Next week on June 7, Valley and Waterbury voters will head to the polls to cast ballots on whether to merge all schools districts into one unified union school district.
Act 46 requires that towns either merge their school districts voluntarily and with five years of property tax savings or they will be merged by the Vermont Agency of Education without property tax savings. Early merging brings with it property tax savings that start at 10 cents a year and go down 2 cents per year for the next four years.
This issue has been well studied and publicized in The Valley for the past 10 months. It has strong proponents and equally strong opponents.
Regardless of where one falls on the pro/con spectrum of early merging, late merging and Act 46 in general, it is absolutely critical that voters turn up and let their feelings be known.
Love Act 46, early merging and five years of property tax savings? Get to the polls and cast a ballot that sends that message clearly.
Hate Act 46 and early merging and the potential of school closure after five years of property tax savings with no indication of what will happen to tax rates after five years? Get to the polls and cast a ballot that sends that message clearly?
Love Act 46 for what it represents in terms of getting rid of redundancies and potential economies of scale? Go to the polls and let your voice be heard.
Hate being forced by the state to do something that the state will force you to do if you don’t merge voluntarily? Head to the polls next week and let that message be heard.
Merging schools boards is a very controversial and politically charged issue and it is one that demands each one of us take the time to learn how it will impact our schools and our communities, so that we can cast our ballots accordingly.
Last month, 14 percent of Warren voters cast ballots on a $2.55 million bond vote – 14 percent! That’s abysmal.
Let’s not let that happen in The Valley ever again. Head to the polls and voice your opinion with your vote next week.
