The legislature’s passage of Act 46 calls for school districts to merge governance systems. The South Hero School Board is currently participating in a study committee with the Grand Isle County towns to determine whether or not we should form one district. On Thursday, January 28, the schools of the Franklin West Supervisory Union (Georgia, Fairfax and Fletcher) held their first Act 46 committee meeting. Kris Bowser, Board Chair, attended that meeting to gather information. Georgia Elementary Middle School, also a pre-K - 8 school with high school choice, is considering the possibility of forming a side by side Regional Education District (RED) with Fairfax and Fletcher. In order to accomplish that they must combine with at least one other town as a RED must be a combination of 4 districts. The South Hero School Board will be discussing the possibility of approaching the Franklin West Union to determine whether this might be a better fit for our school. We encourage you to attend our February 4th meeting at 6:00pm in the ⅞ Language Arts room at Folsom to share your thoughts.
Under the Act 46 law, districts are being encouraged to engage in study committees to explore their options and maintain local control over the decision making process. Districts that opt to do nothing during this time, will eventually have their fates decided by the Vermont State Secretary of Education. There are tax incentives for coming to agreements in regards to mergers, and penalties for failing to do this important work. The South Hero School Board is hopeful that under Act 46 we will have an opportunity to strengthen our educational programs in a fiscally responsible manner.
Hope to see you there,
South Hero School Board

Feb 20, 2025, 6 PM

Feb 22, 2025, 10 to 11 AM

Feb 26, 2025, 11:30 AM to 1 PM