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, January 27, 2016 at the Vernon Elementary School, Vernon.

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. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – January 13, 2016

IV. REVIEW COMMITTEE MEMBER ROLES AND PUBLIC COMMENTS BY CHAIRPERSON

V. REVIEW DRAFT DOCUMENT COMPARING ACT 46 OPTIONS

VI. RECOGNITION OF GROUPS AND/OR INDIVIDUALS

VII. CONTINUE CONSIDERATION OF ACCELERATED OPTION:

Leadership Councils
Educational Programming – Define “Core” Programming
School Choice (Legal, VT AOE/SBE Advice)
Current/Future student numbers and student-staff ratio
Tabled Motion – School/grade closure vote
Financial data, if available, including estimated budget, cost savings and expenses, incentives, etc.
Timeline
Other Related Topics, as Needed

VIII. REVIEW SCHEDULE OPTIONS AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

IX. FUTURE MEETINGS, DISCUSSIONS

X. ADJOURNMENT

….
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 and Action Items for
Thursday, January 13, 2016 – 6:00-8:00 PM – Green Street School

Present
Brattleboro: Kim Price*, David Schoales**, Jill Stahl Tyler*, Mark Truhan*
BUHS/ BAMS/WRCC: Ricky Davidson* and Ian Torrey*
Dummerston: Kristina Naylor** ***, Amy Wall* – Clerk
Guilford: Beth Bristol*, Alice Revis**
Putney: Richard Glejzer**, Alice Laughlin* – Chair
Vernon: Matt Coombs*, Walter Breau**
* denotes voting member, ** denotes alternate voting member, *** denotes ex officio member

Also present
WSESU: Lyle Holiday – Curriculum & Assessment, Frank Rucker – Business Manager, Ron Stahley – Superintendent
Others: BCTV staff, members of the public including Jody and Dan Normandeau, Charles Fish, Paula Melton, Shaun Murphy, Erin Tkaczyk, Alice Revis, Dan Normandeau, Ines McGillion, Mike Faher, Eric Feindel, 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 Committee member roles and public comments Alice
– Approve of minutes of previous work session Alice
– Recognize groups and/or individuals Alice
– Brief review of merger options with decision dates less pressing than the Alice
Accelerated Option (Path 1) currently being considered
– Path 2 – Conventional
– Path 3 – Self assessment
– Recognition of Groups and/or individuals Alice
– Continue Consideration of Accelerated Option Alice/Ron /Frank Rucker/Lyle Holiday
– Financial Models – Itemization of $100k Anticipated savings, etc.
– Incentive Financial Review
– School choice
– School Leadership Councils
– Educational Programming – Define “core” programming
– Table motion – School/grade closure vote by town affected
– Time line
– other related topics, as needed
– Review schedule options and community engagement Alice
– Future meetings/discussions and agenda items Alice
– Adjourn

Work Session Minutes:
Chair Alice Laughlin called the work session to order at 6:00 pm with a review of the agenda. After a short discussion, the Committee agreed to provide up to 45 minutes for public comment time. Alice welcomed the public present and opened the floor to public comment. A letter was submitted on behalf of Michelle Simpson-Siegel by Jody Normandeau. Charles Fish spoke of the integrity and spirit of community as it relates to Town Meeting. Shaun Murphy encouraged the committee to provide voters the opportunity to vote on an Accelerated Merger. Dan Normandeau shared concerns about educating towns and asked that the Study Committee not withhold information from the public.

On a motion made by Ricky Davidson, seconded by Kim Price and so voted, the Committee accepted the minutes of the January 7th meeting as presented.

Alice Laughlin, Beth Bristol and Jill Stahl Tyler spoke about the draft document comparing Act 46 options. It was sent to the Act 46 Governance Team to review as the Committee felt the information needed to be verified before providing it to the public. Alice shared an email exchange with Donna Russo-Savage, VT AOE legal counsel, who provided some corrections. Beth and Jill spoke to the intent of the document. Beth, Jill and Matt Coombs agreed to consult with the Committee’s legal counsel, Chris Leopold, to verify and finalize a final draft.

Lyle Holiday shared a handout titled “Potential Cost Savings – Academic Support Consolidation” that itemized the anticipated cost savings of an Accelerated Merger. Frank Rucker pointed out that the spending/student figures showed the inequity between member districts. He also reviewed the difference between ADM student counts and actual student counts. ADM student counts use weighted numbers for students. For example, one preschool student equals 0.75 ADM student and a high school student equals 1.25 ADM. Students in poverty (FRR) and SPED students are weighted more heavily in the ADM student count.

Ron Stahley led a review of the 1/13/16 draft of the Executive Summary with Articles of Agreement and shared information from legal counsel Chris Leopold. Ron and Frank suggested looking at K-Grade 6 student counts and teacher-to-student ratios. Legal counsel felt that Article 4 should be moved to Article 7. Information was added on page 7 for School Leadership Councils. The committee agreed to keep the motion previously tabled re: school closure and grade relocation as such while additional information is sought on appropriate wording to reflect the intent of the Committee. Ron shared that legal counsel felt it important wording associated with school closure include a super majority vote of the Board and town vote. Jill Tyler Stahl expressed concern with keeping an unviable school open and the expense that area towns will incur because of it. Beth Bristol and fellow Guilford School Board member Alice Revis shared their town’s experience in moving Grades 6-8 from Guilford School to BAMS. It was a topic that the School Board and the residents of Guilford discussed for over three years before taking action. While the vote was close, they shared that if a vote was taken now it would be a majority in favor because of the expanded educational programming. The comment was made that the Study Committee could dictate the format of the vote – Australian ballot or Town Meeting format.

School choice was discussed. Matt Coombs provided information on the history of school choice in Vernon (since 1954). Currently, 52 Vernon students exercise school choice out of a total of 101 students. About 2/3 of students attend BAMS/BUHS and 1/3 attend other programs with 80% attending Pioneer Valley. It is a family choice and the money follows the student. Alice and Ron stated that conflicting information has been received from Donna Russo-Savage in her two separate responses on this topic as it relates to Vernon. Ron suggested that legal counsel and Donna discuss and provide thoughts after a conversation. He also stated the Steven Morse, SBE Chair, has stated publicly that the SBE will make accommodations for such long standing traditions as Vernon’s school choice. Concerns regarding fairness, responsibility to voters and leaving a unified district vulnerable to future legal challenges was expressed by Committee members. Ron stated that all VT students have HS choice and gave the example of Marlboro students attending BUHS. Frank stated that under the current funding formula it was advantageous to retain students and accept tuition students. Ron shared that elementary choice is in place already and is generally capped at 3%. The Committee asked Frank and Ron to provide information on various scenarios for an upcoming work session. Frank stated that school choice could be detrimental to public schools.

Discussion on educational programming and a definition of core programming was deferred to the next work session. Beth Bristol requested an estimated budget for a unified district with line items for specific expenses. Frank Rucker is working on expanding the handout provided at a previous work session.

The timeline for evaluating the Accelerated Merger option was briefly discussed. Amy Wall offered to provide a draft timeline based on upcoming SBE meeting dates.

Matt Coombs shared a motion made by the Vernon board to advise the Study Committee that it preferred the Conventional model so that more time is available to look into the school choice issue. Ron shared that the Vernon board had not held a community forum yet so it did not have feedback on the importance of school choice to the community. A Vernon public forum is scheduled for 2/8 and Matt will provide more information after it is held.

The next work sessions of the Study Committee will be held on January 27th from 6-8 pm at Vernon Elementary School. Agenda items for the 1/27 work session include:
– Review of current draft of Executive Summary and Articles of Agreement,
– Discuss educational programming and draft possible definition of “core” educational programming,
– Review K-Grade 6 student numbers and student-to-teacher ratios,
– Review implications of Act 156 re: hiring of staff,
– Review additional financial data, if available, including estimated budget, cost savings and expenses, incentives, etc.,
– Further discussion and clarification of School choice issue including legal advice (and VT AOE/SBE input?) and
review of possible scenarios with financial implications,
– Further discussion of School Leadership Councils,
– Update on the status and, if completed, review of the draft document comparing Act 46 options
– Revisit tabled motion re: School/grade closure vote by town affected
– Review draft of timeline, and
– other related topics, as needed.

On a motion made by Matt Coombs, seconded by Mark Truhan and so voted, the work session ended at 8:09 pm.

Action Items before next meeting and Responsible party
– Review Act 46 information at http://education.vermont.gov/laws/2015/act-46 All
– Review Addison-Rutland SU website at arsu.org All
– Forward financial and legal questions to Alice at alicelaughlin@rocketmail.com All
– Forward general questions to Amy Wall at amhbeg@gmail.com All
– Monitor Grant request to AOE Ron
– Compile Committee member/public questions Amy
– Continue ongoing revision/additions to Act 46 FAQ Amy
– Ensure info is posted on Act 46 Study committee page on WSESU website Amy, Kim
– Provide estimates of unified district budget, anticipated cost savings/expenses, Frank
school choice scenarios and tax implications
– Seek legal counsel re: wording for town vote of school closure/elimination of grade(s) Ron
– Clarify if provision for school closure during first 5 years is possible – others cite 4 years Ron
– Verify and revise Act 46 options summary document with legal counsel Beth, Jill, Matt
– Continue review of Executive Summary with Articles of Agreement and Worksheet All
– Provide K-Grade 6 student counts and teacher-to-student ratios Jill, Frank, Ron

Respectfully submitted, Amy Wall – Committee Clerk

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, January 13, 2016 at the Green Street School, Brattleboro.

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. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – January 7, 2015

IV. REVIEW COMMITTEE MEMBER ROLES AND PUBLIC COMMENTS BY CHAIRPERSON

V. BRIEF REVIEW OF MERGER OPTIONS WITH DECISION DATES LESS PRESSING THAN THE ACCELERATED OPTION (Path 1) CURRENTLY BEING CONSIDERED
Path 2 – Conventional
Path 3 – Self-Assessment

VI. RECOGNITION OF GROUPS AND/OR INDIVIDUALS

VII. CONTINUE CONSIDERATION OF ACCELERATED OPTION:
Financial Models – Itemization of $100K Anticipated Savings, Etc.
Incentive Financial Review
School Choice
Leadership Councils
Educational Programming – Define “Core” Programming
Tabled Motion – School/Grade Closure Vote by Town
Timeline
Other Related Topics, as Needed

VIII. REVIEW SCHEDULE OPTIONS AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

IX. FUTURE MEETINGS, DISCUSSIONS

X. ADJOURNMENT

…
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 and Action Items for
Thursday, January 7, 2016 – 6:00-9:00 PM – Dummerston School
Present
Brattleboro: Kim Price*, David Schoales**, Jill Stahl Tyler*, Mark Truhan*
BUHS/ BAMS/WRCC: Ricky Davidson* and Ian Torrey*
Dummerston: Kristina Naylor** ***, Amy Wall* – Clerk
Guilford: Beth Bristol*
Putney: Richard Glejzer**, Alice Laughlin* – Chair
Vernon: Matt Coombs*, Walter Breau**
* denotes voting member, ** denotes alternate voting member, *** denotes ex officio member

Also present
WSESU: Lyle Holiday – Curriculum & Assessment, Frank Rucker – Business Manager, Ron Stahley – Superintendent
Others: BCTV staff, members of the public including Felicity Ratté, Paul, Jody and Dan Normandeau, Charles Fish, Ines McGillion, Marilyn McQuaide, Rachel Glickman, Shaun Murphy, Kelt Naylor, Roger Turner, Linda Rood, Melissa Worden, Alice Revis, Molly Stoner, Laura Tabachnick, Howard Weiss-Tisman/VPR

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 Committee member roles and public comments Alice
– Approve of minutes of previous work session Alice
– Recognize groups and/or individuals Alice
– Brief review of merger options with decision dates less pressing than the Alice/Ron Stahley /Jill Stahl Tyler/Beth Bristol
Accelerated Option (Path 1) currently being considered
– Recognition of Groups and/or individuals
– Continue Consideration of Accelerated Option Alice/Ron /Frank Rucker/Lyle Holiday
– School based Councils
– Program Opportunities
– Potential Cost Savings
– Financial Models
– Discuss and confirm Unified Board composition
– Update on School Choice Issue
– Review schedule options and community engagement Alice
– Future meetings/discussions and agenda items Alice
– Adjourn

Work Session Minutes:
Chair Alice Laughlin called the work session to order at 6:00 pm with a review of the agenda. She welcomed the public present and provided a summary of the Committee’s work flow and the processes involved if a report is generated. The Study Committee will provide a report to local boards. Local boards will review and provide feedback. The Study Committee will incorporate this feedback into the report, as appropriate. If the Committee agrees, then the report would be sent to the VT AOE who will review. If accepted, then the report would be presented to the VT State Board of Education for approval. If approved by the SBE, then the option proposed in the report would be presented to a vote by all member towns. Since it appears unlikely that a vote on any Act 46 options will happen at Town Meeting, a special vote will be required of the voters at a later date to be determined.

After a short discussion, the Committee agreed to provide 45 minutes for public comment time and the floor was opened to the public. Comments/concerns/thoughts shared included support for the Committee’s work and Accelerated merger, concern regarding the time line if a vote was planned for Town Meeting, readings from correspondence and editorials, requests for more financial information, protection of Town Meeting and its traditions, consideration of other options under Act 46 and need for easy to understand information for all member towns. Written information from Shaun Murphy and Dan Normandeau was submitted.

Beth Bristol, Jill Stahl Tyler and Ron Stahley led a brief discussion of the other options offered in Act 46 and referenced a document created by Jill, Beth and David Schoales. The document needs clarification/verification of some of the information because the VT AOE website did not have complete details on some topics. Nikki South/VSBA Act 46 Project Coordinator is reviewing it to for accuracy and will provide feedback to Alice. Once it is updated with this information, the document will be provided to the Committee and public.

Ron Stahley led a review of the 1/6/16 draft of the Executive Summary with Articles of Agreement. Wording was added to the Executive summary stating that $100k savings is expected during the first FY of operation. This is expected to come from increased sharing and streamlining of services, increased student to teacher ratios, and decreased auditing costs. More specifics will be provided at future meetings. Language in Article 4 now includes wording that requires a town vote to close a school. Ron Stahley said that clarification is needed for the first 5 years provision for school closure as many agreements are for 4 years. Discussion expanded to include moving grade levels to other locations. Frank Rucker cautioned against such language as it can have unforeseen consequences and restrict future boards actions. A motion was made by Ricky Davidson and seconded by Ian Torrey to change the last sentence in the first paragraph to read “Thereafter…shall be required to approve the elimination of a grade or grades and/or the closure of a school.” After additional discussion, it was agreed to table the motion so that Ron can seek advice of legal counsel for wording that addresses all concerns and offers needed flexibility.

There was discussion of Article 2 re: school choice for Grades 7-12 in Vernon. The latest communication from VT AOE legal counsel contradicts an earlier communication. Clarification on interpretation of the law related specifically to Vernon and feedback from Vernon School Board will be provided at an upcoming meeting.

On a motion made by Ricky Davidson, seconded by Kim Price and so voted, the minutes of the 12/30/15 work session were accepted as presented.

Richard Glejzer shared information on the roles, responsibilities and composition of a School Leadership Council. He will forward this information to Central Office for distribution to WSESU staff and Committee members.

Ron Stahley and Lyle Holiday revisited the topic of programming opportunities. The Committee expressed interest in defining core education programming at a future meeting. This will provide needed information to the public and offer clarity surrounding programming. In a handout, Frank Rucker provided an illustration of how a $20k program expense impacts a smaller school budget versus a unified union budget. He also provided a Consolidated Balance sheet FY16 – General fund. This information provided financial information on assets and liabilities that each WSESU member district would bring to a unified district. It also showed reserve fund balances for each member with specific use indicated (i.e. capital fund, bus, restricted grants, endowment, food service).

Articles 8 and 9 relating to Board composition and terms were discussed. On a motion made by Amy Wall, seconded by Kim Price and so voted, the directly proportional (not weighted) 9 member model for a Unified Board was approved. Jill Stahl Tyler voted against the motion.

Future meetings are scheduled as follows:
– 01/13/16 from 6-9 pm – Committee work session at Green Street School and
– 01/27/16 from 6-8 pm – Committee work session at Vernon School.

Agenda items for next meeting on 1/13/16 include:
– Continue review of financial model data – Accelerated Merger
– Continue work on the Worksheet, Executive Summary and Articles of Agreement
– Review advice of legal counsel on language re: town vote on school closure/relocation of grade(s)
– Review advice of legal counsel on Vernon’s ability to retain school choice for Grades 7-12
– Review examples of costs savings and expenses, when available
– Discuss and develop wording to formalize plan for providing Public Input in a unified district
– Confirm requirements when a town wants to withdraw from a Unified District and develop wording
– Discuss School Advisory Councils – roles, responsibilities, composition
– Discuss and develop a definition of “core programming” and approximate plan to implement it throughout a Unified
District during the first years of operation
– Review summary document of all Act 46 options, if available
– Establish time line – continued work, possible action, report completion, coordinated public forums and community vote
– Other related topics, as needed

On a motion made by Matt Coombs, seconded by Mark Truhan and so voted, the work session ended at 9:04 pm.

Action Items before next meeting and Responsible party
– Review Act 46 information at http://education.vermont.gov/laws/2015/act-46 All
– Review Addison-Rutland SU website at arsu.org All
– Forward financial and legal questions to Alice at alicelaughlin@rocketmail.com All
– Forward general questions to Amy Wall at amhbeg@gmail.com All
– Monitor Grant request to AOE Ron
– Compile Committee member/public questions Amy
– Continue ongoing revision/additions to Act 46 FAQ Amy
– Ensure info is posted on Act 46 Study committee page on WSESU website Amy, Kim
– Provide estimates of anticipated cost savings/expenses and tax implications Frank
– Confirm requirements for a town to withdraw from a unified district or SU Ron
– Seek legal counsel re: wording for town vote of school closure/elimination of grade(s) Ron
– Clarify if provision for school closure during first 5 years is possible – other cite 4 years Ron
– Seek feedback/revisions from Nikki South re: Act 46 options summary document Alice
– Continue review of Executive Summary with Articles of Agreement and Worksheet All

Respectfully submitted, Amy Wall – Committee Clerk

…

Act 46 Study Committee

Work Session Agenda, Minutes and Action Items for
Wednesday, December 30, 2015 – 6:00-8:00 PM – Academy School
Present
Brattleboro: Kim Price*, David Schoales**, Jill Stahl Tyler*, Mark Truhan*
BUHS/ BAMS/WRCC: Ricky Davidson* and Ian Torrey*
Dummerston: Kristina Naylor** ***, Amy Wall* – Clerk
Guilford: Beth Bristol*
Putney: Richard Glejzer**, Alice Laughlin* – Chair
Vernon: Matt Coombs*, Walter Breau**
* denotes voting member, ** denotes alternate voting member, *** denotes ex officio member

Also present
WSESU: Frank Rucker – Business Manager, Ron Stahley – Superintendent
Others: BCTV staff, members of the public including Erin Tkaczuk, John Gagnon, Charles Fish, Paul Normandeau, Jody Normandeau, Ines McGillion, Shaun Murphy, Alice Revis, Marilyn McQuaide, Robert Woodward

Committee Guidelines
1. Work sessions will start and end on time.
2. Work sessions will last 2 hours.
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 and review agenda Alice Laughlin
– Review Committee member roles and public comments Alice
– Approve of minutes of previous work session Alice
– Recognize groups and/or individuals Alice
– Update on Programming and Finance Alice/Ron Stahley/Frank Rucker
– Expanded Program Opportunities
– Review of Potential Cost Savings
– Review Financial Models
– Update on Possible Union Board Make Up
– Review of School Advisory Groups
– Updated on School Choice Issue (Vernon)
– Review compiled questions (member, local boards and communities) Alice
– Update on Website and Community Engagement Kim Price/Amy Wall
– Plan future meetings including agenda items Alice/Ron
– Adjourn

Work Session Minutes:
Chair Alice Laughlin called the work session to order at 6:00 pm with a review of the agenda. She welcomed the public present and opened the floor to public comments. Shaun Murphy shared a document he created that shows the cumulative potential savings that an Accelerated Merger could provide taxpayers within WSESU and within each town. This is information is an illustration only and used the current fiscal year (FY16) as Year 1 of an Accelerated Merger. Calculations are based on actual FY16 taxable Grand List values confirmed with State personnel Brad James. Additional public comments/concerns included the impact on Town Meeting, the 5 minutes allotted for public commentary at these work sessions, the speed of the Study Committee’s work, a request for more public involvement and the request for the names of the public present and their comments to be included in the minutes of each work session.

On a motion made by Ricky Davidson, seconded by Kim Price and so voted, the minutes of the 12/17/15 work session were accepted with the deletion of the paragraph about the Dummerston forum because it was included in error from previous minutes and the addition of the names of the public present for the 12/17/15 meeting – Rick Mills, Jody Normandeau, Ines McGillion, and Marilyn McQuaide.

Jill Stahl Tyler shared that the Brattleboro Town representation on the Study Committee has changed slightly. Kim Price will serve as a voting member and David Schoales will serve as an alternate member. Beth Bristol shared that Trista Kerber resigned as alternate for Guilford.

Ron Stahley provided a sheet highlighting initial program opportunities along with the 12/30/15 draft of the Worksheet and Executive Summary with Articles. He noted that the Worksheet contains the same language as the Executive Summary with Articles of Agreement so he suggested that members read through it on their own later. Ron reviewed the initial program opportunities that could be offered by a unified district and the financial ramifications. They include existing programs that could be expanded easily to all schools within a unified district with current resources and/or without significant expense. This includes a Head Start preK program in Guilford, after school programs, elementary and middle school summer programs, teacher leader program development, and STEP program for behavior intervention. On the subject of foreign language instruction, Ron shared that this can be offered easily as part of afterschool enrichment and/or Chinese language instruction is currently available. He felt it would be wise to look at savings during the first year of unified district operation before expanding programming. Jill Stahl Tyler raised the question of equity in regular programming and suggested that this should be defined and included in the Executive Summary. She shared a document with two possible wordings. Beth Bristol suggested the need for a descriptive plan for implementing changes/expansion of programming that could be presented to communities for informational purposes and serve as a guideline for future decisions as a unified district. The question arose as to why all schools within WSESU do not have similar levels of foreign language, technology instruction and other programming. Frank Rucker pointed out the major factor is the number of students the cost is based on. For example, a program that costs $20k is more expensive when the number of students is 120 (cost of $160/student) versus when the number of students is 800 (cost of $25/student).

Ron and Frank shared that initial costs savings, estimated financial impact (tax rate impact on unified system vs. single district) and Grand List impact analysis will be provided at a future meeting.

Ron and Alice led a discussion of the 12/30/15 draft of the Executive Summary and Articles of Agreement. Amy Wall shared additions to this document based on community feedback that acknowledge the tradition of WSESU and its member districts to maintain and foster the unique culture of each school within WSESU, to recognize a school’s importance in its community and to continue to involve community in discussions and decisions related to public education within WSESU. There was discussion of wording related to school closure and how this decision would be made. In addition of a unified board vote, it was suggested that the town with the school closure have some say in the decision – possibly by vote. However, Frank Rucker and Ron Stahley recommended simple language that does not limit a future board’s ability to act and will seek legal advice for the best possible wording. There were questions on how debt, deficits and Capital funds from each town district would be handled as a unified district. Frank Rucker stated that all assets transfer to the unified district. The same applies for debt and deficits. The committee felt it important to specify the use of each town’s capital fund for its capital plan. Frank suggested that discussion of this topic be deferred to an upcoming meeting. District audits will be available soon and will have the most comprehensive and complete figures related to debt, deficits and fund balances for each town district.

Kim Price shared her experience on a School Advisory Council and provided a written summary. The group agreed to digest and discuss this information at the next work session.

The committee agreed that all financial and legal questions should be directed to Alice Laughlin who will compile and forward them to Ron and Frank to address. The committee agreed that all other questions should be directed to Amy Wall who will compile them for the committee to address.

Alice shared that approval of the Worksheet and Executive Summary with Articles of Agreement might occur at the next work session on 1/7. This is necessary to meet upcoming deadlines for State Board of Ed/VT AOE review. She recognized comments from committee members and the public that additional information is needed to complete these documents. The Committee agreed to meet for three hours (instead of 2 hours) at the next meeting on 1/7 in order to provide more time for discussion.

Future meetings are scheduled as follows:
– 01/07/16 from 6-9 pm – Committee work session at Dummerston School,
– 01/21/16 from 6-9 pm – Committee work session at Putney Central School, and
– 01/29/16 from 6-8 pm – Committee work session at Academy School.
Agenda items for next meeting on 1/7/16 include:
– Continue review financial model data – Accelerated Merger
– Continue work on the Worksheet, Executive Summary and Articles of Agreement
– Review advice of legal counsel on language re: approving a school closure
– Review examples of costs savings and expenses, if available
– Discuss and confirm Unified Board composition
– Discuss and develop wording to formalize plan for providing Public Input
– Confirm requirements when a town wants to withdraw from a Unified District and develop wording
– Discuss School Advisory Councils – roles, responsibilities, composition
– Discuss and develop a definition of “core programming” (foreign language?) and coordinated plan to implement it
throughout a Unified District during the first years of operation
– Other related topics, as needed

On a motion made by Amy Wall, seconded by Kim Price and so voted, the work session ended at 8:05 pm.

Action Items before next meeting and Responsible party
– Review Act 46 information at http://education.vermont.gov/laws/2015/act-46 All
– Review Addison-Rutland SU website at arsu.org All
– Forward financial and legal questions to Alice at alicelaughlin@rocketmail.com All
– Forward general questions to Amy Wall at amhbeg@gmail.com All
– Monitor Grant request to AOE Ron
– Compile Committee member questions Amy
– Continue ongoing revision/additions to Act 46 FAQ Amy
– Ensure info is posted on Act 46 Study committee page on WSESU website Amy, Kim
– Provide estimates of anticipated cost savings/expenses Frank
– Confirm requirements for a town to withdraw from a unified district or SU Ron
– Continue review of Executive Summary with Articles of Agreement and Worksheet All
especially wording related to school closure, core programming, public input, etc.

Respectfully submitted, Amy Wall – Committee Clerk