ANWSD makes deal with support staff

The Addison Northwest School District Board and the Addison Northwest Support Staff Association last week reached an agreement on a new contract.

Chief among the reasons for the delay is that more time is needed for teachers and staff to prepare for a new educational model emphasizing multi-age, experiential and “socio-emotional” learning, district administrators told the ANWSD board. 

Despite their optimistic findings, the committee’s drafted articles of agreement sparked concerns from many community members, particularly regarding how potential school closures and consolidations would be handled in a merged district.

The Addison selectboard last week voted to buy back the town’s onetime elementary school from the Addison Northwest School District for $1.

Public schools across Addison County have been hit by the same worker shortage that has affected most other Vermont employers. All local school districts are having difficulty hiring support staff and substitute teachers.

While we may disagree on solutions, we acknowledge our school districts face many difficult problems that are not easy to fix. 

Beginning this Thursday, the Vergennes-area schools will host a series of public workshops on equity.

Voters in the nine towns making up the Addison Northwest and Mount Abraham Unified school districts on Tuesday voted 4,282-1,886 to oppose the merger of the two entities as a way to combat declining enrollment and rising overhead costs.

A General Election Day public survey of Addison residents could be crucial in determining the future of the town’s former central school building, which the Addison Northwest School District has offered back to the community. 

Merging with Mount Abe offers a pathway to new conversations and new opportunities to address our stubbornly chronic condition.

Three years ago, I joined the Community Engagement Committee of the MAUSD school board as a volunteer because I knew the big challenges we faced as a district and I was confident our five-town community would come together to find creative solutions to th … (read more)

The MAUSD Board and Merger Committee assert our Nov. 8 vote will be on the Articles of Agreement ONLY, not whether to combine schools or move students.

This hysteria is being created by a group in Starksboro that is hyper focused on the perceived closure of Robinson Elementary School and nothing else.

Placing merger decisions in the hands of a 13-member board across nine schools and eight towns is not in the best interest of students or taxpayers.

Whether we’d save money if the merger happens is questionable at best. But there is certainly much we’d lose if it were to pass.