Schools seeking workers: paras, subs & janitors in short supply

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.

Mount Abraham Unified School District officials are anticipating a nearly 7% increase in per student spending for Fiscal Year 2024, driven by continued declining enrollment in the district and an increase in some expenses like healthcare premiums.

Some of the next steps for the LSD include staffing a central office, creating an FY24 budget for Lincoln residents to vote on next year, and finding additional funds to cover transition costs as the district works to get up and running.

Perhaps an even bigger surprise came at the beginning of the Nov. 16 Board of Education meeting when the panel accepted Oliver Olsen’s resignation.

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

The Vermont State Board of Education has determined the best way for Lincoln to provide students with supervisory union services like special education and transportation is to do so on its own. 

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.

The Mount Abraham Unified School District will soon begin assessing the systems it has in place for supporting students, an effort prompted by a series of incidents that occurred within the district last year and raised concerns about the safety of staff … (read more)

The top-rated Windsor team overwhelmed the Mount Abe-Vergennes combine in Saturday’s D-III semifinal.

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.