by David F. Kelley
GREENSBORO – In his Inaugural Address John Kennedy challenged us to: “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” It was a reminder to America that democracy driven by self interest is doomed to fail, but we flourish when we serve a cause greater than ourselves. And so it is with small towns and school districts here in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont.
It should have been obvious when Act 46 was passed, and small rural elementary schools were forced to merge with bigger neighbors, that self interest plus a majority of votes would be a strong incentive for some to gobble up smaller schools and take the students and the tuition dollars that come with them. Now Greensboro is confronted with a handful of neighbors, primarily in Hardwick, eager to do just that: to close Lakeview, our elementary school with little, if any, consideration of the consequences.
The rallying cry of this covetous crowd is, “Shutting down Lakeview will save hundreds of thousands of dollars.” That sales pitch is now being bandied about with no serious financial analysis. It is made despite the Superintendent’s warning that considerations such as the weighted funding formula, added transportation cost, and the complexity of the revenue side make it almost impossible to predict any changes to the tax rates.
If people want to talk about money, let’s talk about money. Here are some numbers, based on budgets submitted by school districts as of September 6, 2023 for FY 2024, that are being ignored in this debate:
- The Mountainview Union Elementary School District Budget for the year is $7,021,169
- 13% of the students are Greensboro students
- 67% of the students are Hardwick students
- Greensboro’s share of the education spending is $890,284
- Hardwick’s share of the education spending is $4,673,290
- From local taxes Greensboro pays $890,204
- From local taxes Hardwick pays $1,425,721.90—$3,247,568.07 less than their share. That $3,247,568.07 is given to Hardwick from the State Education Fund. No part of that money was paid for by Hardwick.
- Greensboro on the other hand gets no help from the State Education Fund. On the contrary, this year Greensboro paid an additional $2,088,010.12 into the fund.
That redistribution of funds came about because of Act 60 and Act 66. It came with a high price to pay beyond the traumatic tax increases for towns like Greensboro. Many families that for generations had owned cabins on Caspian Lake could no longer afford them. They were forced to sell. But Greensboro has done our share to support our neighbors.
It is only fair to ask our neighbors to be supportive of us and to understand that there is something more precious than money at stake in this debate. Our elementary school is the heart of our community. When we put our children on longer bus rides they spend less time engaged in extracurricular activities. Their parents are less engaged with teachers. A town’s ability to attract young parents that the economy needs starts to die. Without an elementary school some towns just flatline.
Greensboro is blessed with incomparable public assets and not-for-profit partners. We have the Highland Center for the Arts that is in the process of developing an Art in Schools program. We have the Craftsbury Outdoor Center that already offers exceptional recreational opportunities to Lakeview. And, of course, we have the Lake. Instead of closing down a school, let’s open our imaginations. Let’s not confine our students to one school and a cinderblock curriculum. Let the buses run in two directions and let us create more choices and more opportunities for all of our students. Let’s stop asking what we can do for ourselves, and instead let us ask what we can do for all of our children.
