Editor’s note: This commentary is by Rep. Jim Masland, of Thetford Center, a Democrat who represents the Windsor-Orange 2 district in the Vermont House of Representatives.
To the State Board of Education:
[T]hroughout Vermont’s history, our economy has transformed itself numerous times. From potash to timber, from sheep to marble and granite, from machine tools and copper to maple sugar and dairy, and to computer chips, composites and aerospace manufacturing. While the means of earning a living and building Vermont’s economy have changed, what has remained integral to who we are as Vermonters has been our deep sense of community.
As employment becomes more and more urban based, small towns are under assault from market forces beyond their control. That does not diminish, however, Vermonters commitment to each other within the towns in which they live and raise their families. You must recognize that the school is almost always the locus from which community involvement and participation grows. Vermonters’ allegiance to their schools is not just about community control and resistance to outside directives. It is about maintaining community resilience and cohesion without which townships will slowly fade away.
Community life is not just about adults, even while they may well be struggling to make ends meet. It is more importantly about raising children in a stable, secure and nurturing environment. Yes, we have all heard the news about changing demographics, diminishing resources and declining enrollment. We all understand that a high school with only a few hands-full of kids doesn’t provide sufficient educational opportunities for children to prosper and advance to a more productive life. But it’s the younger children we should be most concerned about today.
You have before you a number of applications to create Alternative Structures as provided in Act 46. These enable towns and small groups of towns to create governance structures that best meet the needs of their communities and their students. You may have heard that Alternative Structures were thrown into the bill at the last moment as a back door escape from forced mergers. Not so, regardless of appearances. They became part of Act 46 for good reason, and is often the case, essential ideas are the last to be introduced.
You may believe that compelling small school districts to merge will be in the best interest of all involved. You may believe that that is your charge and obligation as the Board of Education. However, forced mergers will not improve the lives and education of the children that are your responsibility. Parents and educators who have worked laboriously to craft Alternative Structures and submit them to you for approval deserve, at the very least, the opportunity to make them succeed. They too, not just the Board of Ed, have the best interests of their offspring at heart.
