Editor’s note: This commentary is by Rory Thibault, who is a member of the Cabot School Board. This commentary reflects his personal views, not those of the Cabot School Board, Cabot School District, or Washington Northeast Supervisory Union.
[C]abot’s Act 46 process has been tumultuous and exhausting – an experience all too common among Vermont’s towns. The State Board of Education has, with trepidation, approved of Cabot remaining an independent district – rejecting the secretary of education’s recommendation to merge the Cabot and Danville school districts, and bringing to an end an unpleasant three-year process.
Whether Cabot remains independent or eventually merges, our future must be guided by fact, not hyperbole or anecdote. State Board of Education Chair Krista Huling recently made several concerning comments about Cabot School that suggest a view based on the latter. Specifically, during the State Board meeting on Nov. 15, Huling characterized Cabot as collapsing: “(t)hey cut their art, they cut their music, they cut their gym — they are down to kids that are fleeing out of the school,” she said. She also referenced a conversation with a parent “begging” to close the school.
Those most familiar with the school’s operations, including faculty and students, were left frustrated that despite the best efforts to tell Cabot’s story, the good and bad, the State Board still got it wrong – even if reaching the “right” decision. Chair Huling’s comments had two inadvertent consequences: reigniting the fire of divisive local school politics, and reinforcing the flawed notion that Cabot School has nothing to offer the neighboring districts we need to work with in the future.
Preceding Act 46, a minority in town sought to restructure into a high school choice district – an effort defeated by vote and by election of board members opposed to this goal. This divide, amplified by the Act 46 process, has led some to adopt a pathological degree of contempt for the school. Bad news is celebrated, while achievements are ridiculed – a sad spectacle often played out through incivility on Front Porch Forum and Facebook. Recent budget votes have become heated referendums on school structure, beyond the merits of the budget. This has distorted the debate on the school’s future. On one hand, school supporters have downplayed the harsh fiscal realities and challenges faced as an independent district. On the other, those demanding change have been too quick to dismiss or undervalue the quality of programing and role of the school in the community’s social fabric. Most in town are less partisan: They want a good school, a sensible tax rate, and Front Porch Forum to focus on loose livestock and book club events.
Chair Huling’s comments were correct, in part. In Cabot’s last, difficult budget cycle, a part-time elementary music instructional position was cut and in lieu of fielding its own sports teams, Cabot entered into a cooperative sports agreement with Twinfield Union School. The latter decision driven by concerns over student interest and participation rate to field full teams, and the added cost and difficulty of playing a shrinking field of Division IV schools. However, missing from discussion was the addition of an elementary counseling position (to address an increasing population of students with a trauma background), a part-time design tech position in the middle school, and an increase in the high school language arts and social studies positions. Further, Cabot’s art program, including AP Art in the high school, remains vibrant and funded. Art is also fully integrated into project-based learning modules, occurring in grades 3-12.
The budget emphasized core educational quality, with flexibility limited by a three-year surge in non-discretionary obligations, namely a doubling of unreimbursed special education costs. Despite this, Cabot is successfully executing a complete transformation of the high school curriculum – fully embracing a project-based learning model that places Cabot as a leader in Act 77 implementation, personalized learning plans, and adapting to proficiency based grading. The curricular shift represents an emphasis on skill development beyond mere knowledge: public speaking, teamwork, creativity, and accountability – the foundational skills needed to succeed in a career or at college. The innovation and energy of the faculty and staff enabling this program is indicative of a school climate that is positive and adapting – the opposite of a school culture that is withering.
Following the secretary of education’s recommendation that Cabot and Danville merge, the school boards met three times. Preliminary study of three options was conducted: maintaining both schools in a merged district, maintaining a high school level project-based learning program on the Cabot campus, and eliminating Cabot high school altogether. At our final meeting on Aug. 9, I noted the merits of pursuing the second option – a middle road that would close Cabot high school but ensure continuity of the program for students from both communities.
Danville’s board was not persuaded and the tax rate consequences of merger appeared unacceptable under any scenario. Danville adeptly advocated against merger, emphasizing Cabot’s debt and deferred maintenance as obstacles to merger, as well as the belief Cabot would refuse to restructure or close its high school. Cabot’s current fiscal and facility realities are more nuanced than presented: current reserve fund balances could substantially or fully satisfy outstanding debts, and a 2011 study focused on the wholesale redevelopment of the school campus continues to be used to justify the myth of “millions” in deferred maintenance.
Merger should not mean the end of Cabot’s project-based learning curriculum – a move contrary to the intent of Act 46 to increase, not decrease, opportunities – but that goal is distinct from a demand for a full “high school” in perpetuity. I believe the secretary’s recommendation to merge Cabot and Danville was the best outcome under a forced merger scenario, and a reasonable proposal in its own right, however, it will not ever be “practicable” so long as Cabot is perceived as a liability with little to offer.
It is in this context that the inaccuracy and lack of context in Chair Huling’s comments present peril – obscuring the value of opportunities at Cabot and the hard work of educators to ensure all students, PreK-12, are provided with a quality education. The end of the Act 46 process provides clarity on where to focus, but it does not end the need to adapt, change and improve. Cabot School is capable of excellence under many different scenarios, but the threat of failure increases so long as embittered anecdotes, misconceptions, and an unduly grim view of the school go unchallenged.
