CALAIS – A petition began circulating last month expressing concern about the decision of the Washington Central Unified Union School District (WCUUSD) administration to move Calais pre-K and kindergarten students to East Montpelier Elementary School (EMES) for the 2027 school year.
courtesy photo
The April 24 petition posted on the iPetitions platform had gathered 101 signatures late Monday evening. It asks that “the WCUUSD board give necessary oversight to the superintendent’s decision to move Calais pre K – K to East Montpelier Elementary School (EMES).“
The petition details town and school district votes, along with other information that it says calls into question the plan to move pre-K and K students from Calais to EMES.
Primarily, it suggests enough students have registered for pre-K and K from Calais to support two classrooms in the 2027 school year. As of April 7, it notes 14 pre-K and K students had been registered for the 2027 school year, with six more pending.
“…we respectfully request that you advocate on behalf of Calais students and keep our littlest citizens close to home,” concludes the petition.
Calais resident Sonja Andrews, posted the petition on Facebook, saying, “Back in February our town voted to keep our elementary school open. The decision by the WCUUSD superintendent to transfer our pre-K students to EMES is misguided and there are a number of us who believe the school board should advocate on behalf of Calais as well as East Montpelier.”
An anonymous comment on the petition echoed an issue raised in the petition, “Why take kids out of Calais for one to two years just to put them back. It’s not good for the kids to be thrown around.”
Leslie Bean added, “While I can somewhat understand bussing the children when there was a very tiny population, now that there is a decent class they should be kept at their home school.”
The fate of Calais Elementary School in the 2027 school year began with WCUUSD board discussions in 2025. On February 10 this year, more than 60% of Calais voters rejected plans to close the school.
Earlier, on December 17, the board had voted unanimously to honor the outcome of the February 10 town vote.
Not long after, the district announced pre-K students from Calais will attend the East Montpelier school in 2027.
Flor Diaz Smith, WCUUSD board chair said, “Our commitment to strong public education should be unwavering for all our students, and if we’re going to have five elementary schools, they should be the best five public elementary schools. And if we’re going to have three, they should be the best three that can ever dream for,” WCAX reported February 23.
On Town Meeting Day, March 3, school district voters approved a budget of over $43 million. That budget was projected to increase property tax rates by more than 12% WCAX reported.
“After the February vote to keep both Calais Elementary and Doty Memorial schools open, the district revised its budgets to account for the five-school configuration,” reported The Bridge on March 4 based on an email it reported receiving from Superintendent Steven Dellinger-Pate.
“While we will provide nursing, library, and school counseling services at all schools, most will not have full-time employees in these positions,” he said.
“In addition, due to enrollment and staffing needs, Doty Memorial Elementary School and Rumney Elementary School’s pre-K and kindergarten programs will be combined and located at Rumney Elementary School. The same goes for Calais and East Montpelier: pre-K and kindergarten programs combined and located at East Montpelier Elementary School,” The Bridge reported then.
The petition now circulating suggests the budget was approved so that all students would remain at the Calais school. “. . . support of the budget would allow the superintendent the ability to keep the student body, including pre K – K, at CES, especially if the numbers supported that.”
The strongly worded petition calls the decision to move the youngest students “a breach in the trust of the Calais community.”
In support of the petition Jane Shore said, “It seems cruel to make the children to go to another East Montpelier Elementary, rather than let them go to Calais Elementary, especially after we voted to keep our school open.”
Some comments went as far as suggesting the decision to bus the youngest Calais students to EMES “seems cruel,” “very vindictive and shortsighted,” with John Brabant weighing in from Costa Rica to say, “Enough of the Cold War against Calais and Worcester. This behavior by the administration with the support of the school board continues to polarize our communities. This needs to stop and stop now.”
Stephanie Kaplan added, “There is no benefit and there are plenty of detriments to make little Calais children travel from their small school to a bigger school in another town. If the school board and the superintendent truly cared about the children, they would reverse their decision and leave all the Calais children in their own small school.”
The WCUUSD school board continues to hear comments from the public about the decision to move Pre-K and K students to EMES. It received a letter from the Calais Select Board called for by town meeting goers, which was discussed at the April 15 WCUUSD meeting, without a response being decided upon. Further, board discussions regarding the issue have ranged widely, from the possibility of seeing the administration reconsider its decision to standing strongly in support of it.
Paul Fixx is editor of The Hardwick Gazette and lives in Hardwick.
