[T]wo Vermont communities, Ludlow and Rochester, made the painful decision to close their high schools Tuesday. In all, nine towns went to the polls to vote on merger plans in time for a Nov. 30 deadline to get tax incentives and keep small-schools grants.
Proposals are going forward that will unite Rochester and Stockbridge; Ludlow and Mount Holly; Bakersfield and Berkshire. Enosburgh supported a merger, but was left hanging when potential partner Richford did not. Montgomery voters also opted not to join a broader merger plan.
On Monday, Peacham said yes to a proposal allowing it to keep its school and board, but bringing it under the umbrella of a larger district.
Student numbers have declined across the state over the last two decades, and Act 46, passed in 2015 requires communities to discuss merging into larger districts. Study committees bring proposals to the State Board of Education, then seek voter approval.
Act 49, an update of the school consolidation law, gave districts more options for mergers. As long as districts merger votes were held by Nov. 30, towns could still receive tax breaks.
Any community that rejected a merger has a month to hold a reconsideration vote.
Districts that don’t merge are to bring an “alternative proposal” to the board showing they can remain viable, give students more educational opportunities and achieve good results. These plans and any mergers proposed in them will not qualify for tax breaks or transitional grants.
Closing Rochester and Ludlow
After Ludlow and Rochester spurned past merger proposals with their respective neighbors, voters changed course and opted to close their high schools.
In Ludlow, residents voted 344-172 on Tuesday in favor of closing Black River High School in two years. Ludlow will join with Mount Holly and send students to Mill River Union High School in North Clarendon, Green Mountain Union High School in Chester or a private school. Closing the high school is expected to save $600,000.
In a separate proposal, Rochester residents voted 290-11 on Tuesday to close their high school and tuition students. The town will merge school boards with nearby Stockbridge.
Kayden Hamlin, a junior at Rochester High School, said the decision left her feeling anchorless.
“What will be the school name on my high school diploma?” she asked. Hamlin moved back to Rochester in time for 10th grade. She had been at a bigger school in southern New York and has preferred the small community she has found at Rochester.
“Rochester is an amazing high school. It is small, so everyone loves you and everyone wants what is best for you,” Hamlin said. Her father works for the Fire Department, her mother leads the after-school program, and Hamlin has found a community she cherishes.
“I want ‘Rochester High School’ on my diploma. I want it really bad. I want to be grandfathered in somehow,” she said.
Stockbridge residents agreed with the plan, voting 96-49 to merge into one school district, run two elementary schools, and tuition students to middle and high school.
Without a merger, Stockbridge’s tax rate was projected to increase to $2.14 by 2021. Uniting with Rochester lets the town keep its elementary school and keep taxes at $1.99 per $100 of assessed property value.
Stockbridge School Board Chair Carl Groppe said he was pleased his community wants a closer relationship with Rochester. The towns already share field trips as well as after-school and summer programs, and now there will be more chances to collaborate, he said.
Groppe said some feared their schools would be closed or that the state would force them to merge against their will, but Tuesday’s vote vanquishes such concerns. By saying yes, both towns can keep their small-school grant (although now it becomes part of transition assistance) and will get tax incentives.
“This gives us the financial flexibility to continue to support quality education at a price our taxpayers can afford,” Groppe said. “It’s a win for the school, a win for the two towns, and most importantly a win for our kids.”
Mixed outcomes
Franklin Northeast voters rejected the first merger plan to come out of the five rural towns of Bakersfield, Enosburg, Berkshire, Montgomery and Richford.
In Tuesday’s vote, the towns of Enosburg and Richford proposed uniting into one side of a side-by-side, but residents in Richford rejected the plan by a vote of 108-99. Enosburgh supported it, 157-65.
The other side had three merger partners: Bakersfield, Berkshire and Montgomery. The first two towns accepted the plan — 130-39 in Bakersfield and 114-42 in Berkshire. Montgomery voters narrowly rejected it, 151-137. The merger will still go forward between Bakersfield and Berkshire but they will not get any tax breaks.
Unless there is a reconsideration vote in Richford, that town’s merger with Enosburgh will not happen and tax incentives will not be available.
“We will have to see if the town of Richford receives a petition” for a revote, said Morgan Daybell, business manager for Franklin Northeast Supervisory Union. “In terms of work ahead, we will go forward with the Berkshire and Bakersfield merger once we are out of the window for reconsideration.”
Last time around, Montgomery defeated a proposal by about 4 to 1. In past years, the school has been lauded for good student performance and closing the achievement gap between low-income students and their wealthier peers. It is likely the district will apply for an alternative structure and argue it is doing a good job educating students, according to Daybell.
Peacham
On Monday, Peacham residents accepted an Act 49 plan that allows them to continue operating their tiny pre-K-through-six elementary school the same way they always have. The vote was 170-11.
Barnet, Walden and Waterford will form the Caledonia Cooperative Unified Union School District. Peacham, using one of the options added under Act 49, will join the three towns within the supervisory union but keep its own board and budget.
Peacham residents won’t get tax breaks, but the others will. Peacham also will be exempt from potentially being forced into a merger by a statewide plan in 2019.
