WCSU Act 46 Elementary Study Group
Notes from the meeting of June 6, 2016 - Rich Werner, Chair
On Monday night, June 6, 2016 at the Marlboro
School, the Dover School Board voted to enter into a study with the Wardsboro
and Marlboro School Boards. This was the result of over two (2) years of
work that the School Board has undertaken to attempt to determine what is best
for our students and the voters/ taxpayers of Dover.
Since the inception of Act 60/ 68, the School
Board has worked closely with the Dover Select Board to offer to our community
educationally sound taxpayer friendly budgets. With our last two
administrators, this cooperation has resulted in increased opportunity and
better educational results for our students, while maintaining what we believe
to be a reasonable and stable homestead tax rate.
In January 2015, the State Legislature enacted
what has become known as Act 46. This Act allowed for local school districts
and boards to examine and research options that could enhance student
opportunities. Act 46 also allows for the Secretary of Education and the
State Board of Education to possibly create districts that they believe will
increase educational opportunity for students, if the local districts do not
present a plan on their own.
Act 46 is the law although some people do not
agree with it. The Dover Board felt from the start that for us to do what is
best for our students and residents, we should explore the options that Act 46
presented to us.
Since May of 2015, acting as both Windham
Central Supervisory Union Officers and Dover Board Members, we have been
involved in monthly meetings to explore what common ground there was for
Windham Central schools, as well as engaging other school districts and
supervisory unions for additional opportunities. At the same time, the Dover
School Board separately explored opportunities for the community and set up
local committees. These committees explored various options including becoming
a charter/ magnet/ private school.
In April of 2016, after participating in a
Exploratory Committee with Windham Central Supervisory Union, meetings with the
Dover tax payers, parents, and concerned residents, and our Town Meeting
Survey, it became clear to the School Board that the although we as a Board do
not know what the best solution is at this time, several specific conclusions
are apparent:
1-Many value the Dover School and it’s
importance to the community
2-Many want to see the
International Baccalureate program continue
3-Three quarters of those
that completed surveys did not want to see 7th and 8th
grades remain in Dover
4-School Choice is very
important
It was decided by the School Board in April that
the best course of action would be to participate in a Study group with other
school districts in the area that offer elementary education with secondary
school choice. A motion was passed to that effect in April by the School Board.
In May 2016 Windham Central Supervisory Union
completed the exploratory study with a consultant and decided that the best
option for the Supervisory Union would be a “side by side” with Wardsboro,
Marlboro and Dover forming a side of elementary schools with secondary choice,
and Windham, Townshend, Newfane, Jamiaca and Brookline forming a Pre-K through
12 district as the other side. (Stratton, which is also part of the Windham
Central Supervisory Union, is researching options that involve other school
districts that do not operate any schools.)
On Monday night, June 6, 2016, Wardsboro,
Marlboro and Dover made similar motions to form the study committee. The
final motion contains language that the Dover Board Members felt were
important, including the number of Study Committee Members, communications and
a proposed timeline for the study to be completed (this was to allow for a vote
at Town Meeting 2017).
The Study Committee will be made up of 10
members, four (4) from Dover, three (3) from Marlboro and three (3) from
Wardsboro. The local Board appoints the members of the committee to
represent their town. There are only two requirements to the
appointments: that there be at least one School Board Member and that all
members must be residents of the Town that they represent.
The Study Group will decide when and where they
meet. Although we do not at this time know when and where the meetings
will be, it is apparent that in order to complete their work and present the
report prior to a Town Meeting vote, there will probably be at least two
meetings a month and possibly more. Anyone serving on the Study Committee
will need to be committed to attending all the meetings and participating so
that the interest of our community can be represented.
Anyone who would like
to be a member of the Study Committee is asked to please submit their
availability in writing to the Dover School Board, at the Dover School by the
end of the day Tuesday, June 14. The Dover School Board will meet on
Wednesday, June 15 after our annual staff luncheon to discuss and vote on the
membership of the Study Committee.
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