VT school budgets continue to fail - where revotes stand and effects of budget uncertainty

The moon passed in front of the sun on Monday in the towns of Essex, Essex Junction and Westford, but on Tuesday the school budget failed to pass.

The Essex Westford School District was the last Chittenden County public school district to hold its vote; however, the extra time didn't yield a more favorable result.

Among the votes cast: 3,340 were against, while 2,353 voted for the proposed budget of $97,820,207. This amount was an increase in education spending by 7.7% and contributed to education property taxes rising as much as 22.8% among the three towns.

The budget for the Center For Technology, Essex (CTE) of around $9 million passed by about 1,000 votes.

In a note to residents, School Board Chair Robert Carpenter thanked those who voted and asked them to fill out an exit poll to provide direction as they worked on a revised budget.

"This has been an unprecedented year of state legislative action drastically impacting our community," Carpenter said. "We remain committed to partnering with you in tackling the challenging conversations as we look to how to balance the needs of our schools and community."

He said the board would continue to advocate for structural change at the state level to create sustainable education funding. The board planned to meet on April 11 to begin the process of revising the budget and determining when a second vote would take place.

Revotes mean deep cuts and teachers' jobs are on the line

In the meantime, school districts that are holding revotes and have yet to get approval from residents for a budget are sending out notices to teachers and staff about the possibility of their jobs going away. The RIF − reduction in force − notices are contractually obligated to go out to members of the teachers union by April 9.

Both South Burlington and the Champlain Valley School District have sent out notices, and in CVSD's case around 20% of the faculty received RIF notices. Superintendent Rene Sanchez explained in a letter to families that if the budget isn't approved by July 1, the district would have an amount equal to 87% of the current year's budget to work from, necessitating a significant reduction in staff. If, however, the budget passes on April 16, then many of the teachers and staff who received a RIF notice would likely keep their jobs.

"After the first vote, we heard frequently that the 'No' votes intended to send a message to Montpelier," Sanchez said. He noted about two-thirds of the 5.8% increase in education spending in CVSD was due to negotiated salaries and healthcare so the district had to cut in other areas.

"Should the legislature not change the educational finance system or find other methods to relieve districts and their taxpayers, this will be our first of five years in a difficult budget environment," he said.

Sanchez, who has announced his departure as superintendent at the end of the school year, said the district would need to find "efficiencies" to balance students' and taxpayers' needs.

Where Chittenden County school district budget votes stand

Here's where public school district budget votes stand in Chittenden County as of April 12:

• Burlington School District − passed
• Champlain Valley School District − failed; revote on April 16
• Colchester School District − passed
• Essex Westford School District − failed; revote to be determined
• Milton Town School District − failed; revote on April 16
• Mount Mansfield Unified Union School District − passed
• South Burlington School District − failed twice; revote to be determined
• Winooski School District − passed

Contact reporter April Barton at abarton@freepressmedia.com or 802-660-1854. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @aprildbarton.