Dear Editor,
Editor’s note: This letter was written for the entire Mountain Views Supervisory Union School communities of Representing Barnard, Bridgewater, Killington, Plymouth, Pomfret, Reading and Woodstock.
Thank you for the amazing record turn-out at this week’s elections. We are grateful for the strong vote of support for the annual school budget. To see our voters prioritize our children and educators, even in a challenging economy, speaks volumes for how our community values education and the importance of our schools to the towns making up this school district.
While we are disappointed the school bond vote did not pass, we are committed to continuing the path to a new school to replace our aging MS/HS building. Across the country, and especially in New England, more than one vote is often needed to establish community support for public school bonds. So we are ready to roll up our sleeves and keep working. First however, we must listen. Over the next several weeks, we will conduct a listening tour throughout our towns to better understand our shared concerns, find common ground, and solve the problems we face together.
The Vermont Agency of Education has already approved the project, but has yet to identify a funding source for school construction aid. Accordingly, we will most certainly continue to pressure lawmakers in Montpelier to reactivate the School Construction Aid Program. We will also continue working to qualify the project for more federal/Efficiency Vermont funding for sustainability projects while continuing discussions with the donor community on private fundraising. We look forward to these vital conversations in the coming weeks to put forward a solution all of our towns can support. Sincerely,
Keri Bristow and
Ben Ford, MVSU board chair and vicechair
