GREENSBORO – As the Woodbury Select Board heard from Ana Pelz at its May 27 meeting about holding a meeting to discuss options for the Woodbury Elementary School as Mountainview Union Elementary School Board members are assembling a task force to look at possible school consolidation and closings, David Kelley of Greensboro had submitted a letter the same day suggesting WCUUSD has not followed appropriate procedures in reconfiguring its schools, particularly the smallest of them in Calais, Worcester and Middlesex.
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In a conversation earlier this week, Kelley suggested WCUUSD might not offer the Woodbury school any better options than are available through MVUESD.
Kelley wrote to WCUUSD Board Chair Diane Nichols-Fleming saying, “I’m writing to you on behalf of students, parents, and taxpayers in the Washington Central Unified Union School District. As you must realize, the decision to repurpose buildings in the district, reconfigure classes, move students to different towns, and place students on longer bus rides are decisions with wide-ranging consequences for students, parents and taxpayers.”
Kelley questioned the decision, continuing to say, “Vermont law places responsibility for those decisions squarely on the shoulder of the School Board. Vermont law also lays out a clear, time-honored, and well-established process for making those decisions. With regard to these decisions, we believe this Board has abdicated its responsibilities pursuant to Vermont statutes and the District’s Articles of Agreement and additionally is in violation of Vermont’s Open Meeting Law.
After a page or more of legal arguments, Kelley wrote, “The electorate of a district must be given adequate notice that the board is considering a subject requiring its decision… Additionally, these decisions have been made with virtually no opportunity for local input.”
He concluded, “No decision is binding unless those procedures are followed. 1V.S.A. § 312(a)(1). Pursuant to 1V.S.A. § 314(b)(2), I hope to have your response to these concerns within 10 days.”
In a conversation earlier this week, given the foregoing, Kelley suggested WCUUSD might not offer the Woodbury school any better options than are available through MVUESD, where the school community and board members have an existing relationship. He suggested paying close attention to the legislation coming from Montpelier and exploring associations with other small rural districts that face the same challenges.
