Dear Community Members,

We would like to invite you to our Community Budget Presentation on Wednesday, February 5th from 6:15-9:15pm at U32 Middle and High School both in person and virtual. You can attend in person at U32 930 Gallison Hill Rd. East Montpellier, VT or join virtually via Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84935949997?pwd=qLjf1jrrfhAuJPWhfvO0evL8A5Swmg.1#success You can find the agenda and packet here: https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1738356643/wcsu32org/l84l5tvi7juk9pztvm3i/2525BoardP[...]pdf At our last School

Board meeting on January 22nd, Superintendent Dellinger-Pate presented the final budget presentation (with the final version of the budget for consideration) to the board and community. After the presentation, there was time for Community Q and A related to the budget. Then, the board was provided with time to ask questions related to the proposed FY 26 budget. Many of the questions were centered on asking the administration to clarify various terms that are used in the budget report i.e. CLA, excess spending threshold and what "buying local" means as it pertains to a concept related to food services.

There were also questions about how the district would meet the ever changing needs of our community to which Superintendent Steven Dellinger-Pate indicated that they would be gathering data on nursing to come together to find innovative solutions to combat our staffing limitations. He also referred to accessing ed quality data to understand the impact the budget will have on the upcoming school year and that they would be monitoring it closely and responding as necessary.

Once the board had the opportunity to ask questions and gather information, we moved on to the reports section of the meeting. During this time, the board heard a report from the Superintendent/Central office, district principals report, the student report, the Central Vermont Career Center report and the VSBA report.

Moving on to the board operations, the board approved the final budget warning language and then moved into discussion regarding the proposed FY 26 school board budget. Many different opinions and ideas were shared and expressed, but ultimately, the board unanimously approved the FY 2026 school board budget.

After the vote the board began to discuss and plan for communication to the community around the budget to ensure the community understands the budget and it's overall implications. The core ideas would be to ensure that we provide the community with clear communication that helps the budget and core concepts within the budget make sense. Ideas around publications related to the budget were shared and the suggestion for both a community forum and more student engagement around the budget was made.

We were then provided an update on the configuration community, which mainly focused on setting a date and thinking about the starting points for the work the committee would be engaging in. The finance committee (focusing on the EV charger policy update) policy committee, negotiations committee (focusing mainly on updating the matrix) and the transportation committee shared updates.

Finally, the board ended the evening with approving the minutes from 1.8.2025, approving the board orders and identifying future agenda items, some of which were the board evaluation, the upcoming superintendent evaluation and what the plan is for the upcoming legislative meeting we will be having on February 11th.

We would like to invite you to our next School Board meeting and Community Budget Presentation on Wednesday, February 5th from 6:15-9:15pm at U32 Middle and High School both in person and virtual. You can attend in person at U32 930 Gallison Hill Rd. Montpellier, VT or join virtually via Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84935949997?pwd=qLjf1jrrfhAuJPWhfvO0evL8A5Swmg.1#success

As a community, we are committed to focusing on the good of the whole, embracing new ideas, analyzing data thoughtfully, inspiring each other and maintaining a solution oriented approach in line with our core beliefs and strategic plan. We look forward to your continued participation and input as we work together to shape the future of our district.

Your School Board

Event Info

Feb 6, 2025, 6 to 8 PM

Feb 8, 2025, 10 AM to 12 PM

Feb 8, 2025, 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM