HARDWICK AREA – Orleans Southwest Supervisory Union (OSSU) Superintendent David Baker shared a facility update, comments on the new school-based health center, and plans to discuss the Mountain View Union Elementary School District configuration in his February update.
The Mountain View Union Elementary School District (MVU) board has been discussing a proposal to centralize pre-kindergarten (preschool) and kindergarten education at the MVU Lakeview campus in Greensboro beginning in the 2025-2026 school year. At its January 14 meeting, “the board decided not to move forward with the proposal as outlined,” said Baker. The MVU board planned to consider school configurations for the 2025-2026 school year at the Tuesday, Feb. 11 meeting, Agendas, minutes, and recordings of past MVU meetings can be accessed at bit.ly/mvu-board. Agendas for meetings are posted online two days before the meeting, at a minimum.
“On the facilities front, the recent frigid temperatures have provided a good test for each of our buildings, and despite a few minor issues, overall they handled it well,” Baker said. “One of the big improvements we made with our ESSER [Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief] funds was to upgrade the control systems in each of our buildings across the SU. The new system makes it much easier for our custodial staff to monitor the heating plants in each building, and make tweaks to the temperature settings for individual rooms as needed to help maintain an appropriate temperature.
“While there are a few kinks still to work out, overall our systems are working much better and more efficiently than they did a few years ago.”
Water quality has been a concern at several OSSU schools recently. “Planning for a PCB remediation project at Hardwick Elementary School continues to move forward and the Mountain View Union ESD board has warned a bond vote for Town Meeting Day to fund the cleanup,” noted Baker. The bond language can be found in Article 6 of the warning at bit.ly/mvu-warning-2025.
Baker shared news about plans to resolve the PFAS issue at the Woodbury Elementary School (WES), saying “. . . the funding application for dealing with the PFAS contamination at Woodbury Elementary is moving forward and engineering work should begin on that project sometime in the next few months.”
PFAS are per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, a group of synthetic chemicals that are resistant to heat, water and oil. They are also known as “forever chemicals” because many break down very slowly and can build up in people, animals and the environment over time.
PFAS have been used in industry and consumer products since the 1940s because of their useful properties. There are thousands of different PFAS, some of which have been more widely used and studied than others.
“Current scientific research suggests that exposure to certain PFAS may lead to adverse health outcomes. However, research is still ongoing to determine how different levels of exposure to different PFAS can lead to a variety of health effects. Research is also underway to better understand the health effects associated with low levels of exposure to PFAS over long periods of time, especially in children,” says the EPA website.
“Most buildings have either recently tested or will soon test their faucets and water fountains for lead as required by Vermont Act 66, said Baker. “This law requires periodic testing of any water source used for cooking or drinking purposes to ensure students aren’t exposed to lead that has leached out of the plumbing system. Results for each individual school are available at leadresults.vermont.gov/.”
The school-based health center (SBHC) has received positive reviews, said Baker. “We continue to hear great feedback from parents who are taking advantage of the health services provided by our new school-based health center. We recently heard from [Craftsbury parents] Molly Ciecierski and Monique Beaudry about their experiences and wanted to pass these along to you!”
“My sons’ pediatrician is in Morrisville so being able to access family nurse practitioner Jen Olsen through the SBHC at Craftsbury is convenient for us. On the days Jen is available at Craftsbury Schools, I simply email her with the medical concern, she meets with my child, and then shares a visit summary soon afterwards. They miss less time in school because we don’t have to make the drive. Thank you for making this helpful health resource available to families in OSSU,” said Molly Ciecierskim
Monique Beaudry shared comments about her experience, saying, “I’m so grateful for the SBHC and the ease it provided in getting my daughter the care she needed . . . We’re lucky to have this amazing resource in our district!”
Baker said, “If you haven’t yet signed up to participate, we encourage you to do so by completing a registration and consent form. Enrollment remains open! Learn more about the OSSU SBHC at the OSSU website.
Paul Fixx is editor of The Hardwick Gazette and lives in Hardwick.
