To engage the community in dialogue, the Harwood Union Unified School District (HUUSD) Board is hosting two forums about district redesign.
The forum, titled “Considering Change,” takes place at Harwood on Tuesday, October 1, and at Crossett Brook Middle School Monday, October 7. Both are from 7 to 9 p.m.
Each meeting will start with a presentation of the three redesign models under consideration.
The models come from a list of 27 options that the board looked at for district reconfiguration. Last spring and summer, the school board looked at the district’s assets in different arrangements and compared them to determine which were the most cost effective and beneficial to the district.
Some members of the board felt the process did not have enough community engagement, while others wanted to cost out and look at the three models to move forward.
Option 1 has grades nine through 12 at Harwood, all fifth through eighth at Crossett Brook Middle School, pre-K through fourth at Warren, Waitsfield and Thatcher Brook Primary School, with pre-K and early education at Moretown.
Option 2 has nine through 12 at Harwood, fifth through eighth at Crossett Brook, and pre-K through fourth at Thatcher Brook and three unidentified Valley schools, which would involve modeling all possible configurations keeping three out of four current Valley schools.
Option 3 is nine through 12 at Harwood, seventh and eighth at Crossett Brook, and fifth and sixth from Waterbury/Duxbury at Crossett Brook. Pre-K through fourth would be at Thatcher Brook, with pre-K through sixth at Warren, Waitsfield and Moretown. This option would close Fayston.
The board has stated that keeping the status quo is also an option.
After the presentation on the models, the board will open up the session for questions to clarify data that the administration is using to analyze the models, as well as the models themselves, and the process.
After the Q&A, the participants will break up into small groups for discussion facilitated by board members.
More information can be found on the board website, huusd.org/huusd-board. Parents or caretakers needing babysitting services to attend the meeting can reach out to vice chair Torey Smith at
Fayston Elementary School Supporters will hold a meeting tonight, September 19, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Fayston Town Hall with a member of the select board, HUUSD representatives Theresa Membrino and Tim Jones. The public is invited to attend, to voice comments, listen and learn.
