ACT 46 UNIFICATION PLANNING COMMITTEE TO FORM
On Thursday, August 27, representatives of all Grand Isle Supervisory Union (GISU) school districts will meet at the Grand Isle School library at 6 p.m. in order to form an Act 46 Planning Committee. Representation on the committee will be proportionate to the number of students in each district in relation to the total pupils of all districts intending to participate on the Committee.
If all GISU districts participate in the Planning Committee, one representative will be from Isle La Motte, two will be from North Hero, three will be from South Hero, five will be from Alburgh and five will be from Grand Isle. In addition to at least one School Board member from each district, the Committee can include members of the general public. Anyone interested in serving in this capacity should contact their School Board Chair prior to attending this meeting. Membership will be determined at the meeting.
There will be many opportunities for public participation and input in the months to come, both informally and through subcommittee work. The Aug. 25th agenda will also include budget development, meeting calendar and information on the process provided by Mike Deweese, a consultant with the Vermont School Boards Association.
What is Act 46? On June 2, 2015, Act 46 became Vermont law. According to the Agency of Education, it is designed to “provide substantial equity in the quality and variety of educational opportunities statewide; lead students to achieve or exceed the State’s Education Quality Standards; maximize operational efficiencies through increased flexibility to manage resources, with a goal of increasing the district level ratio of students to full-time equivalent staff; promote transparency and accountability; and are delivered at a cost that parents, voters, and taxpayers value.”
What are the implications for Grand Isle Supervisory Union Schools?
First, school communities are encouraged to work together to create “Unified Districts” of at least 900 students between now and Nov. 30, 2017. Any schools that do not have a merger agreement or “alternative proposal” by this date will be subject to the Agency of Education’s School District Realignment Plan, which is to be proposed in June 2018. Implementation of the Agency of Education’s plan is scheduled for July 1, 2019.
Unification prior to the deadline provides multiple incentives for participating towns, including: grant money for study and implementation costs; reduced homestead tax rate for at least four years (8 cents first year, 6 cents second year, 4 cents third year, 2 cents fourth year); schools receiving “Small Schools Grants” could use funds for merger support; and schools receiving cost benefits from “phantom students” in their ADM enrollment calculations could keep some of these benefits. Maximum incentives apply if all five towns in the Grand Isle Supervisory Union participate.
Failure to take unification action results in various potential penalties, including tax penalties for cost-per-pupil increases, loss of Small Schools Grants (currently received by South Hero, North Hero and Isle LaMotte); and loss of ADM Hold Harmless provisions, also known as the phantom students credit (currently received by South Hero and Isle LaMotte). If towns haven’t taken unification action, they will be required to implement the Agency of Education’s School District Realignment Plan in July 2019.
Utilizing multiple state resources for education systems design, technical, legal and financial modeling assistance, the Act 46 Planning Committee will research various unification models, seek community input on these scenarios, and make recommendations to the School Boards of the GISU. Any unification plan would need a favorable vote by each town. The Committee will share agendas and minutes at www.gisu.org, communicate via the Islander and Front Porch Forum, and utilize social media as appropriate. Residents of all towns are encouraged to participate in the process as much as possible. Questions regarding the kickoff Act 46 Planning Committee meeting can be directed to GISU Board Chair, Andy Julow at andrew@julow.com or 802-372-4274.
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