The Act 46 process is most likely coming to an abrupt end next Wednesday, without giving you a right to learn about it, or vote on it. In an effort to educate people about what is happening, and provide a different perspective from some that have been very vocal, I have written the following letter, which will be in the Times Argus Editorials early next week:
I am a Calais board member, currently serving as chair, as well as one of three WCSU Act 46 study committee members from Calais. The other schools represented are Berlin, Doty, East Montpelier, and Rumney. I am writing to summarize the Act 46 process and to share a different perspective from that of Carl Parton, whose letter appeared here on September 30.
In October of 2015, our study group formed with the assumption of best intentions by all of those on the committee to try to come to an agreement as a team. One thing that we all agreed on was that regular participation in our meetings, which occur every two weeks for three hours, was highly important to the process. We also agreed that we would, in good faith, work with a consensus building model. This led us to agree that our final vote would require all people to be present and a super-majority of 9 out of 11 votes would be required to approve the articles of agreement. Unfortunately, we did not have the foresight to require attendance from all voting members at every meeting. Most meetings were not fully attended. The lack of attendance at these informational meetings damaged our consensus building efforts.
We spent October 2015 through May 2016 requesting information, listening to various reports and studying data. These meetings were a very important part of the process, as it took becoming educated on all facets of the issue in order to make good decisions. Then in June, we began working on Articles of Agreement to create a single school district from the five districts that make up Washington Central Supervisory Union. These Articles determine how the five districts would come together, from debt and asset sharing, to the composition of the board itself, among other things. There are generally about 13 articles, but there can be more or less.
If we could come to an agreement on the Articles, we would then vote to approve them. If approved, they would then go to the state to be approved by the Agency of Education. After they have been approved, they go to the towns to be voted on at a date set by the committee. If the towns vote yes, then we would become one district, and if they vote no, we could then start over and work on an alternative model. It does not work in the opposite order, as there are deadlines which must be met.
Berlin recently informed us that they will not vote for any model that involves consolidating our boards into one board, EVEN if we found a way to fix the debt situation. Since they have three members, they are unilaterally stopping this process long before we have finished. What this means to the voters from five towns, is that they have had the right to vote on the preferred model of governance consolidation taken away from them by three people from Berlin. It means that Calais and Doty lose their small schools grant, and all of us lose the opportunity to gain 20 cents in tax credits over four years. Whether you agree with Act 46 or not, the best way for the citizens to speak to the legislators is through our votes, which we no longer have. That does not feel democratic to me.
If you are upset about this, you need to speak up soon, as this is going to a vote in committee on Wednesday, October 5. Please let the members of the study committee, and especially those from Berlin, know how you feel about it. You can find contact information for the study committee by clicking on Members here: https://sites.google.com/a/wcsu32.org/wcsu-act-46/home You will also find other information, such as Orca videos of the meetings, agendas, and presentations.
Our next (and possibly last) meeting is at Rumney School in Middlesex on Wednesday, October 5, 6:00 - 9:00 p.m. The public is welcome to attend.
Thank you,
Chauntelle Eckhaus
Calais Elementary School Board Chair
ceckhaus@u32.org
Feb 12, 2025, 7:30 to 9 PM
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