It is with great relief that we report to the town that the governance of the Vernon Elementary School will not change in the near future. The Vermont Board of Education released their statewide reorganization plan under Act 46 as required on November 30th. This plan merges the school districts of Brattleboro, Putney, Dummerston and Guilford into a new school district which will be known as the Windham Southeast Unified Union School District. It was determined that Vernon, due to our unique structure, could not be merged with this new entity and we therefore will remain as is.
While the Secretary’s final report did not mention our current relationship with the Windham Southeast Supervisory Union, the Vernon School Board reached out for clarification and received clear word that we will remain in the WSESU for the time being.
“The Vernon School District is a distinct town school district responsible for the PK-12 education of its resident students, which it provides by operating an elementary school and paying tuition for 7-12. This district is a member of the Windham Southeast SU.” Donna Russo-Savage, Principal Assistant to the Secretary, School Governance Agency
So what’s next? The Vermont State Board of Education can review the supervisory union boundaries at anytime and things could change. The Vernon Board will continue to remain in communication with the State Board, our local delegation, and state officials. Our goal is to continue to navigate this issue. We know change will come and we will work to manage it in a manner that is best for our students, our staff and our taxpayers.
Please let any of us know if you have any questions.
- Kerry Amidon kamidon@wsesu.org
- Walter Breau wbreau@wsesu.org
- Sandy Morrison samorrison@wsesu.org
- Chad Mulverhill cmulverhill@wsesu.org
- Hannah Rosinski hrosinski@wsesu.org