My only option is to vote down budget

To the Editor:

On Nov. 13, 2019, the Harwood Union school board voted to “plan to make a plan” for a district redesign.

Yet on Jan. 22, the board voted to approve a budget that closes Harwood Union Middle School and moves Moretown fifth- and sixth-graders this upcoming school year. 

This budget will go before voters on Town Meeting Day on March 3 and, if passed, will necessitate these changes, as the funds to operate Harwood Union Middle School and Moretown Elementary School grades five and six will not be included. 

But wait: They forgot to make the plan before beginning to implement the changes.

If going through the process of making the plan uncovers unexpected results that indicate the proposed changes will not realize the cost savings promised, the board will not have the ability to course-correct, as the money will not have been approved.

There are countless financial variables in this major redesign that have not yet been resolved, and that have huge impacts on the bottom line. We do not have finalized construction costs with precise designs and estimates, instead of rough guesses. We did not conduct surveys to anticipate how many tuition students from Granville/Hancock might be lost, at over $16,000 a year apiece. We did not think through what would happen if the families of the 100 employees at Darn Tough’s new Waterbury production facility enter the school system in 2021, after Crossett Brook Middle School has been filled to the brim. These are to name just a few.

Last week, the teachers and staff of both Crossett Brook Middle School and Harwood Middle School stood up for the third time and asked the board not to make these changes for next school year. They did not believe the rushed timeline, increased class sizes and lack of planning would benefit their students. They wanted to ensure funding so that their students were not in temporary classrooms without an end date. They worried about how class sizes of 25 could affect vulnerable students. They wanted to make this big change deliberately.

The board chose not to listen to the ones with their feet on the ground, teaching our children, and instead chose to listen to the administration that said, “Don’t worry; I trust they will be able to figure it out.”

If you do not feel you have a sound understanding of what is going on and why we should be concerned, find a teacher to speak with in the upcoming weeks. The teachers can tell you what is truly at stake.

Our students deserve a true plan, one that lays out how we will support staff and students through major transitions, that stands up to scrutiny, accounts for its own weaknesses and proves that it will accomplish our original goals while setting us up for long-term success. We do not have that plan yet.

I am saddened to be in the position where my only option is to vote down our school budget to voice my opinion that this is not the best plan for next year, but I see no other path. I encourage you to think about this as well.

Lisa Mason

Moretown