A.                Summary

Elementary and Secondary Education

There are five supervisory districts serving Addison Region municipalities: Addison Northwest, Addison Northeast, Addison Central, Addison-Rutland and Rutland Northeast. There are 18 elementary schools in the Addison Region. Orwell's school is K-8; the rest of the region's elementary schools are K-6. Goshen sends its students to the Neshobe School in Brandon. Panton and Waltham send their students to the Vergennes Elementary School. Seventh and eighth graders from Bridport, Cornwall, Middlebury, Ripton, Salisbury, Shoreham and Weybridge attend the Middlebury Union Middle School.

 

There are five public high schools that serve students from the Addison Region: Middlebury Senior High School, Mount Abraham High School, Vergennes High School, Otter Valley High School and Fair Haven High School. The Middlebury High School serves grades 9 though 12, while the others include grades 7 through 12.

 

The region's high school students, as well as adults seeking continuing education, can attend the Patricia A. Hannaford Career Center (HCC) in Middlebury. In 2004, voters in the region's three main supervisory districts approved a separate regional technical school district with its own board of directors to run the center and set curriculum and budgets. HCC provides educational programs to secondary and adult students in agriculture, arts and humanities, business and services, and technology.

 

Enrollment at most elementary schools increased during the early 1990s. However, during the later part of the decade, enrollment in many schools leveled off or declined. That trend is expected to continue in the near future as the number of preschool-age children continues to decline. Given the region's current demographic and housing trends school enrollments will not return to the peak figures of the early 1990s in the near future.

 

However, changes in economic and housing conditions could quickly reverse the declining enrollments. Most of the region's elementary schools are small. Small changes in the number of students can have a large impact on the amount of staff and the size of the facilities needed. Issues related to enrollment and building capacity in the region's high schools are similar to those at the elementary level. However since the region's high schools serve union districts with larger combined student populations, they are better insulated against sudden shifts in enrollments than the smaller elementary schools.

Post Secondary Educational Facilities

Middlebury College provides undergraduate and graduate level education to approximately 2,350 students from around the world. The college is a private, co-educational, residential, four-year, liberal arts institution. Middlebury College offers around 40 undergraduate programs, as well as four summer programs. The college has a 500-acre main campus in Middlebury and a large summer campus in Ripton.

 

The Community College of Vermont (CCV) is an accredited two-year college and part of the Vermont State College system. CCV has a site in Middlebury.   

Education Funding

Providing and paying for public education has become a central consideration for many Addison Region residents when considering planning for the future of their communities. Public perception in the region is that education costs are continuing to rise at rates exceeding what taxpayers can afford. One solution some property owners in the region see to this problem is to reduce local school enrollments or at least prevent them from rising. This sentiment often forms part of the reasoning for those who are opposed to any further growth or development in their community. However, as student enrollments at schools in the region have started to decline, others are beginning to argue that smaller numbers of students may actually lead to increases in local education expenditures.

 

B.                Goals and Objectives

The Addison County Regional Planning Commission establishes the follow­ing goals and objectives for the Addison Region through this plan.

Goal A.

To have the facilities, programs and staff needed to provide high quality and cost-effective public education to the region's residents.

To meet this goal, it is our objective:

a.       To continue to improve the quality of the region's education system.

b.       To attract and retain effective, experienced educators in all the region's schools.

c.       To support the viability of local schools while ensuring an affordable education system.

d.       For the region's public education system to monitor and prepare for changes in population and demographics to ensure provision of adequate facilities and staffing in manner that will be affordable to taxpayers.

e.       To ensure continued local representation on school boards for all the region's municipalities.

Goal B.

To have a range of educational institutions and programs available to support life-long learning for the region's residents.

To meet this goal, it is our objective:

a.       To have access to a broad range of education opportunities including early childhood, vocation, technical and continuing education within the region.

b.       For distance learning facilities and technology to support diverse education opportunities for Addison Region residents.

c.       To continue to have access to higher education at times and in locations convenient to the region's adult students.

d.       For a basic education curriculum to continue to be available to meet the needs of the regions adults including literacy, GED and adult basic education (ABE) programs.

e.       For programs to be available to assist new residents of the region, temporary workers and their children with learning the basic skills needed to fully participate in the region's education, economic and social systems, including english as a second language (ESL) programs.

Goal C.

To design and operate public school facilities throughout the Addison Region so that they can continue to serve as a hub of community life, providing a wide variety of services to area residents.

To meet this goal, it is our objective:

a.       For the region's public schools to be utilized during non-school hours to provide space for adult education, community meeting, recreation and similar activities.

b.       To promote community involvement in and use of local school buildings and programs.

c.       To foster connections between local schools and their communities.

d.       To promote programs that increase student participation in their communities.

e.       To encourage the location of new educational facilities within or in close proximity to village centers so as to maximize their accessibility and contribute to the vitality of the region's communities.

f.        To encourage citizen participation in local school decision-making processes.

C.                Recommended Actions

The Addison County Regional Planning Commission recommends that the following actions be incorporated into its annual work plans, as issues or opportunities arise, to move towards accomplishing the objectives and meeting the goals outlined above.

 

1.                  Maintain statistical information on the region's population and schools to be incorporated into local plans, to support grant applications, to aid schools in projecting enrollment and anticipating changes, and for similar purposes.

2.                  Assist local schools with data collection and support in grant writing.

3.                  Provide information in support of attracting educators to the region.

4.                  Continue to assist local schools with GIS services as needed.

5.                  Seek an opportunity to develop a GIS demonstration program for the region's elementary and/or secondary schools.

6.                  Seek funding and partners to develop planning- and zoning-related programs that can be incorporated into local elementary and secondary school curriculum

7.                   Continue to partner with educational institutions by offering internship and similar opportunities to students.

D.                Documentation and Analysis

Elementary and Secondary Education

a.      Supervisory Districts

There are five supervisory districts serving Addison Region municipalities: Addison Northwest, Addison Northeast, Addison Central, Addison-Rutland and Rutland Northeast. The first three districts are located entirely with in the Addison Region and serve only the region's municipalities. The remaining two districts are located partly in the Addison Region and serve municipalities both in and out of the region.

b.      Public Elementary and Middle Schools

There are 18 elementary schools in the Addison Region. Orwell's school is K-8; the rest of the region's elementary schools are K-6. Goshen sends its students to the Neshobe School in Brandon. Panton and Waltham send their students to the Vergennes Elementary School. Seventh and eighth graders from Bridport, Cornwall, Middlebury, Ripton, Salisbury, Shoreham and Weybridge attend the Middlebury Union Middle School.

 

Enrollment at most elementary schools increased during the early 1990s. However, during the later part of the decade, enrollment in many schools leveled off or declined. That trend is expected to continue in the near future as the number of preschool-age children continues to decline. This general trend was evident in all the region's schools, but to varying degrees. Only seven of the region's 20 elementary schools had more students in 2002 than in 1990 and even these schools are experiencing declining enrollments.

 

Given the region's current demographic and housing trends school enrollments will not return to the peak figures of the early 1990s in the near future. The largest segment of the region's population has passed out of their childbearing years. Many younger people are waiting longer to start having children. In addition, housing trends in the region have limited the availability of the smaller, more affordable homes usually bought by younger, first-time homebuyers who might be preparing to start families.

 

However, changes in economic and housing conditions could quickly reverse the declining enrollments. Most of the region's elementary schools are small. With the exception of Bristol, Middlebury and Vergennes, these schools average a total of less than 125 students in grades K-6. Small changes in the number of students can have a large impact on the amount of staff and the size of the facilities needed.

 

Over the past decade the capacity of the region's school buildings has also declined due to a combination of regulatory requirements and reorganization of space in the buildings. So it is likely that if school enrollments started increasing, some school buildings would no longer have the space needed to serve the number of students they did historically. 

c.       Public Secondary Schools

There are five public high schools that serve students from the Addison Region: Middlebury Senior High School, Mount Abraham High School, Vergennes High School, Otter Valley High School and Fair Haven High School. The Middlebury High School serves grades 9 though 12, while the others include grades 7 through 12. The first three are located in the region and the last two are outside of the region.

 

Enrollment in the region's high schools increased slightly overall during the 1990s. The peak numbers of elementary students seen in the early 1990s are now moving through the region's high schools. Once those large classes graduate, high school enrollments are expected to decline. Issues related to enrollment and building capacity in the region's high schools are similar to those at the elementary level. However since the region's high schools serve union districts with larger combined student populations, they are better insulated against sudden shifts in enrollments than the smaller elementary schools. 

d.      Vocational and Technical Schools

The region's high school students, as well as adults seeking continuing education, can attend the Patricia A. Hannaford Career Center (HCC) in Middlebury. HCC serves some students from outside the region. Additionally, adults and students in the Addison Region can enroll in programs at other vocational-technical schools in the state. In 2004, voters in the region's three main supervisory districts approved a separate regional technical school district with its own board of directors to run the center and set curriculum and budgets.

 

HCC provides educational programs to secondary and adult students in agriculture, arts and humanities, business and services, and technology. It is located in the Middlebury High School complex. HCC prepares students for college and careers in a wide range of fields including: agriculture and natural resources, video technology, building trades, information technology, pre-engineering, accounting, law enforcement and automotive technology.

 

Currently, HCC is working with the Vermont Technical College to improve and enlarge its agriculture workforce program. HCC is the only vocational center in the state with an agriculture academy. Additional space is needed for new greenhouses and livestock facilities, as well as an automotive and a power technologies laboratory where students can work on farm and other large equipment. HCC has explored several options including expansions at its existing site and at other locations in Middlebury. Currently, HCC is considering moving some of its programs to a new building to be constructed in Middlebury's industrial park. The existing facility at the high school would also be renovated.

 

HCC like other vocational-technical schools faces an ongoing challenge to change perceptions regarding their programs and students. HCC plans to offer associate degrees in some of its programs in conjunction with Vermont Technical College. The center also wants to continue working with the region's high schools to improve the academic quality of its class offerings and further strengthen the links between the schools and the center.

e.      Special Education

In 1975 the federal Education for the Handicapped Act, now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, made access to special education and related services (physical therapy, counseling, transportation, etc.) a federal entitlement for students with disabilities. The law required that these students be offered a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment.

 

After the law was enacted, the number of students identified as having a disability rose steadily, as did the cost of providing special education. This law authorized federal funding to support special education up to 40 percent of the national average cost of providing education for each identified student. However by 1997, federal support for special education had declined to seven percent.

 

Throughout the 1990s, special education costs increased at a greater rate than those of general education in many of the region's schools. In the 02-03 school year, the region's elementary school special education costs averaged just over 10 percent of their total budgets. Between fiscal years 1998 and 2000, Addison Region towns paid on average $67,000 more in special education expenses. During that period, New Haven was the only town that had a decrease in expenditures, while Middlebury's costs rose by nearly $290,000. Special education costs are highly variable based on the number and needs of qualifying students in a given school year, so the impact on the budgets of the region's small schools can be significant.

f.        Private Schools and Home Schooling

There are a number of private schools that provide elementary or secondary education in the Addison Region, including the Aurora School, the Bridge School, the Champlain Valley Christian School, the North Branch School, the Red Cedar School and St. Mary's School.

 

According to the 2000 Census approximately 550 Addison Region students were enrolled in private schools. Additionally, approximately 130 students in the region were home-schooled.

g.      Other Educational Facilities

The Northland Job Corp Center in Vergennes provides vocational education to students aged 16 to 21 who have special needs not met in the public school system. The facility operates on a contract with the U.S. Department of Labor and attracts students from throughout the northeastern U.S. The center enrolls approximately 280 students on its 65-acre state-owned campus.

Post Secondary Educational Facilities

a.      Middlebury College

Middlebury College provides undergraduate and graduate level education to approximately 2,350 students from around the world. The college is a private, co-educational, residential, four-year, liberal arts institution. Middlebury College offers around 40 undergraduate programs, as well as four summer programs. The college has a 500-acre main campus in Middlebury, a large summer campus in Ripton and owns a significant amount of property in Middlebury and other Addison Region communities.

 

Addison Region residents have access to a variety of cultural, educational and recreational activities at Middlebury College. Most scheduled on-campus activities such as lectures, performances and movies are open to the public. Area high school students may enroll in certain classes, provided that there is space, at no charge. Local residents make extensive use of the college's athletic facilities and are also able to use the college's library.

 

The student enrollment at Middlebury College is currently capped at 2,350 students as per an agreement between the college and the town. Through that agreement, the college provides housing for nearly all its students and restricts off-campus housing to 125 or fewer. The college is just completing a ten-year expansion plan that began in 1995 and has a master plan that is regularly reviewed and updated. The Town of Middlebury sees the acquisition of houses and the expansion of the campus into the residential neighborhoods that surrounds it as undesirable. If student enrollment were to be increased beyond the current cap, a new agreement regarding student housing, traffic and parking would need to be reached between the town and the college.

b.      Community College of Vermont

The Community College of Vermont (CCV) is an accredited two-year college and part of the Vermont State College system. CCV has a site in Middlebury that serves over 300 students, a significant percentage of which take courses in the evening. CCV is currently located in downtown Middlebury in the Battell Building, although other facilities such as the Hannaford Career Center and high school are also used.

Education Funding

Providing and paying for public education has become a central consideration for many Addison Region residents when considering planning for the future of their communities. The implications of growth and development on school budgets has become a primary topic when public hearings or votes are held on local plans, zoning regulations and development applications. An examination of the history of school financing in Vermont reveals that this is a 150-year-old debate.

a.      History of Funding Public Education in Vermont[68]

For over 200 years Vermont has had a goal to provide high-quality public education for its children and has been debating how best to pay for it. The Vermont Constitution of 1777 required the following, "A school or schools shall be established in each town, by the legislature, for the convenient instruction of youth, with such salaries to the masters, paid by each town, making proper use of school lands in each town, thereby to enable them to instruct youth at low prices."

 

In 1797 a law was enacted which gave the state the right to create and maintain a school system. This marked the beginning of friction between local communities and the state about textbooks, curriculum, teacher certification, building requirements, length of terms, compulsory attendance, etc. The first State School Fund, established in 1825, raised money with a three percent tax on the grand list of each town and a six percent tax on bank profits and peddlers' licenses. However, the legislature borrowed the entire School Fund to finance the construction of the Capitol Building in 1833.

 

Throughout the 1800s, the pendulum of control over the education system swung back and forth between the towns and the state. For 125 years, Vermont paid for its schools by means of a statewide minimum property tax, which was distributed equally among its towns. The ebb and flow of economic prosperity caused state funding to expand and contract accordingly. Prosperous times tended to foster statewide education reform, but a downturn in the economy generally resulted in reduced state spending.

 

As Vermont's population began to grow rapidly in the 1960s, an equitable means of funding public education again became a hotly debated topic. The 1960s saw a formula that set minimum per-pupil expenditures and a minimum property tax rate that had the state defining each town's property values. In the 1980s and 90s, proponents of education finance reform wanted to reduce dependency on local property taxes because they felt that local taxes created inequalities in spending potential for schools. It was hard, however, for them to believe that they could shift the burden to the state, as the state had traditionally reduced its share of education spending whenever the economy faltered.

 

In early 1997, the Vermont Supreme Court turned its attention to deciding whether the existing funding formula worked for 9-year-old Whiting Elementary School student Amanda Brigham and her counterparts in small, property-poor towns throughout Vermont. Amanda's lawyers argued that such students were not afforded access to the caliber of educational opportunities provided in wealthier towns. The court decided that since the Vermont Constitution guarantees free public education, the state must ensure that equal educational opportunities are provided to all Vermont children.

 

This court case led to a new funding mechanism, The Equal Opportunity Education Act, better known as Act 60. Act 60 reduced the role of local property taxes by implementing a statewide property tax for the first time in 66 years and redistributing the revenues on a per pupil basis by means of a state block grant. Act 60 includes a weighted formula that acknowledges that some students, such as those from low-income families or those speaking English as a second language, require more education funding than others. Another component of Act 60 is the equalized yield, which equalizes the tax rates of every municipality. Therefore each raises the same per-pupil revenue for each penny it increases its tax rate. If a town's tax rate generates more revenue than required by its school spending levels, the excess funds are recaptured into the sharing pool and redistributed throughout the state.

 

In 2003, the Vermont legislature passed Act 68, which contained substantial changes to Act 60. Act 68 repealed the "sharing pool," split the education grand list into homesteads and all other property, taxed homesteads at an adjustable rate, adjusted within each district to correspond to the district's education spending, and taxed nonresidential property at a uniform statewide rate. These changes to the financing system began to take effect with the 2004-05 school year and taxpayers' summer 2004 tax bills.

b.      Paying for Education in the Addison Region

Given the history of education financing, it is unlikely that Act 68 will be the last formula developed to attempt to equitably fund public education in Vermont. Public perception in the region is that education costs are continuing to rise at rates exceeding what taxpayers can afford. One solution some property owners in the region see to this problem is to reduce local school enrollments or at least prevent them from rising. This sentiment often forms part of the reasoning for those who are opposed to any further growth or development in their community. However, as student enrollments at schools in the region have started to decline, others are beginning to argue that smaller numbers of students may actually lead to increases in local education expenditures.

 

Over the past seven years, per pupil costs in the region's schools have increased beyond the rate of inflation, but by varying amounts. Salisbury saw its per student costs at the elementary school rise over $3,600 between the 96-97 and 02-03 school years after adjusting for inflation. While over the same period at Cornwall's elementary school real per pupil costs increased by about $500. The factors influencing these rising costs are numerous and vary between the schools.

 

Given that local schools are the largest single expense to taxpayers throughout the Addison Region, education funding will continue to be central to debate and decisions regarding the future community growth and development.

 

 

   

Endnotes