Act 46 committee seeks feedback from surrounding towns

Members of the Rockingham School District Act 46 Committee agreed to send out letters seeking consolidation feedback from several nearby communities, including Springfield.

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2017-05-02 / Front Page Print Act 46 committee seeks feedback from surrounding towns By TORY JONES DENIS toryd@eagletimes.com Sherri Arvin, left, reads her proposal for an alternative structure to members of the Rockingham School District Act 46 at a meeting on Monday, May 1. — TORY JONES DENIS ROCKINGHAM — Members of the Rockingham School District Act 46 Committee brought forth their ideas and suggestions on Monday, May 1 for possible school consolidation structures following a failed Act 46 consolidation vote. By the end of the meeting, committee members had agreed to send out letters seeking consolidation feedback from several nearby communities, including Springfield, Chester, Dummerston, Putney and Brattleboro. “The worst they can do is say no,” Superintendent Chris Kibbe said. The idea is not to combine school resources or unify with any and all towns, but to show the Vermont State Board of Education that the attempt has been made and that due diligence was followed, several Act 46 committee members said. Town school districts that have not yet consolidated “need to show the state they made the initiative,” committee member Jim McAuliffe said. McAuliffe said sending letters to some towns — specifically, those not geographically close by — was like asking someone to dance and, in a perfect world, hoping they say “No, thank you.” The state’s House and Senate have been working on revisions to the Act 46 rules and requirements, which are now in the Senate, but out of committee and still being reviewed, Kibbe said. Revisions may include minor changes such as the possibility of 3x1 or 2x2 and other alternative school consolidation structures. Some criteria may change for supervisory unions that want to be alternative structures, and rules have been clarified, at least in draft form, as to what happens if the state consolidates a school district. The state may also extend the deadline for decisions by a few months in 2018, though a final draft is not yet completed. Whether the deadline is November or January to report back to the state, “it’s coming,” McAuliffe said. McAuliffe said he will work with Kibbe to send letters, also signed by WNESU Act 46 Committee Chair Rick Halloway, out to surrounding communities outside Windham Northeast Supervisory Union (WNESU). “It’ll show a little good faith effort that we reached out to show [the effort to collaborate],” Holloway said. All members of the Act 46 Committee voiced their thoughts and suggestions on different structures, and will meet again in June to discuss them further. McAuliffe said he thinks the communities could preserve Bellows Falls Union High School (BFUHS) as a high school, and still “do away with” the WNESU board, creating fewer boards. That could in turn create less need for the superintendent to attend so many meetings, and create cost savings, he added. Committee member Sherri Arvin proposed a new Rockingham Supervisory District (RSD) as one alternative. That district would consist of three schools: Saxtons River Elementary, Central Elementary, and Bellows Falls Middle School, with one board that had nine members, five of which would be assigned to the BFUHS board. That district would have two budgets, one for the RSD and one for the high school, and would have its own busing, special education, and preschool, and its own central staff. McAuliffe commended the suggestion, stating that the committee needs to “think outside the box,” and asked all members to consider that and any other suggestions. Act 46 committees in other towns that have not yet consolidated are also still having meetings, such as one planned for May 13 in Westminster, which will feature a guest speaker and information from representatives familiar with the state’s school consolidation efforts. The Rockingham School District Act 46 committee will meet again at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, June 19 at the WNESU offices in Bellows Falls.