ACT 46 STUDY COMMITTEE
Representing the Brattleboro Town School District, Dummerston Town School District,
Guilford Town School District, Putney Town School District and the Vernon Town School District
http://www.wssu.k12.vt.us
NOTICE OF MEETING
The Act 46 Study Committee will meet at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 9, 2016 in the Oak Grove School gymnasium.
AGENDA
I. CALL TO ORDER – 6:00 p.m. – Alice Laughlin, Committee Chair
II. REVIEW, PRIORITIZE AND ESTABLISH DESIRED OUTCOMES FOR MEETING BY CHAIRPERSON.
III. REVIEW COMMITTEE MEMBER ROLES AND PUBLIC COMMENTS BY CHAIRPERSON
IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – October 27, 2016
V. REVIEW STUDY COMMITTEE PROCESS BY CHAIRPERSON
VI. RECOGNITION OF GROUPS AND/OR INDIVIDUALS
VII. STUDY COMMITTEE WORK SESSION:
Vote Schedule and Process
Vernon and BUHS Separation Agreement
Article 8 Discussion
Marlboro Alternative Structure
Review Schedule
Public Information: Mailings and Information Presentations
State Board of Education Meeting Preparation
VIII. FUTURE MEETINGS, DISCUSSIONS
IX. ADJOURNMENT
Note: In accordance with the following excerpt from WSESU Policy E-12 Electronic Communications Use and Retention
II. Use of E-Mail and Electronic Communications
The school board and administration will not use email as a substitute for discussion at board meetings, or for any business properly conducted at board meetings subject to the Vermont Open Meeting Law.
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Brattleboro Town School District, Dummerston Town School District,
Guilford Town School District, Putney Town School District and Vernon Town School District
Act 46 Study Committee
Work Session Agenda, Minutes & Action Items – October 27, 2016 from 6-8 PM – Putney Central School
Present
Brattleboro: Kim Price*, David Schoales**, Jill Stahl Tyler*, Mark Truhan*
BUHS/ BAMS/WRCC: Ricky Davidson*, Ian Torrey* * denotes voting member,
Dummerston: Kristina Naylor** ***, Amy Wall* – Clerk ** denotes alternate voting member,
Guilford: Beth Bristol*, Alice Revis** *** denotes ex officio member
Putney: Richard Glejzer**, Alice Laughlin* – Chair
Vernon: Walter Breau*, Mike Hebert**
Also present
WSESU: Frank Rucker – Business Manager, Ron Stahley – Superintendent
Others: BCTV staff, members of the public including Jody Normandeau, Eric Feindel, Erin Tkaczyk, John Gagnon
Committee Guidelines
1. Work sessions will start and end on time.
2. Work sessions will last 2 hours unless decided otherwise by the Committee.
3. Members will give and receive with good intentions.
4. Members will follow “3 before me” as a guideline so all members have the opportunity to speak.
5. Members will conduct Committee business in front of the group.
6. Members will understand that silence on the part of another member does not imply agreement.
7. Members will site sources of evidence during discussion.
8. All members will be included in conversation and no side conversations will be conducted during the work session.
9. Members will stay on topic during discussions and will request the Clerk make note of additional topic(s) for future discussion.
10. Members will engage in the work at hand and administration will provide the space and support as needed to do so.
Agenda Items Led by
– Call to order Alice Laughlin
– Review, prioritize and establish desired outcomes for meeting Alice
– Review Study Committee member roles and public comments by Chair Alice
– Approve of minutes of previous work session – October 5 Alice
– Review Study Committee process by Chair Alice
– Recognition of groups and/or individuals Alice
– Study Committee Work Session Alice, Ron Stahley, Frank Rucker
– Vote schedule and process
– Ballot language: Vernon and BUHS separation agreement
– Article 8 discussion
– Report on VT-VSBA Annual Conference “Fulfilling the Promise of Equity”
– Equity discussion and updated data
– Review schedule
– Public information: mailings and information presentations
– Future meetings, Discussions Alice
– Adjournment
Work Session Minutes:
Alice Laughlin called the work session to order at 6:17 pm and confirmed that a quorum was present. Many members were unable to attend due to the snow storm and slippery roads. Because of this, Alice proposed an abbreviated schedule since not all members were present and since the meeting started later than usual. She proposed additional time for public input at the end of the meeting and the Committee members agreed by consensus.
On a motion made by Mark Truhan, seconded by Beth Bristol and so voted, the minutes of October 5 were accepted as written.
Alice welcomed the public present and opened the floor to their thoughts, concerns and/or ideas which included:
Support for a unified board based on the Proportional model,
Request for copies of the ballot language and BUHS-Vernon Separation agreement, and
Clarification of the wording in and applicability of Article 10.
Alice Laughlin shared that the Town Clerks had received a letter on October 7th from the State certifying the Vernon vote in August. Per statute, the vote to release Vernon from BUHS #6 by Brattleboro, Dummerston, Guilford and Putney must take place within 90 days – before January 5, 2017. Based on feedback from Town Clerks, they recommend that the vote be held on Tuesday, December 13th. Early ballots would be available on November 23. Ron Stahley shared the draft of the warning article and the ballot language for this vote. Frank Rucker shared that the Vernon and BUHS #6 boards have met and reviewed the separation agreement. Final signatures are in process and copies of the agreement will be provided to all local boards at their meetings in November. While the separation agreement is not under the purview of the Study Committee, Frank shared that it is referenced in the Articles of Agreement and ballot language must use the same language as in the separation agreement. When comparing Vernon’s share of BUHS assets and liabilities, Frank pointed out that the net balance was $0 and that no negative impact is anticipated for other districts.
Alice presented the next item on the agenda as the discussion of Article 8. Frank Rucker passed out a spreadsheet with information on various proportional configurations. He reviewed the information and pointed out that the 11 and 13 member boards may not pass the proportionality requirements because the standard deviation is too high. Based on statistical calculations, the 9 member board is best. Frank shared that if there are significant statistical variances, then statute recommends the hybrid model in the current draft of the Study Committee’s report and Articles of Agreement. In addition to the proportional and hybrid models, Frank shared that a weighted average vote with any number of board members could be used. Beth Bristol read a letter from Guilford resident Sean Murphy who supported the hybrid model for a unified board based on his experience and insights as a member of the BUHS #6 board representing Guilford. Beth shared the GTSD board view of the hybrid/proportional models and their support of the proportional model because it provided direct representation and vote transparency for Guilford. The GTSD board was not comfortable with non-residents voting for the Guilford member of a unified board using the at large/hybrid model. Alice Laughlin shared that the PTSD board strongly supported the hybrid model because it offers a greater range of board members, allows Leadership Councils to develop board members, and provides a means of coming together of all four communities for all our children. Alice stated that PTSD board feels strongly about the hybrid model and she knew they would not have supported the Articles if a proportional model was used. Amy Wall shared that although not unanimous, the DTSD board support the proportional model. She stated that in her discussions with Dummerston residents, their input is not consistent with the DTSD board which makes the matter murky. Kristina Naylor aired her concerns about the hybrid model and residency requirements when all towns voted on all positions in a hybrid model. Frank Rucker shared information on the MAU board as a well-tested and successful at large/hybrid board. When Alice proposed a vote on Article 8, the consensus was to table the matter until all voting members were present for discussion and possible action. Amy Wall stated that she would appreciate additional time to gather more feedback from Dummerston residents.
Alice Laughlin provided a brief overview of the VSA/VSBA annual meeting, the key speakers and the topics of equity and implicit bias. Ron Stahley shared that Stephen Morse, chair of the State Board of Education, is available on November 15th to speak on equity and Act 46 and based on the consensus of those present he will confirm with Chairman Morse. Alice shared that while the VT AOE did not have a definition of equity yet, it did have a great deal of data that indicates that Vermont is not providing an equitable education to all its students.
Alice lead a review of the proposed schedule with additional comments from Frank Rucker and Ron Stahley. Beth Bristol asked about local boards’ FY budget development. Frank and Ron shared that they will be working with local boards to prepare individual budgets that will be voted on in March 2017 along with the unification vote. If unification is approved by the voters, then all local budgets would be incorporated together to make the initial unified district budget.
The next work sessions will be held at WRCC – Cusick Room (unless otherwise notified) on November 9th and December 1st from 6-8 pm.
Alice Laughlin opened the floor to the public present who share the following:
Concern that minutes of the October 5 meeting were not posted on the website.
On a motion made Mark Truhan, seconded by Beth Bristol, and so voted, the work session ended at 7:49 pm.
Respectfully submitted, Amy Wall – Committee Clerk
