Hello,

Members of the Huntington School Board will be meeting with the State Board of Education on Wednesday, August 15th in Room 11 at the Statehouse, along with other towns in the "central region", regarding Act 46 and the recommendation (from the state) that we merge. We have been given the 11:30 am time slot (20 minutes).

This meeting is open to the public. Comments from community members will be allowed for 30 minutes, and how long you may speak will be determined by how many people sign up to speak. That 30-minute time slot will be shared with several other towns. Please arrive early if you wish to speak. To get a feel for how this meeting might go, read the July minutes from the "northern region". http://education.vermont.gov/sites/aoe/files/documents/edu-state-board-draft-minutes-07_18_18.pdf

The Huntington School Board (HSB) does not agree with the Secretary's recommendation set out in the June 1, 2018 statewide plan. The HSB supports the position that the Huntington Education School District (HESD) should remain an independent town district organized to provide for the PreK-4 education of students enrolled at the Brewster-Pierce Elementary School in Huntington. The HESD is currently meeting the demands of Act 46. The current structure of HESD allows for collaboration and support by the Chittenden East School District (CESD). Any enhancement through merger of that relationship would be marginal at best. The HSB asserts that even if the Board of Education determines that merger is the best way to proceed, that important unresolved questions exist which should delay a final decision on merger.

It was suggested at our last board meeting by several members of the community that it might be in our best interest to pursue legal counsel. CESU already has, and is utilizing, it's own legal counsel. We have not, nor do we have a lawyer to even reach out to. We are ever diligent in how we spend our tax dollars and have felt up to this point the cost outweighed the benefits. We are open to suggestions on names to contact or ways to save taxpayer money and still protect the interests of the town. If you think you might be able to help us, please reach out.

Finally, if you wish to send your comments to the State Board of Education on this issue (and we highly suggest you do!), you can do so electronically: please submit all comments to aoe.section9proposals@vermont.gov and Krista.Huling@vermont.gov and Heather.Bouchey@vermont.gov to ensure that all Board members receive them.

thank you!
Tara

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