The Harwood Unified Union School District (HUUSD) Board voted down including a possible middle school merger in planning the bond the board intends to put forth to the community in November 2024. At the board’s June 13 meeting several community members spoke during public comment encouraging the board to take off the table a potential merger that would move Harwood seventh and eighth graders to Crossett Brook Middle School. Seventh/eighth grade Harwood Union Middle School teacher Sarah Ibson said a merger does not make sense. She encouraged the board to focus on improvements to the Harwood building in the bond, noting the merger included in the bond that failed in November 2021 was a sticking point for many voters.
Former HUUSD Board member Jonathan Clough, Warren, who was on the board during the 2021 bond vote, echoed Ibson’s comments about the merger being one reason that bond failed. He noted that the board had brought the idea of a middle school merger to voters twice, in the 2020 budget and the 2021 bond vote, both of which failed. He said the board had seen the results of the community’s opinions on the merger twice.
Board member Ben Clark, Moretown, said his opinion on the merger was swayed by the community members he’d talked to, including school faculty and students. “My vote has definitely changed to a solid ‘no’,” he said. “Consider what the constituents want. It’s been very clearly given to us.”
Another former board member, Alex Thompson, Waterbury, asked the board to consider its process, pointing out that it was holding the vote to determine whether or not to include the potential merger in its bond talks during the busiest time of the school year on a night when some board members were absent for school concerts and other events. She also noted that the majority of the board members were not on the board during the last bond and would need time to get up to speed and fully understand the options. She said there were still a lot of unknowns about the possible merger, from class size to the cost difference. “You owe it to your community to learn more about the middle schools, gather data and not make your decisions solely based on the people you talk to. Every opportunity for cost savings should be examined.”
“We need to make a plan and move forward,” said Ashley Woods, Warren. “I’ve heard from the community that needs are more important than wants. We need to focus on the Harwood building.”
The vote to keep seventh and eighth graders at both Harwood and Crossett Brook passed unanimously, with four board members absent.
Also at the June 13 board meeting, HUUSD food service co-directors Erika Dolan and Paul Morris presented the plan for preparing school meals at both Fayston Elementary School and Waitsfield Elementary School now that both schools will have commercial kitchens. Previously, all meals for both schools had been prepared at Fayston as Waitsfield did not have the facilities needed for meal preparation and clean-up. Meals were transported to Waitsfield then dishes were transported back to Fayston. Dolan stressed that, with the new kitchen at Waitsfield, it will not be a “flip flop” of where meals will be prepared, as was discussed in previous board meetings. She said both kitchens will be used for meal prep and cooking.
Breakfasts will be prepared and served at both schools. Some items will be prepared at Waitsfield and transported uncooked to Fayston, where they will be cooked and served hot (she gave examples of pizza and mac and cheese being prepared at Waitsfield and cooked at Fayston for the Fayston students). She said they will still be cooking at Fayston but a smaller number of meals will be transported. She also noted that having two commercial kitchens will allow director Cheryl Joslin to balance her time between the two schools and will make her job more efficient. “We are not flip-flopping; we are creating something new that we don’t know all the logistics of yet,” she said.
Dolan and Morris acknowledged that the new system may eventually require another staff member. “We don’t know exactly how much work that person will be doing,” Morris said. “Food service staff needs at least one full year operating in this manner” before they determine future needs. “We’re not looking to hire new people if we don’t need to. Our goal is to get the kitchen going. We will be looking at improving whatever we can as quickly as we can.”
