SU Board to Review Act 46 Plan

Vermont Standard

1/5/17 

Staff Report

A plan to consolidate the Windsor Central Supervisory Union will be considered by the SU’s board Monday.

The plan would convert Barnard and Reading to pre-K-4 schools, sending Barnard 5/6 grade students to Prosper Valley School and Reading 5/6 grade students to Woodstock Elementary School, The remaining schools (Killington and Woodstock Union High School) would stay intact, according to a draft of the plan, created by the SU’s Act 46 committee.

The plan also adds Plymouth to the SU, but leaves Pittsfield’s future up in the air.

Officials estimate 5/6 grade class sizes of 23-24 students at PVS and 32-34 at WES.

Despite an estimated $50,000 increase in transportation costs, officials estimate about $300,000 in savings from the plan, due to staff reductions at Barnard and Reading, during the first year of the plan. If the plan is approved by the board Monday, it will be on each town’s ballot in March. If the plan is approved at Town Meeting day, it will go into effect around July 2018.

The plan also anticipates significant tax rate reductions (up to $3,400 for a property owner with a $150,000 home in Reading) in the first six years of the plan, due to incentives from the state.

The previous plan had Reading and Barnard as pre-K-2 schools, but the committee abandoned the idea after hearing concerns from residents that it would affect the quality and potential viability of each school.