The Stowe School District Board of Directors supports the alignment of pre-Kindergarten to Grade 12 school districts. Stowe’s school children, together with the community of Stowe, have experienced firsthand the benefits associated with a pre-K to grade 12 education system.
The Board of Directors agrees with the stated purposes of H.883: Increased equity in the quality and variety of educational opportunities available to students; operational efficiencies, more equitable deployment of resources, and sharing of best practices; and stronger relationships between schools and the community by fostering stable school leadership and opportunities for community engagement. In existing pre-K to Grade 12 school districts, the enactment of H.883 would fray the close, mutually beneficial relationship between schools and their communities.
We also believe that existing pre-K to grade 12 school districts and supervisory unions that already meet the beneficial purposes of the bill should be preserved, and we therefore oppose any legislation that would mandate their elimination. Legislation should solve specific problems where they exist. A statewide solution for all districts is not the answer.
Further, the Stowe School District Board of Directors recognizes that, while the local effects of Acts 60 and 68 are challenging for the community of Stowe, the state of Vermont has significantly improved equity in terms of statewide access to revenue for public education. And yet, the expanded access to revenue has not, in all cases, led to equity in local education expenditures across Vermont for numerous, unintentional reasons. Creating a new statewide system that collects data on finances, accounting and students is a laudable step in determining these inequities and inefficiencies and may help inform solutions. Not all students in Vermont are well served. The consequences of these shortcomings affect us all.
While we agree that measures can and should be taken to provide greater equity in local education spending, we also oppose any legislation that would transfer the current authority and responsibilities of local school boards in existing pre-K to grade 12 school districts to supervisory unions, and thereby further erode local control in these districts.
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