By John Kerrigan
Act 46 will make it easier to employ federal and state mandates. One school board and one philosophy. Our school will become even more homogenous. Although we live in a beautiful, natural area, our students will lose even more access to our beautiful campus. Eventually, the curriculum and even the food served in the cafeteria will resemble what is learned/served in urban New Jersey. Harwood won’t be able to live up to their mission statement:
Mission
"It is the mission of Harwood Union High School to provide an educational and creative environment in which every person is valued as an individual, challenged as a learner and inspired to contribute to a democratic society. As a professional learning organization of all academic departments, we are prepared to work together in order to provide a unique and personalized learning experience for all students."
The loss of industrial arts, family and consumer science, business education and honors classes guarantees that the Harwood student body is no longer receiving “a unique and personalized learning experience for all students.”
There is pressure to consolidate. State and local officials tell us that our taxes will increase if we don’t. Our superintendent has said that if we don’t consolidate we will lose programs. She has threatened that art and music classes may be the first to go. It is unfathomable that programs are being cut at Harwood due to budget constraints, but the Washington West Supervisory budget has quadrupled in the last decade!
How much will we actually save by consolidating? No one has given us a specific amount. Isn’t it worth a few extra dollars to maintain our unique culture? Officials tell us that Act 46 is law. We are going to have to consolidate at some time. Those that do it sooner will receive favors. Those that don’t come willingly will lose tax incentives. This reminds me of a tactic used by law enforcement. “If you come willingly and admit you are guilty, we will go easy on you. If you don’t, we are still going to get you anyway and it’s going to hurt even more.”
So what should we do? There is an alternative. Act 46 only affects Vermont public schools. Harwood could become an independent school. Independent /private schools do not have to follow all federal and state mandates for public schools. One of the reasons that the WWSU budget has increased dramatically is because of the need for staff to enforce required federal and state mandates. Independent schools do not have to follow all state and federal mandates. One change noticed immediately will be that our students will receive letter grades instead of meeting “proficiencies.”
Independent schools in Vermont are thriving. St. Johnsbury, Lyndon Institute, Burr & Burton and Thetford Academy are the schools of choice for many. They have attracted not only local but foreign students as well. Parochial schools in the Boston area are receiving tuitions of over $60,000 a year per foreign student. Real estate values in towns where school choice is available have skyrocketed. More and more parents living in our district are sending their children to these and other private and parochial schools. St. Johnsbury has been particularly successful. Korean officials have funded a branch of St. Johnsbury Academy to be built in their country! See this article: http://koreaittimes.com/story/24709/st-johnsbury-academy-build-school-jeju.
We have a beautiful, rural, 186-acre campus. We are located in the crossroads of Vermont recreation areas but are accessible to urban areas. Vermont’s newest recreation area (expansion of Camel’s Hump State Forest) is being created a mere 2.5 miles from our campus. We have an area to build dormitories. We could market our school nationally and internationally. We could easily attract students from Asia and other foreign countries. Imagine our students literally rubbing elbows in physics, calculus and other classes with students from Asia, South America and Europe? This would greatly increase our diversity and make us even stronger. We can offer even more than St. Johnsbury and other private schools. We have nationally recognized faculty and coaches. Our alumni have become famous performing artists, NASA scientists and Olympic athletes. The Harwood campus is arguably the largest and most beautiful of any school in the United States. We have communities that encourage healthy lifestyles, allow varied business opportunities and provide a wide variety of recreational activities. Imagine branches of Harwood overseas!
Outside tuition would not only allow us to lower our taxes but also to upgrade and improve our facilities. Have you driven through the Harwood parking lot lately? Have you visited St. Johnsbury Academy? They have wonderful science labs, art and music studios and a well-equipped fitness center and have upgraded their athletic fields and track. Most of the resources to build these facilities came from out-of-state and foreign tuition.
Becoming a private/public school is a bold step. Employment of radical ideas requires risks. Our children are our greatest resource and our future. Perhaps we should take these risks.
Perhaps, we should team up with the members of the Stowe Independent School Initiative. They are considering creating independent schools. Imagine being able to say to Governor Shumlin and the state of Vermont that we don’t need your money and mandates.
We have recognized that there is a need for change. School consolidation is not new. It has been previously done in our district (Duxbury/Waterbury merger). We don’t need more of the “same old same old” as Bernie tells us. We need to cross over into a new world that includes fresh ideas, different approaches and possibly independence. Let’s first reject Act 46 and then look into the formation of an independent school. As Abe Lincoln has said, “It is not best to swap horses while crossing the river.” Reject Act 46, then combine all the creative energies of our unique communities and create a new independent school district.
Kerrigan lives in Duxbury.
