Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)

The Board is committed to ensuring that our budget provides our schools with the resources they need to serve the students we have, in our current schools. The Board is committed to a budget that ensures our district will:

• Support our 3 Pillars: Academic Achievement, Safe & Health Schools, Humanity & Justice
• Continue to development its multi-layered system of supports for all students
• Support accelerated growth for students from historically marginalized identities
• Support investments in school security
• Consider configuration changes that realize program quality improvements
• Frame budget decisions around Education Quality Standards, Equitable Distribution of Resources and Student Need

The local education spending increase from the FY24 budget is 7.83%. This represents a decrease from the budget that did not pass on Town Meeting Day, which represented a 16.14% education spending increase. The Washington Central Unified Union School District is committed to supporting all students. This budget represents our very best effort at continuing to provide the high-quality education that taxpayers expect from WCUUSD.

Factors contributing to the budget increase include:

• Statewide and national inflationary costs

• The loss of federal funding from the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Negotiated salaries

• A 16% increase in the cost of health insurance (Note: health insurance for school employees is negotiated at the state level, not the district level. It is not something the Board has the power to change)

The budget we are presenting to our taxpayers has been reduced by $2,881,485, which includes $2.1 million reduced since the Town Meeting Day budget vote. That includes the following changes:

Administration was asked to bring a budget to the Board with a lower education spending increase than the budget that failed on Town Meeting Day. Specifically, they asked administrators to bring spending budgets at 6%, 8% and 10% of net education spending that remained aligned with the Budget goals they set at the beginning of the year.

Administration reviewed all functional budget areas and focused on ensuring that all of our instructional resources remain within Vermont’s Education Quality Standards. Because we operate significantly fewer classrooms than in the past, we were able to recommend reductions that maintain service agreements for students.

The reductions are related to enrollment decline in our schools. We have common agreements for the provision of music, art, PE and library/media. All of our elementary school students will continue to receive the following services within this budget:

Music: 45 minutes/week

Art: 45 minutes/week

PE: 2, 45-minute sessions/week

Library/Media: 45 minutes/week

Our school district Articles of Agreement (which were adopted when Washington Central consolidated in 2019) requires that any decision to close a school must be approved by the voters in the impacted town. Therefore, we would not be able to vote in time to impact the FY25 budget.

The Board also understands the how complex it is to discuss the closure of schools. They take this work very seriously and feel it is important to be thoughtful in its approach in order to deeply engage the community. They want to get this right, rather than move quickly.

Property tax rates are based not on the budget increase but on the increase in the “cost per weighted pupil.” Because we have a state-wide education finance system, our tax rate is also based on statewide education spending increases.

Local tax rates are also influenced by the CLA or Common Level of Appraisal. The CLA adjusts the locally assessed property values to the estimated fair market value. The CLA ensures that each Vermont town is treated equally and uniformly, regardless of when they last appraised. The CLA is not determined by the school district.

Vermont has a statewide school funding system. It is impacted by all school spending across the state. The 30 failed budgets (from Town Meeting Day votes) across Vermont are being reworked and lowered, in addition to those that were postponed and revised. Those changes will have a positive impact on WCUUSD’s property tax rate. At this time, we don’t know specifics about those changes. Therefore, the projected percentage changes to property taxes, which vary by town, are estimates.

Here are additional resources from the state:

Education Tax Rate FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions About Pupil Weights in Vermont's Education Funding Formula and Act 127 (2022) Changes

Households with income less than $128,000 may be eligible for a property tax credit; about two-thirds of Vermont households receive this credit. In addition, households with with income less than $47,000 are eligible for additional credits. You can find information about your eligibility for credits here: Property Tax Credit Claim

The other articles that were on the ballot for Town Meeting Day’s vote all passed. Voters will only see the one budget article on the May 7 ballot.

We will hold a Budget Informational Meeting on April 17 at 6:15 pm at U-32 Middle-High School. Please join us either in person or remotely. For more information please visit our Board Resource Page.

In addition, Board members are holding informational sessions in each town on May 1st. Join your Board members for an information conversation:

• Berlin Elementary School: 6:30pm
• Calais Elementary School: 6:30pm
• Doty Memorial School: 6:30pm
• East Montpelier Elementary School: 6:30pm
• Rumney Memorial School: 6:30pm

Please look for the budget mailing toward the end of the month.

If our budget does not pass on May 7th, the Board will try to hold another budget vote. If we do not have a passed budget by July 1, 2024, Vermont law allows a school district to begin the new year operating on a budget that is 87% of the current year's budget. This would mean operating on a budget that would require just under $10 million in reductions.