Act 46 Frequently Asked Questions
Below is a list of common questions the OCSU Act 46 Study Committee has been asked with answers. For additional information, feel free to contact any Study Committee Member or contact the Superintendent.
What is Act 46?
The Agency of Education’s web page answers this question as follows:
“Act 46 of 2015 is an opportunity for districts and supervisory unions to unify existing disparate governance structures into sustainable systems of education delivery that are designed to meet identified State goals, while recognizing and reflecting local priorities.” Details on Act 46 can be found here: Learn more.
Why does Orleans Central Supervisory Union need to change its governance structure? Isn’t it doing well now?
Orleans Central Supervisory Union is functioning as well as it can under the current arrangement, which requires nine separate school boards to oversee seven schools and the prekindergarten program. This arrangement provides a unified program at the prekindergarten and high school levels but results in a less coordinated and more inequitable program in grades K-8. This arrangement also requires the 34 Board members to serve on at least two boards: the district board to which they are elected and the Supervisory Union board. Eight board members also serve on the Supervisory Union Executive Board, which helps facilitate decision making for the larger board. This structure is cumbersome and unable to provide equity of opportunity for the students in the six K-8 schools that feed into Lake Region Union High School.
What kind of governance structure would replace this under Act 46?
Instead of being governed by nine different boards the schools in a Supervisory Union, the prekindergarten program, the K-8 schools, and Lake Region Union High School would all be governed by a single Unified Union Board of Directors.
What would a unified union school board look like and how would it be formed?
The Articles of Agreement envision a seventeen-member board whose members would be elected by the communities they represent. The Board of Directors would consist of 2 members from Albany, 4 members from Barton, 2 members from Brownington, 3 members from Glover, 3 members from Irasburg, 2 members from Orleans, and 1 member from Westmore. The members from each community will be elected on June 7, 2016, at the same time as each community votes on the Articles of Agreement.
Without our local school boards, who will oversee our local schools?
The Act 46 Committee who developed the Articles of Agreement, envision the schools being managed and overseen he same way Lake Region Union High School and the OCSU prekindergarten program is managed and overseen. The Committee noted that the same towns joining to form this new Unified Union Board have a fifty-year experience of collaboration at the Lake Region Union High School level and nine-year experience with the prekindergarten collaborative offered in Barton and Albany. Those collaborations have resulted in programs that are highly rated by the State and by objective third parties and in both cases local control has not been compromised.
Additionally, the new governance model would clarify the lines of supervision, making it possible for Principals to run their schools and be supervised by the superintendent without needing to prepare annual budgets or monthly board meetings.
With the end of our local board, will the community lose its voice in the school?
The role of dedicated parents and townspeople will not be diminished in any way. The parents who volunteer during the school day and for after-school activities, who sponsor and run school-wide events, who coach sports, who direct plays, will still have an impact on the operation of their school in the same way that parents and townspeople actively participate in Lake Region Union High School which is currently governed by a representative board.
Does Westmore need to give up tuition choice for elementary students?
Elementary students in grades K-8 whose parents reside in Westmore may complete their education at the school in which they are enrolled in 2016-17. Beginning in 2017, all newly enrolled Westmore resident elementary students will be assigned to an elementary school within the Orleans Central Unified Union School District and will remain enrolled in that school in accordance with policies established by the Union School District’s board.
Will school choice for K-8 schools be eliminated if the school districts merge?
In writing the Articles of Agreement, the committee members opened the door for the new unified union board to consider elementary school choice. Article 12.C.iv.a states: “Should a future Orleans Central Unified Union School District Board of Directors wish to offer school choice among the elementary schools in the district, they will enact policies considering but not limited to the following criteria:
I heard that our district would be combining with North Country Supervisory Union in Newport?
This is not true. The work OCSU Act 46 Study Committee did not engage in any discussion with any districts from the North Country Supervisory Union. The committee limited its discussion to creating a single PK-12 district with the current school districts within the Orleans Central Supervisory Union (Albany, Barton, Brownington, Glover, Irasburg, Orleans, and Westmore).
Will any schools be closed due to consolidation?
The Articles of Agreement require that the Orleans Central Unified Union School District Board of Directors continue using all facilities existing on July 1, 2016 as public schools for a minimum of 4 years, unless a majority vote of the electorate of the municipality agrees with a plan to close a school facility. The Orleans Central Unified Union District Board of Directors will determine decisions regarding the grade configuration of specific schools effective July 1, 2017. Decisions regarding the use of schools after July 1, 2021 will be determined by policies adopted by the Orleans Central Unified Union District Board of Directors
What are some consequences if OCSU Boards don't merge?
If OCSU districts do not merge by 2018, Act 46 requires that the State Board issue a final statewide design that realigns un-merged districts into “more sustainable models of governance that meet State goals - to the extent realignment is necessary, possible, and practicable for the region.” For OCSU that could mean the addition of other towns and would likely mean the establishment of a single governing board similar to that defined by the Articles of Agreement.
If OCSU Boards do not merge there are also financial consequences. As the chart below indicates, five OCSU school districts combined to receive over $500,000 in Small Schools Grants in 2015-16. Under Act 46, if districts do not consolidate they will lose this revenue. In each case, the towns listed below would lose at least one classroom teacher and/or experience a tax increase if those small school grants are eliminated. The impact of small school grants in FY16 follows:
Albany
$112,758
Brownington
$105,043
Glover
$94,078
Irasburg
$82,948
Orleans
$108,355
The State has talked about eliminating Small School Grants for several years. Why would they follow through now?
The state legislature has threatened to cut Small Schools grants for many years. Given that funds currently dedicated to small schools grants are needed to underwrite the merger incentives and the tight budgets at the State level it seems very unlikely that the State will repeal their decision to eliminate Small Schools grants in the future.
What happens to the debt when you merge the school district?
Under the articles of agreement, the ownership of the facilities and the debt is transferred to the unified union board. Appendix E of the Final Report provides details on the debts and financial status of each board and the needs of the various facilities that would be owned by the Unified Union board.
Our schools are doing well. What are the benefits of merging?
There are five broad benefits that our students could realize from a merger: greater equity of opportunity; increased staffing quality and consistency; the opportunity to hire and/or deploy more specialized staff in grades K-8; the opportunity for elementary school choice; and the opportunity to restructure the grade structure in our schools. Appendix D of the Final Report offers details on each of these benefits.
While the benefits for students are the most important element of the Final Report of the Act 46 Study Committee, there are also financial benefits that are outlined in Appendix B of the Final Report. Note that these are projected savings and these funds may be redirected to assist in goal of achieving equity among the K-8 schools. Further savings could also be realized through bulk purchasing, the elimination of redundant administrative work (e.g. multiple audit report, payrolls, state reports, etc.) Finally, the new Unified Union board will receive a one-time $150,000 transition grant to underwrite the operational costs associated with moving from the current governance model to a single board.
The Lake Region Union High School board is being held up as an example and yet the LRUHS annual meeting is scarcely attended. How will we control spending under this arrangement?
The Articles of Agreement call for budgets in the future to be adopted by Australian ballot on Town Meeting day, which should result in a higher level of voter participation in the budget votes.
Won’t the merger require OCSU to create a new pay schedule that might increase costs in some communities?
Unlike many Supervisory Unions, OCSU has one pay schedule for all districts. The merger will have no impact on teacher compensation.
Is Orleans the only district in the State pursuing a merger?
Orleans Central is among those districts seeking an accelerated merger in an effort to achieve the educational and financial advantages of such a change in governance but as the attached map indicates, the great majority of districts in Vermont are undertaking merger talks in response to Act 46.
The Agency of Education’s web page answers this question as follows:
“Act 46 of 2015 is an opportunity for districts and supervisory unions to unify existing disparate governance structures into sustainable systems of education delivery that are designed to meet identified State goals, while recognizing and reflecting local priorities.” Details on Act 46 can be found here: Learn more.
Why does Orleans Central Supervisory Union need to change its governance structure? Isn’t it doing well now?
Orleans Central Supervisory Union is functioning as well as it can under the current arrangement, which requires nine separate school boards to oversee seven schools and the prekindergarten program. This arrangement provides a unified program at the prekindergarten and high school levels but results in a less coordinated and more inequitable program in grades K-8. This arrangement also requires the 34 Board members to serve on at least two boards: the district board to which they are elected and the Supervisory Union board. Eight board members also serve on the Supervisory Union Executive Board, which helps facilitate decision making for the larger board. This structure is cumbersome and unable to provide equity of opportunity for the students in the six K-8 schools that feed into Lake Region Union High School.
What kind of governance structure would replace this under Act 46?
Instead of being governed by nine different boards the schools in a Supervisory Union, the prekindergarten program, the K-8 schools, and Lake Region Union High School would all be governed by a single Unified Union Board of Directors.
What would a unified union school board look like and how would it be formed?
The Articles of Agreement envision a seventeen-member board whose members would be elected by the communities they represent. The Board of Directors would consist of 2 members from Albany, 4 members from Barton, 2 members from Brownington, 3 members from Glover, 3 members from Irasburg, 2 members from Orleans, and 1 member from Westmore. The members from each community will be elected on June 7, 2016, at the same time as each community votes on the Articles of Agreement.
Without our local school boards, who will oversee our local schools?
The Act 46 Committee who developed the Articles of Agreement, envision the schools being managed and overseen he same way Lake Region Union High School and the OCSU prekindergarten program is managed and overseen. The Committee noted that the same towns joining to form this new Unified Union Board have a fifty-year experience of collaboration at the Lake Region Union High School level and nine-year experience with the prekindergarten collaborative offered in Barton and Albany. Those collaborations have resulted in programs that are highly rated by the State and by objective third parties and in both cases local control has not been compromised.
Additionally, the new governance model would clarify the lines of supervision, making it possible for Principals to run their schools and be supervised by the superintendent without needing to prepare annual budgets or monthly board meetings.
With the end of our local board, will the community lose its voice in the school?
The role of dedicated parents and townspeople will not be diminished in any way. The parents who volunteer during the school day and for after-school activities, who sponsor and run school-wide events, who coach sports, who direct plays, will still have an impact on the operation of their school in the same way that parents and townspeople actively participate in Lake Region Union High School which is currently governed by a representative board.
Does Westmore need to give up tuition choice for elementary students?
Elementary students in grades K-8 whose parents reside in Westmore may complete their education at the school in which they are enrolled in 2016-17. Beginning in 2017, all newly enrolled Westmore resident elementary students will be assigned to an elementary school within the Orleans Central Unified Union School District and will remain enrolled in that school in accordance with policies established by the Union School District’s board.
Will school choice for K-8 schools be eliminated if the school districts merge?
In writing the Articles of Agreement, the committee members opened the door for the new unified union board to consider elementary school choice. Article 12.C.iv.a states: “Should a future Orleans Central Unified Union School District Board of Directors wish to offer school choice among the elementary schools in the district, they will enact policies considering but not limited to the following criteria:
- Transportation will be considered to allow access for all students
- Socio-economic equity will be considered
- Proximity to the school shall be a factor
- Keeping families in one school shall be a factor
- And, capacity of both the receiving school and the sending school, without harm to either shall be a factor
I heard that our district would be combining with North Country Supervisory Union in Newport?
This is not true. The work OCSU Act 46 Study Committee did not engage in any discussion with any districts from the North Country Supervisory Union. The committee limited its discussion to creating a single PK-12 district with the current school districts within the Orleans Central Supervisory Union (Albany, Barton, Brownington, Glover, Irasburg, Orleans, and Westmore).
Will any schools be closed due to consolidation?
The Articles of Agreement require that the Orleans Central Unified Union School District Board of Directors continue using all facilities existing on July 1, 2016 as public schools for a minimum of 4 years, unless a majority vote of the electorate of the municipality agrees with a plan to close a school facility. The Orleans Central Unified Union District Board of Directors will determine decisions regarding the grade configuration of specific schools effective July 1, 2017. Decisions regarding the use of schools after July 1, 2021 will be determined by policies adopted by the Orleans Central Unified Union District Board of Directors
What are some consequences if OCSU Boards don't merge?
If OCSU districts do not merge by 2018, Act 46 requires that the State Board issue a final statewide design that realigns un-merged districts into “more sustainable models of governance that meet State goals - to the extent realignment is necessary, possible, and practicable for the region.” For OCSU that could mean the addition of other towns and would likely mean the establishment of a single governing board similar to that defined by the Articles of Agreement.
If OCSU Boards do not merge there are also financial consequences. As the chart below indicates, five OCSU school districts combined to receive over $500,000 in Small Schools Grants in 2015-16. Under Act 46, if districts do not consolidate they will lose this revenue. In each case, the towns listed below would lose at least one classroom teacher and/or experience a tax increase if those small school grants are eliminated. The impact of small school grants in FY16 follows:
Albany
$112,758
Brownington
$105,043
Glover
$94,078
Irasburg
$82,948
Orleans
$108,355
The State has talked about eliminating Small School Grants for several years. Why would they follow through now?
The state legislature has threatened to cut Small Schools grants for many years. Given that funds currently dedicated to small schools grants are needed to underwrite the merger incentives and the tight budgets at the State level it seems very unlikely that the State will repeal their decision to eliminate Small Schools grants in the future.
What happens to the debt when you merge the school district?
Under the articles of agreement, the ownership of the facilities and the debt is transferred to the unified union board. Appendix E of the Final Report provides details on the debts and financial status of each board and the needs of the various facilities that would be owned by the Unified Union board.
Our schools are doing well. What are the benefits of merging?
There are five broad benefits that our students could realize from a merger: greater equity of opportunity; increased staffing quality and consistency; the opportunity to hire and/or deploy more specialized staff in grades K-8; the opportunity for elementary school choice; and the opportunity to restructure the grade structure in our schools. Appendix D of the Final Report offers details on each of these benefits.
While the benefits for students are the most important element of the Final Report of the Act 46 Study Committee, there are also financial benefits that are outlined in Appendix B of the Final Report. Note that these are projected savings and these funds may be redirected to assist in goal of achieving equity among the K-8 schools. Further savings could also be realized through bulk purchasing, the elimination of redundant administrative work (e.g. multiple audit report, payrolls, state reports, etc.) Finally, the new Unified Union board will receive a one-time $150,000 transition grant to underwrite the operational costs associated with moving from the current governance model to a single board.
The Lake Region Union High School board is being held up as an example and yet the LRUHS annual meeting is scarcely attended. How will we control spending under this arrangement?
The Articles of Agreement call for budgets in the future to be adopted by Australian ballot on Town Meeting day, which should result in a higher level of voter participation in the budget votes.
Won’t the merger require OCSU to create a new pay schedule that might increase costs in some communities?
Unlike many Supervisory Unions, OCSU has one pay schedule for all districts. The merger will have no impact on teacher compensation.
Is Orleans the only district in the State pursuing a merger?
Orleans Central is among those districts seeking an accelerated merger in an effort to achieve the educational and financial advantages of such a change in governance but as the attached map indicates, the great majority of districts in Vermont are undertaking merger talks in response to Act 46.
