To the editor: Two Rivers Act 46 committee seeks public feedback

The Two Rivers Supervisory Union Act 46 committee met on Oct. 25 and Nov. 1 to engage with members of the public, review administrative recommendations for the education of students in grades pre-K through grade 12, and review tax rate projections.

The charge of the Act 46 committee is: “To study the advisability of forming a union school district.” The single school district would create a new governance structure with one school budget, one pre-CLA tax rate, and one school board from Chester to Mt. Holly. Additionally, local school districts will no longer own their schools, the larger union school district will own them. The outcome of the committee’s work will require a positive vote in each town to create the single school district.

In May, the committee tasked the administrative team with determining a model that would not only provide for more opportunities for our students, but that would save enough money to make the impact on the pre-CLA tax rate neutral or better for each town.

Superintendent Meg Alison Powden presented their recommendation on Sept. 20. The team recommends maintaining all elementary schools and making them Pre-K through 5 or K through 5 (depending on how those communities handle pre-K now), having a regional middle school for all towns and grades 6 through 8  at Black River Union Middle School/High School, having a regional high school for all towns and grades 9 through 12 at Green Mountain Union High School, and hopefully a specific program for dual enrollment and/or a Castleton University component in the future housed in Ludlow. The specific savings for the entire model will be reviewed at a later meeting of the committee. The committee is also taking input on alternative ideas.

At the meeting held on Nov. 1 in Ludlow we heard from many residents with comments ranging from positive to negative. We appreciated the feedback as well as the thoughtful ideas and suggestions. We welcome questions and comments from members of all of our communities and encourage you to participate. Public input will be provided for as an agenda item at all meetings, either before or after the committee conducts its business on the following dates:

• Nov. 16, 6 p.m. at Mt. Holly Elementary School, 150 School St., Mt. Holly.
• Dec. 6, 6 p.m. at Town Hall in Baltimore, 1902 Baltimore Road, Baltimore.
• Dec. 14, 6 p.m. at Black River Union MS/HS, 43 Main St., Ludlow.

All of the information the committee has reviewed is available online at any of the school websites or at the supervisory union website trsu.org by clicking on the Act 46 link on the left side of the home page.

Respectfully,
Your Act 46 Study Committee

Lauren Baker, Chester
Deborah Brown,  Chester
Bill Dakin, Chester
Alison DesLauriers, Chester
Sebastian Frank, Mt. Holly
Joe Fromberger, Andover
Rebecca Geary, Plymouth
Doug McBride, Cavendish
Marilyn Mahusky, Chester
Fred Marin, Cavendish
Kathy Muther, Baltimore
Bruce Schmidt, Ludlow
George Thomson, Ludlow
Heather Tucker, Ludlow
David Venter, Mt. Holly