9% jump in GM District school budget proposed; elementary school restructuring plans firmed up

By Shawn Cunningham
© 2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC

Monday night’s special meeting of the board of the Green Mountain Unified School District had just two agenda items. The main reason for the meeting was to review the 2025-26 budget proposal ahead of the board’s regular meeting on Thursday, since the board needs to approve a spending plan in time to have it printed ahead of Town Meeting Day.

That proposal for $18.17 million is an increase of $1.59 million over last year’s budget of $16.58 million. The GM district towns of Andover, Baltimore, Cavendish and Chester will have to vote on a final budget proposal.

But the other item – restructuring the schools – will have a direct impact on that budget if the board decides to go through with it. The board and the administration have been wrestling with the problem of overcrowding at the Chester-Andover Elementary School and the under-population of Cavendish Town Elementary.

The situation in Chester is difficult since there are not enough rooms for classes and other spaces to carry out all of the school’s functions including special education. The loss of the White House to flooding in 2023 made things even worse. That modular building has been used for a variety of educational purposes over the years.

At Cavendish, the decreasing school population makes residents fearful that their school will be closed in whatever rejiggering the state of Vermont does to lower costs and taxes.

When the board could not come to an agreement on restructuring, the administration and Two Rivers Supervisory Union Superintendent Layne Millington proposed that two classrooms — either modular, a standalone building or a school addition — be added to CAES and that a pre-school for up to 20 children be added to CTES.

The CTES project would cost around $162,000 annually for a pre-school teacher and a paraprofessional plus a one-time cost of $40,000 for setting up the classroom and buying equipment. But Millington expects the district would save about $83,000 annually on the tuition it pays to other preschools, bringing the first-year startup cost to just under $119,000. That cost would be incorporated into the budget.

At CAES, the administration has estimates of about:

• $522,000 for a “high quality” modular building outside the flood zone,
• a standalone brick and mortar building for a little over $1 million or
• an attached addition to the current building for $1.85 million.

While those are big numbers, the administration has been working with FEMA to pay up to 90 percent of the cost and to assist the district in finding the funding to close the gap.

A FEMA representative and a consultant who works as liaison with FEMA for the State of Vermont were on hand to explain the programs under which the loss could be reimbursed and how more funding can be added for future mitigation and improvements at the school.

The conventional way to finance school construction would be through a bond, but a bond cannot be paid off early and the district would have to take the full amount. With an expected reimbursement from FEMA, a loan would give the district the flexibility to pay for a year or two then pay off the loan when the money comes through.

A straw poll on the options revealed that the tension among towns that showed itself during board meetings on restructuring remains. All three Cavendish representatives voted for the modular building while six members from Andover, Baltimore and Chester voted for the attached building. When it came to vote to go forward with the more expensive attached structure, the Cavendish representatives voted no while all the rest voted in favor. The final vote was 7-3 for the addition. Payments for whatever loan funding is decided will be added to the budget before it goes to the printer at the end of January.

Cavendish Representative Lisa Sanders asked that there be a vote on the pre-school at CTES with the dollar amount  of $119,00 put in the 2025-26 budget and that passed unanimously.

A budget with lots of open questions

Millington has presented a number of budget scenarios and the one that was current on Monday night was for $18.17 million, an increase of $1.59 million over last year’s budget of $16.58 million. That represents a 9.2 percent jump from last year with about half of that coming from increases in salaries and benefits – especially health care.

But any public school budget in Vermont is crafted in the dark. There are a number of variables that are not known until after the budget is finalized and voted on by residents and this year there is one additional question. In December, Millington told the board that the proposed cuts to the federal budget could see the district lose more than $250,000 in support for a number of programs that support low income students, disabled students and English language learners. There may also be deep cuts to support for mental health services and social and emotional learning.

One of the budget options – which Millington dubbed ‘excellence’ – would add a .5 FTE math teacher to offer a full set of math course options. He also noted that the previous year’s surplus could be clawed back by the state unless the public votes to put it into a designated reserve fund. Board members felt that a reserve fund for building maintenance and repair would be best. Millington noted that reserve funds can only be spent with the approval of the board.

On Thursday Jan. 16, the GM board will be getting updated numbers and looking to finalize the budget to send to the voters.