WORCESTER, Vt. (WCAX) – To close or not to close? It’s a common debate among some of Vermont’s smallest school communities. Our Lucy Caile reports on one consolidation plan in light of rising costs and declining enrollment in Washington County.
After nearly two years of discussion, the Washington Central Unified Union School District Board voted down its new configuration model. The plan would close Calais Elementary and Doty Memorial schools and move all sixth graders to U-32 middle school in what Board Chair Flor Diaz Smith says would fulfill the criteria laid out to best serve the students in the area.
“We want to make sure our students have all the best outcomes and achieve that by having not just the class size that engages all of them, but that they have the opportunities that they deserve and will help them develop as students,” Diaz Smith said.
Rachel Seelig of Calais says many in town were opposed to the proposal because they felt they didn’t have enough information on the closures’ effect on property taxes and what additional services students would receive.
“Having the responsibility to think not just about the district but about the towns that make up the districts, I think that’s a really important piece of the puzzle that still needs to be considered,” Seelig said.
But while configuration is top of mind, so is planning for next year’s budget.
“We normally don’t start this process for another couple of months but because of the challenges, we’re really sitting down and trying to figure out what are the costs that we have and how can we best create a budget and services for our kids to meet all their needs,” WCUUSD Superintendent Steven Dellinger-Pate said.
It’s a problem that plagues schools across Vermont as schools navigate how to sustain and fund high-quality education in an ever-changing landscape.
“Those are the things that all of us in Vermont are trying to figure out so that we can provide services, provide the great academic services for our kids and at the same time have a system that is financially sustainable from both the local and the state level,” Dellinger-Pate said.
The configuration committee still has to plan its next meeting and then decide next steps, but for now, the school board will continue planning next year’s budget.