GEORGIA BOARD OF SCHOOL DIRECTORS
Special Meeting (Community Forum on High School Choice)
September 29, 2009 at 6:00pm ~ Georgia Elementary Middle School Gymnasium
MINUTES
WELCOME
Doug Bergstrom, School Board Chair welcomed the community to the public forum on High School Choice and called the meeting to order at 6:15pm. He introduced members of the School Board: Doug Bergstrom (Chair), Jennifer Petrie (Clerk), Irene Bonin, Carl Laroe, Jr., and Matthew Crepeau.
PRESENTATION
Doug Bergstrom, Chair of the Georgia School Board of Directors, spoke on behalf of the Board, the Administration, and Franklin West Supervisory Union and thanked everyone for coming to the open forum on school choice in Georgia.
He gave the following remarks in conjunction with an informational slide presentation.
(the presentation can be accessed at http://georgiasbvt.pbworks.com)
(Slide 1 – 2) “I would like to start out this evening clearing up some misinformation that appears to be circulating around the community. First and foremost at this time we are not sending all of our students to any one high school. The board has not chosen a school nor has the board entered into an agreement with any school to take all of our children. The board does not have the authority to designate a public high school…only the voters of Georgia have that responsibility. The board is not eliminating choice for Georgia residents through Act 44. Act 44 only limits the community’s financial liability for these choices. And finally the Board or Supervisory Union has no hidden agenda in the matter of school choice. Our only agenda is to have an informed public.”
(Slide 3) “The Georgia School Board is committed to providing all its students with a quality education at a cost taxpayers will support. This requires the Board to consistently evaluate the cost-benefit relationship of current education. Tonight, the board is trying to gauge, as we head into our next budgeting cycle during these tough economic times, if valuable time should be spent on the topic of school choice and to see if the community wants us to look into the possibility of what appears at first glance to be a significant cost savings over our current system. The board felt that it was our fiscal responsibility to bring this topic forward to the community to discuss. When we build a budget, the board only has control over the Pre K – 8 portion of the budget.”
(Slide 4) “The high school portion (which accounts for approximately 30% of our budget), we currently have absolutely no control over. High schools set a tuition rate that is approved by the state. The state also sets a state average tuition rate that our district pays to private independent high schools. At the end of the school year, schools have the option of going back to the state and adjusting their tuition rates to cover the actual cost of education. The state will then approve this new tuition rate which allows the schools to go back and adjust the charges for the preceding year.”
(Slide 5-7) “Over the past few years we have seen an increase in our high school spending with increases brought forward by BFA Saint Albans of an average of 7.25% per year and a proposed 2010 increase of 10.75% increase. In additional we have had back bills from BFA over the last two years of $79,304 and $106,901. These are dollars that come directly from our Pre K – 8 budgets. The first two years we were not prepared for this kind of expense but luckily we managed to find the money without any major impact to our school here at Georgia. This past year Bruce Chattman and I sat down with the BFA finance team and administration to discuss the reason for these increases as well as if we should plan on them continuing. As a result of that meeting, this years budget does plan for 8% increase falling 2.75% short of BFA’s 10.75% proposed increase. To be fair to BFA, we did receive a bill from South Burlington as well last year of $1,448 but it didn’t have quite the impact of the BFA bill due to the smaller number of students that currently attend South Burlington and the fact that South Burlington chose to absorb 3% of the increase. As you can see it is very difficult to accurately budget for these expenses. These bills and the increased tuition is what lead us to the discussion of Act 44 at our annual retreat. At the Board’s annual retreat in August where we discuss and plan our agenda for the upcoming year, Bruce Chattman, our superintendent, brought to the Board’s attention a change in school law regarding communities without a high school. The board at that time had many questions about how this law would impact Georgia residents and students and felt that the best course of action was to discuss it with the community to get feedback and to gauge support and opposition to the this change for Georgia. Tonight we will discuss Act 44 and how it could affect Georgia. We will also show the difference in today’s tuition rates among the various high schools in our area and the how this change could impact the taxpayers of Georgia. And of course the biggest reason for us being here tonight is to hear from you. We want to know what goes into your decisions when choosing a high school. Thought and concerns you may have about designation of a school. And finally how do the taxpayers of Georgia want the board to proceed.”
(Slide 7-8) “This past spring the Vermont legislature passed Act 44 which changed the laws for communities that do not have their own high school. This change allows schools such as ours, to designate a public high school for our students to attend. This allows boards to better budget for their high school tuition cost and to help communities control and better plan their total education costs. Students who want to choose a different high school can still do so but depending on the cost of the chosen school, would need to pay the difference between that schools tuition rate and the designated school for Georgia.”
(Slide 9) “This chart shows the tuition rates for this year for area high schools. Also located on the chart is the number of students we have budgeted to attend each high school. Under our current choice plan, a Georgia student entering high school can attend any high school he/she chooses. The community will pay the full tuition rate to any public high school. If the student chooses a private independent high school, then Georgia, pays up to the state average for those students. Any student attending Rice or other religious affiliated school receives no Georgia funding. As we build our budget over the next few months, we try to predict where our students will go and budget accordingly. And it will not be until the following November, when we receive our first tuition bills, that we find out how close we were in that prediction.”
(Slide 10) “With Act 44 Georgia can choose one of these schools to be our designated high school. For example if we were to choose BFA St. Albans as our designated school than our total tuition would increase 173, 087. If we were to choose BFA Fairfax as our designated high school then our tuition would decrease 591,643. As you can see on the chart, only two schools would increase our total tuition dollars, the remaining schools would decrease our total tuition. Now remember these are raw numbers that would have to be finalized through the planning process should you decide to direct the board to look into this further. After complete analyses of cost, school impact, and additional unforeseen changes, the board would bring back a recommendation to the community to be voted upon at Town Meeting. This process would not be completed by Town meeting of 2010 but most likely would occur the following year 2011. If approved by the voters of Georgia, the process would then be phased in over the next 4 years grandfathering students already attending a choice high school. What are the benefits of this to Georgia?
1.) Better budgeting and cost control
2.) Ability to provide bussing for High School students
3.) Possibility of creating our “OWN” High School
4.) Possibility of more control in curriculum
5.) Possibility of the ability to vote on High School budgets.
The last three items, as you heard, I added the word possibility. That is because we might also want to consider creating or joining a Union High School. We do not have any information on this at this time but it is another item that has come up in preliminary discussions. The economy of our state is another reason for this discussion.”
(Slide 11) “State economists predict that the health of the state economy will not improve in the near future.”
(Slide 12) “As you can see here in this chart by the joint fiscal office the general fund is predicted to have a $165 million dollar deficit by 2012.”
(Slide 13) “Current General Fund revenues to the education fund are expected to decrease.”
(Slide 14) “Currently $355,957 of current state revenue is being provided with ARRA (stimulus) money and may be continued into 2011 but will disappear at the end of ARRA.”
(Slide 15) “Teachers Retirement costs, which have been underfunded, will increase $19.4 million to $59.9 million.”
(Slide 16) “The base education payment per student (ADM) will be level funded at $8,544 next year. What this means is in the past we have had increases in state funding to help offset rising cost on items such as salaries, benefits, utilities etc. Now we will get the same money per student as we do this year without any adjustment for increasing cost.”
(Slide 17) “This will result in an increase to property taxes without increasing the school budget.”
(Slide 18) “At this time I would like to have I would like to ask Bruce Chattman, our Superintendent, speak to you.”
Bruce Chattman explained that the state economy has been going downhill for some time now. He stated that the education funding support will decline soon, prompting a change. His advocacy has been to be part of facilitating change and be part of a solution that is something that makes sense for this community. He emphasized that Georgia is a wonderful K-8 school and gives the benefit of High School choice which he would want for his own children. However, he added that at some point the cost for the existing situation will become burdensome. There will be either large increases in property taxes or cuts in programs. He strongly encouraged the community to attend Town Meeting and budget hearings and come together to support a plan that makes sense. He reiterated that there will be change; some will be good. The community can choose to look at a governance change, or a more cohesive agreement with area high schools, etc. He highlighted that the financial piece is scary and stated that community members need to pay attention to what is happening.
Doug Bergstrom thanked Bruce for his insight and comments, and resumed the presentation: “We now want to start tonight discussion off. We are going to have our Board members writing down items from our discussions here tonight on the flip charts in front of us. I know many of you have raised concerns about changes to choice and because we have so many in attendance this evening the board thought this would be a good time to gather information for not only this board but for future boards to have. So first, we want to hear feedback on two specific questions and then we will have time for open discussion.”
PUBLIC COMMENT
(Slide 19) Doug Bergstrom framed two questions that the Board is asking the community to answer:
1. “What criteria do you have in your choice for a high school?”
2. “What are your thoughts about creating a Georgia High School or Union High School?”
The following community members offered responses and various considerations:
Chris Farnsworth – safety and educational quality
Deb Fraser – proximity, class choices, virtual high school and online options
Paul Lambsworth – college prep robust curriculum (quality) and diversity
Carol Bedley – demanding educational program (quality), rigorous courses, and peers that challenge students
Lisa Lefebvre - co-curricular options
Heather Grimm – technical center programs
Nicole – dropout rate
Rich Benoit – program and transportation (chose the only high school that offered Japanese as a language)
Teresa Wrightout – mainstreamed program for special needs student
Julie Mitiguy – technical center option; choice for families to pick different schools for individual needs of their kids gives success
Cathy Stech – sports and proximity
Becky Martell – sense of community and connections with St. Albans/Franklin County
Mukesh Kumar – educational quality, competitive environment, and preparation for excellence in college; worth any cost and will take children anywhere where to get the very best education.
Linda Stech – choice to pick high school that is best for the child; different children with individual personalities and needs
Kristen Andersen – choice is why we moved to Georgia, and GEMS is an awesome school, choice is worth any cost
Stephanie Miller – overall declining HS enrollment will give tuition students more power and high schools will be catering to them, choice to send children to the best places, choice is why we moved to Georgia
Neil Fay – options for special needs child to have the best education possible, transportation for special education students is difficult
Paul Rangle – choice is why I moved at Georgia, GEMS is the best K-8 school in the state, choice of kids to choose their own high school, choice to pick specific program that prepares individual children for real life.
Jody Frye – outcomes is what matters, how high schools compare achievement-wise; possible benefits to keeping Georgia high school students together.
Jackie Blake – benefits of choice for families to pick different schools for their children, worth the stress and cost - it comes down to choice
Julie Williams – advantages of larger high school for more diversity after a small school
Kathy Bayer – moved to Georgia because GEMS is best public school around and because of choice to pick high school that fits the individual student
Doug Bergstrom announced that the Board would also open the forum up to general discussion on the subject of choice for Georgia. He noted that due to the large number of people, speakers would be limited Georgia voters only and allowed 2 minutes per speaker. After all voters have had a chance to speak, additional time will be allowed for follow up questions or for others to ask questions. The meeting will be ending at 8:00pm. He asked the speakers to print their name on the sign up sheet and to state their name prior to speaking. He encouraged anyone who does not get a chance to ask a question to please contact a board member or school administrator. He noted that phone numbers and emails are available in the handout.
Doug Bergstrom asked for Dan Harvey to come forward. He read the following statement from Rep. Carolyn Branagan who could not attend the forum:
Dear Friends,
Since I am unable to attend tonight's meeting, my friend and neighbor Dan Harvey has agreed to read this statement for me.
First, I'd like to commend the school board for thinking about ways to cut school costs. I hear all the time from taxpayers in our town who tell me they are having trouble paying their property taxes. This is especially true for elderly members of our community who are on fixed incomes and reside on properties they have owned for a long time. All possibilities for cutting school costs should be on the table. School property tax rates are largely based on expenditures at the local level and the school budget is voted upon locally. Control of local costs absolutely needs to be part of any comprehensive school planning discussion. The school board members have done us a service by opening the door to a community wide discussion on the best ways we can keep cost under control.
We are fortunate to have inherited a fine school system in our town. For decades many Georgia school directors have made hard choices that balance the desire to provide the best education for our children with what local taxpayers can afford. On the issue of designation of a high school however, Georgia voters have been clear in the past that they value choice over any of the alternatives.
The change in state education law made last session was not intended to be any kind of encouragement for communities to make the decision to designate a school. It simply added public schools to the list of allowable institutions for districts that do not have schools of their own. Formerly, the list included only private and independent schools. Now, public schools like BFA Fairfax are allowed too. This change was intended to give more choice to school districts and left the final decision making power with the voters, where it has always been.
Now, should Georgia designate a high school for our high schoolers? Will such a change really save enough to make it worthwhile? Will parents have more or less control over the course of studies? What about the board's involvement? What about the students? Will such a change help or hinder efforts begun locally to insure each child from our town gets a world class education that will allow him/her to compete with students from across the globe? These are all questions that remain to be answered before a final decision is made.
There are other ways to cut costs. Among them are exiting from the Supervisory Union and assigning necessary
administrative tasks to local administrators; changing energy sources to renewables; making better use of virtual schooling and opening the school building to year-round classes.
One thing is clear to me. Georgia has currently the very thing that many districts in the state would like to have. In Georgia we educate our grade school children locally and then allow families to choose a high school that best fits the needs of their child. This is school choice at its best and I have seen it work well for hundreds of Georgia families.
Representative Carolyn Branagan - Vermont House of Representatives
COMMUNITY REPSONSE
Dan Harvey thanked the Board for gathering the community together and commended them for doing a great service by opening up discussion on this topic.
Doug Bergstrom added that in back of the handout, there is a paper that asks the following question: Do you wish to have the Georgia School Board continue this study? He asked everyone to take a moment and check off either yes, you would like us to continue looking into this option, or no you do not want the school board to investigate Georgia’s choice options. He added that he is looking into having this survey available online as well for people who could not attend the meeting. There is a box at the front so that those sheets can be returned. It will be helpful in directing the Board as we approach this year’s budget.
Rep. Gary Gilbert offered detail on the reasoning behind Act 44. He noted that the impetus for this legislation came from local school boards and communities whose school districts were not able designate a high school. They felt that many students were driving past very good secondary schools to get to their chosen high school and these groups wanted to consider ways to limit costs. The bill allows districts to make a choice for themselves. It doesn’t limit their choices and they can still choose without being dictated to. Right now, if a school district designates a single high school, this arrangement is for one year only. This means that that high school receiving those students has no guarantee that it will continue and expanding infrastructure or curriculum cannot happen when there is no guaranteed consistent student base. Gary noted that GEMS students perform highly where ever they go and it is a shame for other high schools to determine how our children are instructed. That decision should only be made by the Georgia community and is not for anyone else to decide.
Kim Ashe spoke and stated that she would like to keep school choice in Georgia not just because of educational quality, but also because it adds to the value of properties in the community. She added that everyone has a stake in high school choice because there is potential for declining property value because of this decision. She expressed concerns that in the end if values are lost, there will be no “savings.” People move to and live in Georgia because of choice.
Kathy Wieland spoke and noted that she has children in GEMS and in high school. She stated that a receiving school would not make changes because of Act 44. She expressed concerns that the law is so subjective and families who want to choose a non-designated high school and try to get permission from the Board are likely be turned down. The Board would be able to subjectively deny requests because it is very gray in the law. If all Georgia students are required to go to the designated high school, what are the chances that parents will be able to actually get choice for their kids at a different high school? The Board will fight families on that to try to save money. Also, the law says nothing about technical education. This also is a gray area in the law. The consensus is that technical students get to keep choice, but the rest of us can’t. This sets up an unfair preference of one group of students over another. She reiterated that there are many holes in the law the way it stands now and she stated that it may even be unconstitutional.
Brittany Wieland addressed the Board and community and asked how can we simply put dollars and cents to education. She added that education is about much more than funding. Under Act 44, the Board gets to choose whether a student can choose. She stated that students are not going to be given a choice and that they are silencing voices of those who cannot vote. She explained that she is a citizen, but cannot vote and this issue is not something that can be opened up to some of the citizens, but not all.
Jodie Bates spoke on school choice and noted that she chooses to have her children in different schools that best fit them. What happens is the designated high school doesn’t work? Can the town then choose another high school? She reiterated that she supports choice because all children are different and one school will not meet the needs of all students.
Christine Orellana asked why has the Board and Superintendent have chosen Georgia to be a test case for Act 44 in the state of Vermont? She expressed support for choice.
Charlie Wieland stated that choice of designated high school doesn’t guarantee savings. There are many factors that are not being considered.
Heather Grimm stated that if one school is selected, the town will then be locked into that arrangement and it would require legal action to make a change. The community would have no choice over increases at the designated high school. She asked those in support of high school choice to please stand and wait for the next speaker.
Cathy Stech asked if we really going to save anything? When you consider transportation and the increased demand for more staff and infrastructure to accommodate all our students, the cost of tuition will rise.
Matt Crawford thanked the Board for the opportunity to come together and for the time they put into our community and children. He added that their efforts would be better served if they shelve this idea. He added that in the minutes of a recent meeting, Doug Bergstrom has stated that “if the Board hears no support for a designated high school, they would not continue spending much time on it.” He explained that loss of choice would deflate home values and limiting tuition to a single high school doesn’t mean there will be savings. Simple economics tells us that costs to the designated high school would rise. Elimination of choice would mean ripping apart the community. He stated that he hopes that the Board hears overwhelming support for high school choice.
Lisa Faure spoke and noted that she is a parent of four children who all chose to attend Essex High School, a school that has a proven record of excellence. They chose it because of the diversity of teachers and students, and opportunity for education in a global community. If there is a designated high school, wealthier families who can afford it will choose a better school for their kids while others will not have that opportunity. She stated that it is a bad idea. Costs will increase as tuition to the designated high school will be beyond our control because the school will be guaranteed tuition for all GEMS students.
Linda Stech spoke and offered a suggestion for the Board. She asked if the school could hold an early high school fair for children in 7th grade, so that parents can find options and families can look at the tuition costs as well and see the savings in taxes for them. It would help their neighbors as well as themselves and they could make informed decisions about similar schools with high quality programs. The school could also survey parents on which high school they plan to choose and advise the Board on tuition costs. She asked if the Board has any negotiating power with high schools. Doug Bergtrom responded that if high schools lower their tuition for one school, they would have to lower it for all sending schools. Linda noted that she appreciates the efforts of the Board to control taxes, but Georgia wants to keep choice.
Serena Peck has a senior at Essex High School and a 7th grader here at GEMS. Her family enjoyed researching high schools for her daughter and is looking forward to doing the same for her son. She does not want to see choice go away. She asked that if this ends up on the ballot, which she does not want to see happen, what the question would be for the community. Would the ballot ask which school we want to designate OR would it ask us to delegate that authority to the school board? Doug Bergstrom replied that right now the Board is not sure how that process would work. Her second question was about whether or not the receiving town's community has a say in whether GEMS sends its students to their school or is it up to the receiving town's school board to make that decision. Rep. Gary Gilbert responded saying the Board of the receiving town also has to decide to accept GEMS students.
A side conversation started with Paul Rangle and Rep. Gary Gilbert regarding who gets to decide Georgia resident or the school board or the receiving town. Rep. Gary Gilbert explained that the receiving town school board could choose not to accept GEMS students and GEMS could decide not to send them.
Christine Orellana added that it then becomes a matter of litigation if Georgia chooses to designate a different high school for all their students or backs out of the contract. Bruce Chattman reviewed the Act 44 language which states that the Board can negotiate the terms as appropriate.
Stephanie Munson spoke and noted that the bottom line seems to be that tuition costs are beyond the Board’s control, but everyone in the community agrees that they believe that selecting one designated high school will control those costs. She asked if maybe the Board could look at other ways to control costs.
Tammy Rudden spoke and stated that she is proud to be part of a town that cares this much about their children. She explained that the community members in attendance have not shown up to vote for taxes to increase. They are saying that they want the best for our kids. Choice is priceless and she highlighted that she wants to know that the community has the choice.
Dan Walter spoke, noting that he has two girls at GEMS right now, and he expressed to the Board that for him as a dad, the financial bottom line is not the most important thing to him. He would be willing to bear more costs if that means that he has a choice of where he will send his kids. He added that he questions the basis of the numbers presented. He noted that they are all based on if costs right now, assuming that they don’t change.
Jan Shultz spoke to the issue of students passing by two good schools while traveling to their chosen high school. She noted that there is a large percent of voters in the town who do not have children in school and they need to understand that the figures presented do not reflect increase in tuition, extra bussing, and the fact that their property values will decrease. There needs to be a more realistic picture what things will look like in a few years.
Mukesh Kumar spoke and expressed that based on the numbers he does not see any substantial savings by choosing one designated high school. He stated that at most, assuming the cost of tuition stays the same as it is right now, it looks like there is a mere $200 a year savings by eliminating choice. He added that if that is the “savings”, he doesn’t see why the Board should even be looking at this. He noted that he moved to Georgia because of high school choice and I would move to another town with choice, if this passed against his wishes.
Rich Benoit commented that many community members can afford flatscreen TV’s and other items. He added that they can afford to keep choice.
Shawna Shuttle spoke and noted that her children go where they need to go. She added that she votes “no” to a designated high school. She stated that it takes a village to raise a child and she is glad that Georgia is her “village”.
Richard Messer stated that one thing that has not been adequately addressed is if one high school is designated, once the contract and price is established, Georgia is then dependent on that other community and whether they vote to support their school budgets and how much they are going to support. He expressed concern that Georgia would have no control over how that other community supports their school. He stated that he doesn’t want to be a part of it.
Jennifer Utlecht spoke and stated that she grew up in Florida. She appreciates how special the school and community of Georgia is. She added that she also appreciates the choice and the ability to control and have input on our children’s education. She doesn’t want to give up choice.
Paul Rangle thanked everyone for meeting. He stated that if the Board takes away high school choice, he will not continue living in Georgia. He added that he could not give the Board his permission to look into the possibility of a designated high school without more numbers and better evidence that it is worthwhile. He noted the he needs more information to make an educated decision. He explained that the only reason why he lives in Georgia is because of choice and good schools. He highlighted that the community has spoken and they do not want the Board to look into a designated high school.
Joan Nye shared that she has dedicated a number of years to the school and for her family, choice is a generational thing. She added that Georgia is unique and said that when she received her postcard in the mail, it looked like she needed to pay more to keep choice. She stated that the Board needs to keep choice where it belongs – with the community.
Katie Ballard commended the Board for taking this on because of fiscal responsibility. She stated that one issue is that Georgia appears to be quite beholden to BFA St. Albans. She asked about the increase in tuition and back-billing. She stated that it seems that there should be some negotiating power since a major percentage of Georgia kids attend there and asked if Georgia is really paying for education of St. Albans. Doug Bergstrom explained that BFA St. Albans has put a lot of time and energy into their educational programs and they are seeing a decline in enrollment. Bruce Chattman added that one other factor is that they have to follow different rules now that they are a public schools and no long private. He noted that all high school tuition is going to go up everywhere because of declining state revenues. He explained that Georgia is not really paying for the education of St. Albans; because of Act 60, everyone is paying for education. He stressed that external funding is drying up and the stimulus is supporting what the state contributes to Georgia. There is going to be an increase in resources or there will be problems.
Ronnie Messier stated that the town needs more information. It is not clear what criteria, other than costs, is going to be used to judge the quality of a high school program. Georgia is a special town in terms of its dedication to quality education. Students are making decisions about what they want to do with their lives and should have choice to choose what school will best prepare them for life. The idea of a designated high school doesn’t warrant any more investigation.
Deb Fraser spoke and expressed that she wishes she had spoke sooner. She asked if anyone in attendance does not support choice. She asked if there was even a need for a decision to be made since everyone is in agreement to keep choice.
Alice Sturgeon spoke, stating that her children had choice and it certainly it is Georgia’s choice to decide to keep choice or look at other options. She added that the time is coming when the community will be forced to make difficult choices. She highlighted that everyone needs to leave thinking “where is that going to come from?” She also expressed concerns that this issue is going to be old people against young people. There is a point at which older community members cannot pay their taxes and can not afford it. The state is going to force towns to make these choices at some point. The money is not endless. She explained that in her experience as a past member of the Board, budget season is a time to choose those which things we need to say “no” to. She added that the state has a lot of say over how much there is choice over. She noted that the fantastic attendance of the community at this forum says a lot for the people of Georgia.
George Bilodeau expressed that the strength of the Georgia community is the school. He added that he came to the forum supporting a designated high school, but now sees that Georgia needs to keep choice. He stated that the Board needs to leave choice at Georgia.
Louise St. Amour spoke and noted that there is another group of people at the meeting. She shared that most of the speakers have been parents, but there are students in attendance. She asked to have students speak. Various students expressed support for high school choice. She added that those who are so pro-choice need to begin thinking about how we can restructure education funding so that older people who have lived in Georgia their whole lives are not forced to leave. She asked everyone to think about how Georgia can meet the challenges.
CLOSING COMMENTS
Irene Bonin thanked everyone for attending the forum and acknowledged that a lot of information was shared. She added that the Board depends on the voice of the community and will continue taking information. She invited interested community members to contact members of the Board via email or phone (see below).
Doug Bergstrom, Chair Phone: 524-3298 Email: dbergstrom@gemsvt.org
Jennifer Petrie, Clerk Phone: 527-6344 Email: jpetrie@gemsvt.org
Irene Bonin Phone: 524-7674 Email: ibonin@gemsvt.org
Matthew Crepeau Phone: 527-9887 Email: mcrepeau@gemsvt.org
Carl Laroe, Jr. Phone: 527-1032 Email: claroe@gemsvt.org
This item will be discussed at the regular monthly School Board meeting in November and added that the
Board would report back to the community.
ADJOURN
The meeting was adjourned at 8:00pm.