The following emails have recently been circulated in Westminster. It is about a change that will profoundly affect the way we choose the schools our 7th and 8th graders may attend. The change will cost all taxpayers more due to the loss of lower cost alternative schools many are choosing...
Hi Neighbors: In case you haven't heard the news, our school board is considering a significant change in the school governance of Westminster's 7th & 8th grade, from a system that allows parents to choose the school their children attend to one in which they are forced to attend the BFMS.
Currently, Westminster parents use seven different schools for 7th & 8th grade (two public, five private). Not only is the 7th & 8th grade Tuition program popular, it is, by far, the least expensive program in the Westminster K-12 education system.
While you likely haven't realized this, your property taxes are about to increase significantly because Westminster now spends well over $20,000 per year per student in its K-6th grade and 9-12th grade programs - while 7th & 8th grade costs are only $15,000 per student.
Please read the information below, pass it on, get involved.
The next school board meeting is scheduled for May 20th.
P.S. If you want to see some details about the 7th & 8th grade program, see pages 43 and 44 of your recent Westminster Annual Report. And if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to let me know.
Hello.
I'm e-mailing you all because you either expressed interest in the current effort to stop the process to end school choice or attended the recent school board meeting. There was an article in the Brattleboro Reformer this weekend that was extremely one sided and inaccurate. If people feel that school choice is worth preserving/saving, we need to have parents at upcoming school board meetings or they are going to do it behind out backs. I am part of the 7th/8th grade committee gathering data about the options, and we've put a lot of work into researching options-including cost, quality of education, accessibility for all. Other than 2 board members and our Superintendent, no one has agreed to this. Don't assume the decision has been made. Remember what a group of parents did when they tried to eliminate the winter sports program. We need to ban together again.
The next school board meeting is scheduled for May 20th. They are legally supposed to post agenda items 5 days prior to a meeting. They DID NOT do this for the last one. They aren't even following their own policies and procedures. You can learn about it by reading the Westminster School Board Policies and Procedures on the WNESU website. They have also NOT posted recent meeting notes, which they are required to do.
They are proposing offering a deal with BFMS. BFMS costs the most. They say they will offer a deal-but State Statue # 836 "Tuition overcharge or undercharge" allows public schools only -"If the receiving district has undercharged tuition in an amount of three percent or more than the calculated net cost per elementary or secondary pupil, then the school board of trustees of the sending school shall pay the amount of the undercharge." They can also pay interest if the town is late in making payment. The only school that can-and has done this is the BFMS. Compass School, Putney Grammar, Hilltop and Putney Central do not charge more than the state average, which is less then the amount BFMS has charged (by $1,000 per student). This is based on 10 years worth of data.
Can I please ask each of you to reach out to your contacts and get as many people to stop by the next school board meeting. I would like to see 3-5 parents with kids from each of the school choice schools. I think we scared them a little at the last meeting, but we can't back down. 20 of the 67 kids currently in 7th/8th grade chose to go to the BFMS. This is a clear indicator that most parents are choosing somewhere else. We need to have school choice parents present to say why and how choice has benefited their child. We need parents of younger kids counting on school choice. Please-we need to work together and take a stand. I'm happy to give more details.
Thanks so much.
Charmion Lea Handy
(parent of 8th grader at Compass School)
Jan 25, 2025, 10 AM to 2 PM
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