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