From the Vermont Daily Chronicle

Our state is facing multiple crises, mostly self-inflicted, the result of policies enacted by a Democrat supermajority made up of activists who are either out of touch with the real needs of Vermonters or are too wrapped up in their own ideology to care.

But we all need to get real about putting positive solutions in place – now — or we are doomed as citizens individually and as a state collectively.

This is the reality:

We cannot afford the crushing tax burden the majority is placing on our household incomes. State spending is out of control, and despite unprecedented amounts of money flowing into programs, it is not working to solve the real problems Vermonters are dealing with every day.

On top of the $200 million-plus property tax increase ushered in by Act 127, etc., since obtaining their veto-proof supermajority in 2022, Vermont Democrats have rammed through in just 2023 a new $120 million payroll tax that will take effect this July. They imposed $20 million in higher DMV fees for driver’s licenses and vehicle registration. They passed the Clean Heat Carbon Tax, which is estimated to add 70 cents to every gallon of home heating fuel Vermonters need to buy to keep warm in winter over an unprecedented outcry of citizens. They didn’t care.

This year, 2024, they are poised to pass a Renewable Energy Standard bill estimated to add $1 billion to the cost of our electricity bills. They are looking at increasing the sales tax by as much as $271 million by including groceries, medical products, residential energy, clothing and footwear, and/or expanding coverage to include services. They are looking at a $15-$30 million sweetened beverage tax. New taxes on downloaded software: $20 million. A new 5 percent gross receipts tax on television streaming services on top of the sales tax: $7-8 million. And a Clean Transportation Carbon Tax on gasoline and diesel on par with the one on heating fuels.

Despite all this taxing and spending, misplaced priorities left many of our homes and businesses vulnerable to extreme weather events, such as the July and December flooding, because Vermont Democrats diverted hundreds of millions of dollars away from investing in preventative adaptation measures and into unrealistic – and unbearably expensive — schemes to change the weather by “lowering our carbon footprint.”

Crime in our once uniquely safe state is now a top issue because of the supermajority’s unrealistic belief that defunding our police, allowing criminals to shoplift and commit other crimes without consequence, and fostering a permissive drug culture would somehow make our communities safer. The opposite is true.

Housing is unaffordable because the supermajority piles regulation upon regulation, making it literally impossible to build new housing at an affordable price.

Our schools, despite record spending on a declining student population and an ever-increasing property tax burden, are failing to educate our children. Test scores are dropping, classroom safety is suffering, mental health issues are rising because of the supermajority’s proclivity to adopt every progressive educational fad and to use our classrooms as indoctrination camps instead of focusing on real skills like reading, writing, math, science, and critical thinking.

These are just a few of the biggest issues we face – and must solve. To do so, we must “G.E.T.  R.E.A.L” about what’s happening, who is responsible, and who is really willing to do what needs to be done to keep our ship of state afloat.

G.E.T.  R.E.A.L. is a solemn promise and a positive path forward for our state by Vermont Republicans focused on improving the quality of life of our people. It is a prescription of policy proposals that includes: G.lobal Warming Solutions Act reform, recalibrating the law to reflect realistic and affordable goals; E.ducation reform, refocusing our schools’ mission back to excellence in core subjects; T.ransportation and infrastructure with a priority for fixing our roads; R.egulatory reform to lower the cost of housing; E.nvironmental protection initiatives focused on protecting and preserving our natural resources and landscapes; A.ffordability and tax reform to lower costs for working Vermonters; and restoring L.aw and order in our communities.

We encourage Vermonters who see the need for a new and more affordable direction for our state to learn more about the G.E.T.  R.E.A.L program and the candidates who support it in the months between now and November 5. It’s time to get involved. The future of Vermont – and your future in it — is at stake.

Bill Huff, Orange County Republican Committee chair, on behalf of all the Republican County Committee chairs.

By Shannon Gunderson:

Preliminary vote totals are in. Here are the results for Town Meeting Day 2024 in Milton. 

Respectively those running uncontested were elected; Kristin Beers for town clerk, John Gifford for town treasurer and Beth Bouchard for a three year seat as library trustee.  

Selectboard 3-year term

Incumbent Michael Morgan won the 3-year seat on the Milton selectboard. 

Selectboard 1-year term

Incumbents Darren Adams and Leland Morgan won the two open 1-year seats on the selectboard.

School board 3-year term

In a tight race, incumbent Karen Stout cinched the 3-year seat on the Milton Town School District board of trustees. 

School board 2-year term

Allison Duquette was elected to the 2-year seat on the MTSD's board of trustees. 

School board 1-year term

Scott O'Brien won the 1-year seat on MTSD's board of trustees.

Library Trustee 2-year term

Jennifer Taylor won the 2-year seat on the Milton Public Library board of trustees.

School budget

Voters did not pass the school district's $37,172,203 budget. Residents voted yes to appropriate $72,723 of the district's audited fund balance to MTSD's Capital Reserve and Maintenance Fund.

Town budget

Voters approved the $10,025,278 budget for the Town of Milton fiscal year 2025. Voters also voted yes to accept the reports of the Town Officials as presented in the Town Report. 

For the presidential primary, Joe Biden won the majority of Democratic votes. Donald Trump was the majority Republican vote. 

It was another quiet week on the House floor which means it was busy in committee. House Ways and Means spent the week on a variety of topics. 

Some of our time was focused on the continued work of modernizing Vermont’s communications taxes and fees. The shift from landline phones to more cellular devices has caused a strain on funding for our E-911 fund. We then took testimony on S.18 – an act relating to banning flavored tobacco products and e-liquids. This bill passed out of the House Human Services committee after coming over from the Senate. Another topic discussed was H.629 – an act relating to changes to property tax abatement and tax sales. No action was taken on any of these bills. 

The bulk of our work this week was fixated on education spending and transitioning to the new system for pupil weighting. As I’m sure many of you are already aware, education property tax bills are estimated to increase by almost 20% on average across the state this year. Previously the legislature passed Act 127 which updated the pupil weighting system and created a 5% cap on property tax rates. The updated weights were adopted to bring more equity to districts that have been historically disadvantaged. The intention of the 5% cap was to help insulate those districts most negatively affected by the new weights. However, due to rising costs and the ability to increase funding with no tax penalty due to the 5% cap, we saw a substantial increase in education spending this year, estimated to be at 14.8%. 

Rep. Chris Mattos

The Ways and Means committee spent a great deal of time working on a bill that would remove the 5% cap and still provide a discount to districts affected by the weighting change. The bill essentially does three things; removes the 5% cap, applies a 1 cent discount for each percentage point of those negatively affected over a 5-year period and provides a mechanism for any school district to rescind warned budgets and hold a vote at a later date. We know that making changes this late in the process can be difficult, but our intention is to provide the greatest opportunity for success. In Milton, based on this bill, we will see a seven-cent tax rate decrease in year one and Georgia will see a 13-cent tax rate decrease. 

As always, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns I would be happy to listen. Feel free to reach me by email at CMattos@leg.state.vt.us or by cell at (802) 922-2059. 

The floor started to see much more action this week with five bills being passed over to the Senate, one bill being passed to the Governor, and one being sent to a Conference of Committee. The five that were passed were: H.563, An act relating to attempted auto theft; H.649, An act relating to the Vermont Truth and Reconciliation Commission; H.850, An act relating to transitioning education financing to the new system for pupil weighting; H.247, An act relating to Vermont's adoption of the Occupational Therapy Licensure Compact, and H.801, An act relating to approval of the adoption of the charter of the Town of Waterbury. The bill that passed to the Governor was S.154, An act relating to the Vermont State Plane Coordinate System. Lastly, the bill referred to a Conference of Committee was H.839, the Budget Adjustment Act.

(You can read the full text of any bill by going to the Vermont General Assembly website at http://legislature.vermont.gov and entering the bill number in the search bar.

H.839 - The Budget Adjustment Act (BAA) came back from the Senate with some changes that the members of the House did not agree with, and it will now go to what is called a "Conference of Committee." This is a smaller group of legislators consisting of three appointed members from each chamber (House and Senate) that will work towards compromises and hopefully produce a budget adjustment that all can accept.

H.850 - (an act relating to transitioning education financing to the new system for pupil weighting). Because of the time constraints and importance of this bill, it was voted to suspend rules on the floor to move this bill through all necessary steps needed in the House and get it to the Senate in one session. This is the bill I have written about in my last couple of updates, and it proposes a change to Act 127 and the transition mechanism (5% tax rate cap) that was created to ease school districts through the pupil weighting changes. As explained before, this bill eliminates the 5% cap altogether and instead targets only the districts adversely affected by providing a decrease to their property tax rate equal to $0.01 for every relative percent decrease to their long term weighted average daily membership. (Both Milton and Georgia school districts qualify for this new transition mechanism.) In order to help school districts deal with this change so late in the process, this bill also allows the districts to postpone their budget votes for a short time to reevaluate and possibly make changes if they desire and provides funding to help cover the cost of the voting delay. (new ballots and additional mailing, etc.) If there are no changes in the Senate, this bill should be on the Governor's desk for signature this coming week.

In the Education Committee, we continue to take testimony and are in the midst of crafting language for bills relating to school construction and boards of cooperative educational services. More importantly, driven by the impact of this year's school budgets, we have started the conversation and work towards identifying changes in Vermont's education system that will lead to efficiencies and decreased pressure on the education fund. In my opinion, besides academic proficiency ratings, these systematic changes are the most important work in front of us and should take precedence over any other bills currently on our wall.

On Thursday, we held a Joint Assembly with the Senate and re-elected Major General Gregory Knight to continue as the Vermont Adjutant General. Major General Knight has served as Vermont's Adjutant General since 2019, and with over 40 years of uniformed service, he has proven his dedication to our state and our country. I have had the pleasure to interact with Major General Knight on several occasions and have always felt his knowledge, demeanor, and desire to listen to be inherent and sincere. I congratulate him on his reelection and wish him the best in his continued service.

Thank you, and if you ever have any questions or concerns, please reach out to me at 802.233.7579 or chris.taylor@leg.state.vt.us.

This past week the following bills passed the House: H.247 the Occupational Therapy Licensure Compact; H.563 an act relating to criminal motor vehicle offenses involving unlawful trespass, theft, or unauthorized operation; H.649 amendments to the VT Truth and Reconciliation Commission; H.801amendments to the Town of Waterbury charter; and S.154 an act relating to the Vermont State Plane Coordinate System. We sent H.839 the Budget Adjustment Act (BAA) to a Committee of Conference as it went to the Senate, and they amended it from the original form from the House. Now the House and Senate must come up with a compromise.

The biggest Statehouse news of interest to constituents this week is H.850, a bill developed by House Ways & Means and House Education to "fix" a loophole in Act 127 from 2023. When the implementation of the new pupil weighting system formula that determines the tax capacity of a school district with respect to the needs of its individual student population was enacted, a 5% cap was included for certain districts that needed a "soft-landing" for a few years because they would be losing tax capacity. Keep in mind that because of Act 60 in 1997, Vermont has a statewide education fund that all taxpayers pay into, and all school districts receive funding from. Also, not all students cost the same to educate (for instance, students who are multi-language learners or who live in poverty are more expensive to educate, as are high schoolers vs preschoolers). Unfortunately, there were some districts across the state that submitted budgets over the 5% cap "because they could", and that resulted in warned budgets that greatly exceeded education spending from last year and could cause all of our property taxes to rise, regardless of how many fiscally frugal districts submitted reasonable budgets. H.850, which passed the House and is in the Senate, seeks to remedy this by allowing school districts who wish to re-work their budgets to hold that vote up until April 15. It also provides a discount for those districts that lost tax capacity due to the aforementioned changes in the pupil weighting formula. In my opinion we have reached a point in this state where we have to take a very deep dive into the funding of education as I don't think the current model works any longer. However, we'll have to see if the rest of the Legislative body agrees with my line of thinking and has the will to greatly reform a system that no longer works.

In the House Government Operations and Military Affairs Committee, we continued our work on: H.612 miscellaneous amendments to cannabis statutes; a state and a municipal code of ethics; H.626 animal welfare; miscellaneous amendments to the Department of Liquor and Lottery statutes; H.794 services provided to the Vermont Veterans Home; and H.641authorizing boards of abatement to hear like cases as a class.

On Thursday we elected two trustees of the Vermont State College System and the Adjutant and Inspector General of the Vermont National Guard. My good friend and Guard colleague, Major General Greg Knight ran unopposed for the Adjutant General position and was unanimously re-elected to his office. Of note, we are the only state in the US that still elects its Adjutant General.

As always, I can be reached at: mmorgan@leg.state.vt.us or 802-881-7835.

Legislative and Education Committee Update 1/30 to 2/2

There was very little action on the House floor this week, with only one bill being passed to the Senate. H.363, an act relating to prohibiting discrimination based on certain hair types and styles, and one being passed to the Governor, S.160, an act relating to state education property taxes and flood-related damage.

(You can read the full text of any bill by going to the Vermont General Assembly website at http://legislature.vermont.gov and entering the bill number in the search bar.)

S.160, an act relating to state education property taxes and flood-related damage, received a unanimous vote on the floor, and rules were suspended to expedite it to the Governor for signature. This is an important bill that will supply tax relief to individuals with property lost or destroyed due, directly or indirectly, to severe storms and flooding in an area that was declared a federal disaster between July 1, 2023, and October 15, 2023. This will occur by allowing a town to gain reimbursement for state education taxes that were abated (removed) from the property owner's taxes due to the floods. There are stipulations as to what qualifies an eligible property for reimbursement, as follows:

– a 50 percent or greater loss in value to the primary structure on the property;
– loss of use by the property owner of the primary structure on the property for 60 days or more;
– loss of access by the property owner to utilities for the primary structure on the property for 60 days or more; or
– condemnation of the primary structure on the property under federal, state, or municipal law, as applicable.

There is a lot more that needs to be done to help those affected by the flooding that occurred this summer. It was a devastating event that caused extreme damage to many, and hopefully this will play a small but helpful part in bringing relief.

In the Education Committee this week, we continued discussions and testimony on many important topics.

Education Finance: We joined in a joint hearing with the House Ways and Means committee to continue discussions surrounding the effects of Act 127 on school budgets this year and what can be done to help lessen the projected large property tax increases. Some of the solutions proposed are to do away with the 5% tax rate cap altogether, find a more targeted mechanism to help districts, and identify alternative/additional means of revenue to offset the cost. Finding the actual revenue streams to mitigate the effect on taxpayers is an ongoing discussion that, to me, doesn't equate to a real, long-term, solution. I say this because the only way the state gains more revenue is through more taxes or fees, which in turn means taxpayers are still paying more, just through other avenues. I have long been a proponent of education funding improvements and feel the system should be more predictable for school districts and much more transparent and easy to understand for the taxpayer. Hopefully, the current situation we are facing will drive further conversations on this topic and lead to that change in the future.

School Construction: The School Construction Aid Task Force report was released on Thursday. As stated in past updates, this report makes recommendations on a path forward for Vermont school construction and sustainable funding. A large portion of these recommendations will need much more discussion, but our committee has already started formulating a bill that can move some of the pieces forward. There is a sense of urgency behind formulating this program due to the extreme cost of immediate needs and the compounding effect of not taking action. To view the full report, follow this link:

https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2024/WorkGroups/House%20Education/Reports%20and%20[...]pdf

Lastly, on Friday, we heard testimony from UVM President Suresh Garimella. During his testimony, he reminded us of a great scholarship program that they offer called the UVM Promise. This program provides free tuition to Vermont students from households making $75,000 or less. Please take a look into this program if you qualify and have a child looking to further their education.

Thank you, and if you ever have any questions or concerns, please reach out to me at 802.233.7579 or chris.taylor@leg.state.vt.us.

Representative Chris Taylor
Chittenden-Franklin District

Friends – Happy New Year! 

This Wednesday was the kick-off to this year’s legislative session. In just three days, well over 150 new bills have been introduced with many more to come. Some would say that is good, and some would say that is bad. My next paragraphs focus on (from Governor Scott) what we as YOUR legislative body should really be laser focused on. 

On Thursday the 4th, Governor Phil Scott gave his annual State of the State address to the Senate and the House. He had many, many important points but his focus was on:  Affordability/The Budget, Housing and Public Safety.

First, The Budget and Affordability – he implored the legislature to stop crafting legislation that is (collectively) financially crushing to our Vermont families. For instance, the 20% increase in DMV fees that was passed last session and went into effect January 1st of this year. Several of you have reached out to me about these fees that, sadly, DMV did not even ask for. Many of you are already seeing the impact of this increase. Last year the VT Legislature enacted a budget that the Governor vetoed (and unfortunately his veto was overridden) that did not fund the state in the manner he recommended. The Governor stated that “With historic one-time federal aid ending, another large increase in our pension obligation, and last year’s spending decisions catching up to us, we are back to where we were several years ago with difficult decisions to be made. In three weeks, I will present my budget for Fiscal Year 2025, and it will be a much different picture than previous years – “sobering” comes to mind.” He further went on to say: “For many of you (we legislators) this will be the first time you will work on a budget without hundreds of millions of dollars in surplus. For others it is déjà vu. Once again, we will face the discomfort of saying “no,” choosing between many good things, and maintaining the discipline to focus on what Vermonters need most.” I will keep you posted as this morphs through the session. 

Second, the Housing shortage. Right now, Vermont currently has 2200 housing units permitted each year, but census data and vacancy rates show that we could use 6,800 new units NOW! The Governor asked for us to massage Act 250 to allow for more housing, not impede it. He stated that when Act 250 was crafted it was needed to slow growth as we were growing too fast, but now, we cannot live with that level of restriction. Anyone that has recently sought out housing knows how difficult it is to find something.

Third, Public Safety. Every day we read about or see in the news increased crime at all levels that is unacceptable. The proliferation and use of illegal drugs is also at an all-time high. We should be focusing on legislation that allows for very stiff sentencing and stop with all of the “catch and release” politics we are seeing in the legal world in relation to criminal behavior/action. This is unacceptable. It must stop. I have collaborated with other legislators to seek reforms in our legal system, and we will see how all of this progresses. 

You can read the full text of Governor Scott’s address here: https://governor.vermont.gov/press-release/governor-phil-scott-delivers-2024-state-state-address

I am hopeful that my legislative colleagues are heeding the Governor’s recommendations, words and ideas and doing the right thing to help Vermonters in his quest to have the state be a place that we can afford to live in.......

I will, as last year, be publishing a weekly report to you and as always feel free to reach out to me at: mmorgan@leg.state.vt.us or my cell at: 802-881-7835.

Representative Michael Morgan

Vermont Public | By Bob Kinzel

State spending on education is emerging as one the top issues to be addressed during the upcoming Legislative session

In its annual letter to lawmakers, the Vermont Tax Department estimated it will take an average 18.5% increase in property tax rates to fund current levels of education spending. Some key factors for the bump include higher health care costs and inflation.

Gov. Phil Scott says this increase is "not acceptable," and he is urging lawmakers to figure out ways to reduce spending.

"What do we want to do without?" Scott said. "And maybe those are discussions we have to have. But we have to live within our means, because we're already spending a lot of money."

House Ways and Means Chair Emilie Kornheiser says she looks forward to reviewing Scott's recommendations, and she says it's important to remember that education spending decisions are made at the local level.

"We trust our local school boards to make local decisions about how much money and how many resources they need to support kids and teachers," Kornheiser said.

She says lawmakers might also want to consider other revenue sources to reduce pressure on the property tax.

https://www.vermontpublic.org/local-news/2023-12-06/gov-scott-urging-state-lawmakers-to-reduce-education-spending-with-projected-18-5-tax-increase

With the 2023 legislative session now adjourned, lawmakers reflected on their months of hard work on Wednesday.

"Our four priorities were child care, the housing crisis — which we passed the HOME bill to deal with that — climate we passed S.5, and then on the gun issue... we passed three bills," Sen. Phil Baruth said.

Top Democrats said the session was a success. After overriding the governor’s veto of their child care program on Tuesday, they hosted a celebration on the statehouse steps Wednesday afternoon.

"For far too long, families across Vermont have struggled to balance taking care of their children and earning a paycheck, but this year we took a huge step to ensure every family has access to high quality and affordable child care," Rep. Jill Krowinski said.

The governor vetoed the bill due to the payroll tax that comes with it, but supporters say to look at it as an investment into Vermont.

Gov. Phil Scott vetoes child care bill, citing concern over payroll tax

"Because all businesses throughout the state of Vermont are pitching in [and] paying their fair share of taxes, it's going to strengthen families, it's going to strengthen communities, it's going to strengthen the economy, and that means we are all better off," Rep. Emilie Kornheiser said.

The Democrat-controlled legislature also overrode the governor’s veto of their nearly $8.5 billion budget, but the amount of overrides and spending does not come without concern from Republicans.

"We're headed into dangerous territory, and I think the legislative majority went too far. I think we need to practice what is in Article 18 of the constitution, which is one of the factors that will make Vermont sustainable: frugality," Sen. Randy Brock said.

The 2024 legislative session is planned to begin on Jan. 3, 2024.

https://www.mynbc5.com/article/vermont-lawmakers-reflect-on-historic-legislative-session/44291970

Last night, the Milton Town School District held its fourth community forum on the Herrick Project to update the public on the cost of the proposed new K-8 grade school building and to solicit feedback. 

This project has been a topic of discussion and debate for the past three years. After looking at several other options, the Herrick Project committee decided to move forward with building a new school on April 28.

However, at the recent forum, the majority of the 35 community members in attendance expressed concern over the increased cost estimates for construction and the impact it would have on property taxes. 

TruexCullins of Burlington, an architecture company that was hired to conduct the facilities master planning process, said the current estimated cost for a new K-8 grade building is now over $188 million. This is an increase of $18 million from the estimate that was shared with the public back in April. 

MTSD wants to put a bond for the project up for vote this coming Town Meeting Day in March 2024. 

“We’ve used a professional cost estimator, and let’s say the project goes out to bid in 2025, they put in a cost estimate which is around a 7% [increase in inflation] a year to get our current estimated cost,” Cam Featherstonhaugh from TruexCullins said. 

No matter the cost, the project is expected to increase taxes for Milton residents. The bond repayment schedule was not included in the presentation, but can be calculated based on the estimated cost and 30-year bond plan. 

“This community can’t afford such an increase in our taxes,” a community member said Thursday night. “I did the math and mine would probably increase about $3,000 a year, and I am retired. I have no fixed income. It just wouldn’t work, we need to find something more cost effective than what we are hearing tonight. This is going to hurt the population.” 

The exact tax impact for individual residents may vary based on the assessed value of their property and these estimates could further change based on alternative construction plans or if tax assessments increase in the coming years.

"This is just too much of an increase in taxes,” Town Manager Don Turner said. “I have been paying my taxes in this town for almost my whole life now and never seen anything of this magnitude. If this bond passes, this community would be expendable.”

After a brief presentation from MTSD director of operations Matt Grasso on the background of the Herrick Project, TruexCullins shared the new K-8 building designs. The proposed design would be two stories high and about 261,000 square feet. 

When a community member asked why it is so much square footage and couldn’t the design be multiple stories instead, TruexCullins answered that the Town of Milton has a height limitation of 35 feet, so due to existing regulations a multi-tiered building is not an option.

Based on the model shown at the forum, the new building would have separate playgrounds, a courtyard, separate gymnasiums and libraries for different age groups and an auditorium for the performing arts. 

The building would also meet 21st century accessibility standards and have internal drains to protect against flooding. In addition to its design, the building would have state-of-the-art technology and other modern amenities, with a particular focus on reducing its environmental impact. 

“Education has changed, and we need a building that reflects education today,” Superintendent Amy Rex said. “When the building was built in the 50s we didn't need to have space to house infrastructure for technology, or devices. We are also not serving students with disabilities like we should be. Portions of the building are not ADA compliant, like if a child is in a wheelchair, they can't use the bathroom without being stigmatized because they have to leave their classrooms for longer periods of time.” 

The current K-8 building is facing numerous issues that could be eliminated if the building is torn down and replaced with an entirely new structure. The new building would be in the field adjacent to the current building location on Herrick Avenue.

At the meeting, townspeople also shared their frustrations with lack of communication between the district and the public. While conducting surveys for the project, the district saw 300 responses from a town of 11,000 people. A few members stood up at the forum and stated that they never even received a survey.

“With only 300 responses to the survey, you are missing a large portion of our community,” community member Diane Barrows said. “It does not make sense to state you’ve received ‘overwhelming support’ for the project when you’ve only received a small percentage of responses from the town.” 

Grasso and Rex said they were surprised by this, and that it pays the post office to deliver information out to the community about the Herrick Project. Rex said she would be following up on this to ensure the public is receiving the information the district is putting out.

Multiple townspeople stood up and said they hope the school board, TruexCullins and the public will hear their concerns and consider slowing down the process on the project.

Grasso and TruexCullins said waiting to move forward with the project could have even more of a financial impact in the future.

“It is very unlikely that the building will be cheaper if we wait any longer on this project,” Grasso said.

But, others argue that there are other options. Some proposed the new building could be built on a new parcel of land, perhaps adjacent to the current high school building on a sandpit not close to any wetlands. Others proposed the current K-8 grade building wouldn’t have to be torn down, as the current plans state, and instead could be used as a community space or senior center.  

One townsperson had suggested maybe in the future there could be better funding options for the project if it is not completed so soon to the devastating flooding that occurred earlier this year; a catastrophe that is costing the state of Vermont millions in repairs. 

No option is cheap though. In an evaluation completed two years ago, it was found that the current K-8 building has about nine years of life left before it is deemed completely unsafe for students to attend classes in. The district argues that this is something that needs to be addressed and fixed sooner than later.

The school will either need to have millions in repairs done in the current building to address issues with roofing, plumbing, wiring and more; or for 6% more in cost, build an entirely new school. 

The school board and Herrick Project committee will need to reevaluate plans for the project to keep the community satisfied with the outcome. Tonight at 6 p.m. the school board will have a meeting where comments and concerns from the community forum will be discussed. 

For more information on the Herrick Project, individuals can view the dedicated page on the MTSD website.