By Valerie Bigelow
There has been a lot of talk about the carrots and sticks associated with Act 46. Well, I am sorry, I am not a horse and I don't need a carrot or stick to make a decision. Like a good citizen, I have been watching the Act 46 consolidation meetings and reading a lot to educate myself on Act 46.
Here are my areas of concern. The Washington West Supervisory Union (WWSU) consists of seven schools and the high school. If they are consolidated, Waterbury/Duxbury would have 50 percent of the population and as a result they will have 50 percent of the vote. The Valley schools will have the remaining 50 percent split between them based on census population.
The Valley schools would have to vote together to get anything from Waterbury/Duxbury. The Act 46 committee has been talking about closing Harwood Union Middle School. Valley kids would go all the way to Crossett Brook for seventh and eighth grade.
Waterbury/Duxbury has outstanding debt of over $3.5 million that will spread across all towns. There has been a lot of concern over the Warren RFP. Perhaps there should be more concern about assuming the Waterbury/Duxbury debt. As posted on the WWSU website, preliminary numbers for tax savings for Warren is a whopping $34 a year in 2018 for a home value of $200,000. That's one small carrot.
For other Valley towns it is around $200. Is the loss of local control really worth it? The Act 46 Committee Article of Agreement for School Closure states that the newly formed Super Board can decide to close a school with a two-thirds vote and a town vote. After a four-year grace period, schools can be closed with a two-thirds vote of the Super Board. No town vote required.
In my opinion, larger is not always better. I have worked for large corporations and small companies. The smaller firms were much more nimble and were able to make decisions quickly. At the larger firms, I spent a lot of time sitting at meetings with a lot of discussion and very little decision making.
I see the Super Board that Act 46 will create to be like a large, corporate board meeting. When a decision has to be made it will come down to the bottom line, a number game between one town or another. Is this really the best way to manage our children's early childhood education? I understand that enrollment is an issue, but I would be much more comfortable with school closure decisions being made at a local level, with a town vote.
A lot of Vermont towns have made this decision and school choice is not a bad alternative. We are being told by the state that we have to make a decision by November 2018 or they will decide for us. Nice. We need to push back on this Legislature. Question it. Look for other alternatives. A group in Warren has been formed to explore school independence. They will be hosting a meeting in January with panelists familiar with independence. I hope that all Valley residents attend to hear an alternate point of view. As far as I am concerned, WWSU can keep their carrots and sticks. I will be voting no to Act 46 and I hope other Valley residents will do the same.
Bigelow lives in Warren.
