By Curt Peterson
Vermont Select Boards and School Boards are adapting meeting formats to Covid-19, and Windsor Central Unified Union School District is no exception.
The 2021 Annual Meeting can’t be convened in one place as usual because of state anti-virus “gatherings” guidelines. But, board secretary Rayna Bishop pointed out, the 2021 district budget can’t be voted on via a virtual format because there would be no way to verify voter registrations.
Board chair Bryce Sammel (Barnard) suggested a public information meeting to present and discuss the proposed budget could be held remotely, and the actual budget could be voted separately via Australian Ballot. The board agreed.
The information meeting is tentatively scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 25, 2021. The budget ballot will be done according to each town’s chosen process.
The Finance Committee proposed a 2021 district budget of $22,755,638 designed to avoid the per-student spending penalty by a slim margin of $5,000.
The state sets a per-student spending cap each year – each budget is divided by the number of state-approved “equalized pupils.” For each budget dollar over the cap the offending district is penalized an additional dollar.
Finance committee chair Ben Ford (Woodstock) said the budget is always based on estimates. The teachers’ contract is still in negotiation, the 2019 surplus ($69,000 +/-) hasn’t been certified, the number of equalized pupils hasn’t been verified, and the amount to be charged tuitioned-in students had yet to be determined.
Budget calculations include an increase from $16,000 to $17,000 tuition per student, Ford said.
Ray Rice (a non-voting board member from Pittsfield) objected. Pittsfield has no elementary school and will probably send 17 students into the district during the 2022 fiscal year.
Rice cited an increase in student population in recent years, which, by raising the number of equalized pupils, helps the district’s budget. But, he pointed out, that $16,000 per new student comes from Pittsfield’s town budget. And, he pointed out, tuition isn’t the only expense
– they also pay their share of administration costs and other fees. He said tuition has already increased significantly, from $11,500 in four years.
Current tuitions at Rutland County schools are as low as $10,500.
“We want our kids to go to your district,” Rice said, “and we’ll pay whatever the tuition is, but there is some resistance.”
The board said it plans to keep the tuition at $16,000, for now.
A second issue was the proposal was to go from 1.4 FTE principal positions between Barnard Academy and Reading Elementary schools, to 1.0 FTE to save approximately $35,000, according to Superintendent Sousa.
The board voted move forward with the proposed 1.0 FTE principal arrangement.
Jim Haff (Killington) warned the proposed budget uses approximately $275,000 expecting from the state due to a correction in past education tax calculations.
“This is one-time money,” Haff said, “and we won’t have it to use again next year.”
Some Vermonters are pleased with a booming real estate market, but Ford presented a table showing the significant effect recent sales have had on the “Common Level of Assessment” (CLA). The CLA compares Grand List values to actual current market values – adjusting education tax rates accordingly (see chart).
Killington will be hit the hardest of the district towns. Jim Haff and Jennifer Iannantuoni (Killington), said they understood the financial pressure at the district, but they couldn’t vote in favor of a budget that might raise their constituents’ education taxes by 13.7%.
Haff and Iannantuoni voted against the proposed budget but it ultimately passed the board and will go to the voters on Town Meeting Day.
