State Board of Ed holds hearing Wednesday on Act 46 recommendations for S. Vermont Note Updated Agenda

The Agency of Education will be holding a meeting to consider the responses to the state’s proposed plans for southern Vermont school districts that have not merged under Act 46.

That meeting will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 18 in the auditorium at Green Mountain High School, 716 Rt. 103 south in Chester. It is an all day meeting beginning at 8:30 a.m. and the agenda is listed below.

On June 1, the Agency of Education issued the Secretary of Education’s proposed plan for districts that did not achieve a voluntary merger under Act 46. The State Board of Education must review the proposed statewide plan and may “take testimony or ask for additional information from districts or supervisory unions.” Each district may file a Section 9 response that outlines why it should not be merged into other districts.

Act 46 requires the State Board to issue a final statewide plan by Nov. 30, 2018 that will merge districts and redraw supervisory union boundaries to the extent necessary to achieve sustainable governance structures “capable of meeting or exceeding the Act 46 Goals of equity, excellence, and efficiency.”

The state board’s final statewide plan may incorporate the secretary’s proposed plan in full, in part or not at all. Similarly, the board’s statewide plan may incorporate a school board’s Section 9 proposal in full, in part, or not at all.

This is the meeting for officials from districts that did not merge in southern Vermont to have up to 20 minutes to give testimony supporting their Section 9 proposals and answer questions from the board. There will also be two brief public comment periods.

Districts within The Telegraph’s coverage area are listed in bold

UPDATED Agenda

8:30 a.m. Call to Order, Roll Call and Introductions
8:35 a.m. Recognition of Saxtons River Elementary School
8:45 a.m. Panel Presentation -Two Rivers SU, Bennington-Rutland SU and Mill River UUSD
9:15 a.m. Brattleboro School District
9:35 a.m. Dummerston School District
9:55 a.m. Guilford School District
10:15 a.m. Putney School District
10:35 a.m. BREAK
10:50 a.m. Windham Elementary School District
11:10 a.m. Stamford School District
11:30 a.m. Public to be Heard on previous six Section 9 Proposals
Noon LUNCH
12:30 p.m. Bennington, Shaftsbury and Woodford School Districts
12:50 p.m. North Bennington School District
1:10 p.m. Pownal School District
1:30 p.m. BREAK
1:45 p.m. Bellows Falls UHSD and Athens, Grafton, Rockingham, and Westminster Districts
2:05 p.m Winhall School District
2:25 p.m. Sandgate School District
2:45 p.m. Searsburg School District
3:05 p.m. Stratton School District
3:25 p.m. Public to be Heard on previous eight Section 9 Proposals
4:05 p.m. Public to be Heard – General
4:25 p.m. Consent Agenda
4:35 p.m. Articles of Agreement  – Donna Russo-Savage
5:00 p.m. Calendar Review/Agenda Planning
5:20 p.m. Chair’s Report
5:30 p.m. Adjourn
SBE Expenditure Report FY19 Distributed