Act 46, as enacted by the Vermont Legislature, requires school districts to study their current governance models to determine both how efficient they are and if they are educating their students equitably. Credit should be given to the members of our local school boards, Superintendent Jeanne Collins and the staff of the Rutland Northeast Supervisory Union for approaching these required tasks with a “can-do” attitude.
An Act 46 study committee was formed with members from all of the RNeSU school districts. The committee went about its work keeping in mind the importance of both preserving local community values and making certain that all RNeSU students receive equal opportunities that will enable them to leave Otter Valley Union High School well prepared for the next phase of their lives.
In addition to these two very important recognitions, the Act 46 committee also recognized the importance of maintaining stable tax rates and providing additional transparency in the district-wide budgeting process.
Throughout its work, the Act 46 subcommittee has sought input from all RNeSU communities and kept the communities advised of its findings and recommendations. A second round of community forums will be held during the first two weeks of January. I encourage you to attend the upcoming community forums that are being held in the next weeks. You can find the schedule for these meetings on the RNeSU website. There will also be an informational meeting in your town on Jan. 18.
After much thoughtful discussion and information seeking, the RNeSU Act 46 study committee is recommending to the member towns of RNeSU that an Otter Valley Unified School District be formed. The new unified school district would be governed by a single school board composed of members from all RNeSU member towns. On Jan. 19 we, the voters of RNeSU, will be voting to determine the future governance model for our schools. We will also be asked to elect members from our individual communities to serve on the unified school board.
I trust and support the work of the RNeSU Act 46 committee, and I urge you to do so also. Please vote “YES” on Tuesday, Jan. 19, to realize the vision of our local school officials.