Budget season is upon the Orange East Supervisory Union, leading to many questions and concerns from the public. OESU schools are facing an overall tough budget season with a 4.2% increase from last year’s budget, which is further complicated by changes at the state level . When asked about this matter, OESU Superintendent Heather Lawler explained that each school in the OESU: “…is making cuts, carefully trying really hard not to impact student experience and putting budgets in front of voters that are under 8%.”
To make these cuts, one budget line that has been targeted is the people at OESU who have administrative contracts. Throughout the supervisory union, many administrators and support staff were notified that their positions could be cut, along with the proposed teacher and staff cuts.
An administrative, planning, and educational service unit, OESU was formed in 1996 to serve the Upper Connecticut River Valley, with schools joining and leaving over the years. In 2018, changes driven by Act 46 reshaped the supervisory union that now serves: Blue Mountain, Oxbow, Bradford Elementary, Newbury Elementary, River Bend Career & Technical Center, Thetford Elementary, and Waits River Valley School. These schools are organized within the Blue Mountain School District, the Thetford Town School District, the Oxbow Unified Union School District, and the Waits River Valley School District.
A supervisory union functions as a financial and administrative hub for its member school districts. It coordinates curriculum, instruction, assessment, and professional development for teachers while also supporting programs such as English Language Learner (ELL) services and early childhood education.
Within the supervisory union, the superintendent serves as the chief executive officer, responsible for operational oversight of the districts, maintaining focus on the school boards’ mission, and developing an educational work plan to achieve that mission.
The supervisory union’s central office helps reduce overall costs for member districts by managing shared services and administrative responsibilities that would otherwise require each individual school district to maintain its own staff at a significant cost.
The central office and local school boards have worked hard this budget season. So far, Thetford Town School District’s 6.89% increase budget passed. Blue Mountain Union School District’s 6.66% budget did not pass, but has been revised to a budget at 5.57% and will be voted on March 25. Oxbow Unified Union and Waits River Valley School Districts will vote in the near future.
If school budgets don’t pass, Vermont awards the school 87% of the previous year’s budget. When asked about the possibility of failed budgets and receiving the 87%, Lawler shared that this is not a viable solution since “ there are things that go up” like fuel oil, health insurance, and teaching contracts; so “we can’t change that.” Should budgets fail, leaving the schools with 87% of the previous year’s budget, the impact on the schools in OESU would be tremendous. Lawler assured: “We are going to get that budget passed.”
Vermont’s rural geography and declining student population have created unique challenges for funding and maintaining local schools. For instance, there are decreasing numbers of students in our rural communities while the cost of operating schools has continued to rise. In response to this issue, the state has pushed for school consolidation and has taken the state’s 119 current school districts and formed roughly 25 to 30 large school districts based on region. The goal is for each district to serve approximately 4,000 students; however, currently, only one school in the state meets that enrollment level.
At OESU, which is comprised of over 325 square miles, many students already commute 35+minutes to attend school. Some models for future consolidation have put commutes up to an hour. When asked about her opinion on the consolidation, Lawler stated, “I do not support forced consolidation of schools …especially in rural areas in Vermont, especially for our younger students.”
Research has shown that K-12 schools produce higher test scores compared to schools where students must transition from an Elementary to Middle to High School building. Benefits of K-12 schools also include a more tightly woven school and a better show of community support. With the possibility of a K-12 school shutting down, Lawler said: “We need to stand firm as Vermonters and say, you can’t put a Florida model on Vermont.”
Lawler encourages everyone to go to the polls and vote on school budgets. Every vote matters. If anyone is concerned about the future of education in Vermont or has any questions, please reach out to senators and representatives, linked below.
- Monique Priestley House Bradford [email protected]
- John Benson Senate Bradford, Corinth, Topsham [email protected]
- Mike Tagliavia House Corinth [email protected]
- Scott Beck Senate Groton, Newbury, Ryegate [email protected]
- Joseph Parsons House, Groton, Newbury, Topsham [email protected]
- Debra Powers House Ryegate [email protected]
- Alison Clarkson Senate Thetford [email protected]
- Rebecca Holcombe House Thetford [email protected]
- Joe Major Senate Thetford [email protected]
- James Masland House Thetford [email protected]
- Becca White Senate Thetford [email protected]
