hearing on consolidating school districts

[Carolyn Branagan]

There will be a public hearing at the statehouse on a piece of legislation. The legislation being considered is S.252 An Act relating to creating regional school districts and no more than 16 supervisory union districts. The public is invited to come share opinions and questions on this topic with members of the House and Senate Committees on Education. The hearing will be held in room 11 at the Vermont statehouse in Montpelier at 5pm on February 24, next Wednesday. For more information contact me at cbranagan@leg.state.vt.us

Rep. Carolyn Branagan
Franklin-1, Fairfax/Georgia

 

[trussell]

Thanks Carolyn,  Did you mean this Wednesday though?

[Carolyn Branagan]

Sorry Trevor..........I'm getting my weeks mixed up! The hearing is this Wednesday, February 24.

If anyone would like to submit a written comment let me know and I'll be happy to forward it on to the Committees. Or you can also give it to Rep. Gilbert, since he serves on the House Education Committee. It is tough for many to get down to Montpelier to testify in person after a full day of work. Submitting written testimony is a good alternative.

It appears to me that the consolidation of school districts wouldn't effect Fairfax a whole lot, since the local preK-12 system is operating so well. The per pupil cost in Fairfax is one of the lowest in the area. However, consolidation may ultimately cause Fletcher to close and those students would have to attend somewhere, probably BFA Fairfax. My information is that presently most of the Fletcher children attend BFA Fairfax after 6th grade. A consolidated district locally probably would include Georgia, and I'm pretty sure the folks there would fight to keep their ability to choose a high school.

The thing I worry about is voter access to representation on the Board. Will we in Georgia still have 5 school directors? Will Fairfax? How will the tax rates be set? If land values in Georgia increase faster than those in Fletcher, does Fletcher get stuck with a   quicker falling CLA? And therefore pay higher taxes? Consolidating school districts is a hot topic for some.

Carolyn Branagan

[trussell]

Those are some great questions, Carolyn.  I hope you are able to find some answers!
-Trevor

[special ED]

I hope they close fletcher cause we need a place to put the town clerk without buying more property and raiseing taxes