By PATRICK ADRIAN
[email protected]
BELLOWS FALLS, Vt. — The Windham Northeast Supervisory Union School Board (WNESU), going against its superintendent, voted to require the supervisory union to continue supporting the Westminster School Board on the Windham Northeast website after Act 46 goes into effect next Monday.
At Wednesday’s supervisory union board meeting, member David Major, Westminster, announced that the Westminster school board will not dissolve yet, even though Act 46 states that boards required by the state to merge will no longer be legal entities after July 1.
Superintendent Chris Pratt, who is currently away and did not attend the meeting, notified the Westminster board that after July 1 the supervisory union would stop recognizing the Westminster board and will not announce the board’s meetings or record their minutes.
On Wednesday, Major motioned for a vote to instruct the supervisory union to continue posting Westminster’s meeting warnings and recording their minutes. The supervisory board approved the motion, with a vote of five in favor, two opposed and two abstaining.
Conflict with the superintendent
In opposition to a state mandate to consolidate their school districts, those of Athens, Grafton and Westminster still have not merged. They are part of the 33-town lawsuit against Vermont over the constitutionality of Act 46. The state Supreme Court will hear the case next, after the state Superior Court Judge Robert A. Mello upheld the law’s constitutionality on June 19.
For funding purposes Athens and Grafton dissolved their districts and formed a transitional board, but Westminster retained their board. Major said that the three districts felt that one board should remain until the Supreme Court renders a decision.
Westminster intends to continue holding board meetings, pointing to Article 13 of Act 46, which allows former school boards to convene for the purpose of auditing.
However, Pratt recently informed the boards that after June the supervisory union will not announce Westminster meetings on its website or send employees to record minutes. Pratt has stated for several months that as superintendent he needs to keep the school district in compliance with state law and has concerns through his attorneys about the legality of actions by the non-complying districts.
Questions of legality
Major stated that because the Westminster board still needs to hold meetings to complete past year’s auditing that those meetings still need to be on public record.
“Article 13 reads in part that performing districts shall remain in existence [after July 1] for the sole purpose of completing audits,” Major said, reading from the articles of agreement. “Such business shall be completed as soon as possible, provided that upon completion or on December the new union district shall supplant the performing district, and the performing district ceases to exist.”
But some board members worried about these interpretations of the Vermont law and those lines between compliance and non-compliance.
“So, for the supervisory union to support your agenda, maybe you need to make sure there’s always an audit review,” said WNESU member Rick Holloway of Rockingham, “but I would not consider business related to the lawsuit … to support that.”
Other members expressed concern about taking action on the motion without having Pratt present to explain his reasons.
Member Jessa Westclark of Grafton, said that while the Vermont articles of agreement do indicate that dissolved school boards can continue functioning, she thought that it might be safer legally to announce and post those meetings through the individual towns.
“As much as I would like the support from the supervisory union, I think it’s going to put them in a difficult position,” Westclark said.
In support of the motion member Jack Bryar of Grafton said that as four of the five present boards are part of the Act 46 lawsuit, that they should still be connected to those meeting notices.
“They may or may not have voting privileges but I would like them to feel that they are at the table,” Bryar said.
Holloway, who opposed the motion, expressed frustration at one point about the impact of their towns’ delays on the supervisory union and schools as a whole.
“I’ve been through this with all of you for the past several years, I feel your pain and totally respect what you’re doing,” Holloway said. “But I ask that you keep in mind that we want to keep everything functioning for the WNESU, the teachers, the kids and the school, and remember that’s why we’re here. And try to keep this lawsuit separate from us trying to do our business within the bounds of the law are so we don’t put the WNESU at risk for further chaos.”
Pratt was not available for comment yesterday.
Districts receive loan to fund schools through summer
Members of the transitional board, representing Athens, Grafton and Westminster, signed a loan agreement to receive a $463,000 loan from Community Bank to fund school operations through the summer. Business Director Edie Cole could not be reached for further details.
While voters from each town approved budgets for their districts in March, after July 1 their districts will no longer legally exist and those budgets will be annulled.
The towns that are part of the transitional board warned a special meeting on July 15 for voters to approve a district operating budget $6,959,645.23 for the 2019-20 school year. However, Vermont law requires a 30-day wait period after a vote to allow for an appeal, which means that even if the budget passes, the town will not be able to set their tax rates earlier than mid-August.
Bryar said at last night’s meeting that the $6.9 million budget request equals the combined amount that voters in each town approved in March. Voters are essentially revoting on the money they already approved, he said.
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