The Boards Corner
Updates from the CCS and CVU School Boards on Budget Challenges, Consolidation and Teacher Negotiations Moving Forward
by Lynne Jaunich and Lorna Jimerson
September 23, 2010, pages 5 & 6.....

Update from CCS
by Lynne Jaunich

The 2010-2011 school year is off and running! Just as the seasons change, there are many changes happening at CCS this year. The board is very happy to welcome the strong team of co-principals Greg Marino (preK-4) and Audrey Boutagh (5-8). We look forward to their educational leadership as we continuously look to make CCS the most effective and efficient school for our children and community.
If you have driven past the school recently, you may have noticed the absence of the 1949 building. Its demolition was completed this summer, and work is well underway to replace it with a new building. As of today, the project is on budget and on schedule for a June 2011 completion.
The board is committed to keeping the community informed about the numerous topics that will require significant discussion and action this year. All school board meeting dates, times and agendas are posted on our website, ccsvt.us/board. In general, the board meets the 3rd Tuesday of each month. You will also find our work plan for the year on the website. The majority of our work this year consists of continued development of benchmarks for our students, policy updates, budget preparation and district mergers. Our work developing a budget will be influenced by Act 146, known as “Challenges for Change.” Act 153, titled “Voluntary School District Merger, Virtual Merger, and Supervisory Union Duties,” suggests that the CCS board discuss the benefits and drawbacks of merged school districts.
In order to maximize the community’s opportunity to provide input on the FY12 budget during its development, the board has scheduled two community forums in addition to regular budget meetings. Please save the dates of October 26 and November 11 at 7 p.m. The goal of these forums is to discuss the educational priorities of the Charlotte community and what impact Act 146 may have on those priorities. In addition, the board will be circulating a “Budget Survey” through The Charlotte News to gather further community input.
Act 153 states that “on or before December 1, 2010, the board of each supervisory union in the state shall discuss, and the board of every school district may discuss, whether it wishes to explore the merger of districts within the supervisory union or with one or more districts outside of the supervisory union, or both under the terms of this act.” The CCS board is holding a special board meeting on October 13, 2010, at 7 p.m. at CVU to discuss whether it will proceed with the exploration of the merger of districts. It should be clarified that this is not a discussion to merge with another district. Rather, the discussion will be focused on whether we should go through the process of a comprehensive analysis to look at the results of such a merger.
As we continue to strive to provide Charlotte students with the best possible education at a cost that does not unduly burden taxpayers, we appreciate your continuing support of our work. As always, you can contact the entire school board at schoolboard@ccsvt.us or any of us individually at the numbers listed below.

Lynne Jaunich, Chair, 425-6223
Sue Thibault, Vice-Chair, 985-5096
Kristin Wright, Clerk, 425-5105
Clyde Baldwin, 425-3366
Daniel Luce, 425-7700
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Challenges & Changes & Concerns
by Lorna Jimerson, CVU Board Member

It is almost budget season again, and the CVU School Board is beginning to frame the parameters that will inform the 2011-2012 budget.
As usual, this lengthy and difficult task begins with making certain assumptions about how much the current program would cost if nothing changed. This so-called “baseline” budget forms a starting point for the board’s discussions.
The baseline budget is really only a very broad-stroke estimation. There is always a huge list of uncertainties, especially this early in the discussions. We need to estimate fuel costs for 16 months from now, health insurance premiums, individual towns’ Common Level of Appraisal, costs of necessary special education services, technical schools’ tuition and, of course, teacher salaries (which are presently being negotiated). The costs of all these items fluctuate (typically increase) annually.
This year, however, we have another problem to consider, even before we open up the spreadsheets – the requirements under Act 146 known as the Challenge for Change. This legislation, passed last session as a response to the harsh economic environment, calls for “voluntary” spending reductions for every district in Vermont. The ultimate goal is to shave off $23 million from the state’s collective spending on K-12 education.
During the summer, the Department of Education released budget reduction targets for each district. CVU’s recommended budget reduction for FY 2012 is over $360,000. The CVU board is expected to submit a 2011-2012 budget that is, at least, $360,000 LESS than the budget passed last March. And given the annual inflation (perhaps 1˝-2%), and expected increases in health care, fuel and utilities, lowering our budget’s final line by $360,000 will actually necessitate a much larger cut.
So what does this mean for CVU? The board hasn’t yet had explicit conversations about the implications of Act 146, but we know this will be an extremely difficult budget process. The $360,000+ budget reduction will not be found under the sofa cushions in CVU. We already looked there. Last year the board already reduced spending for items such as supplies, personnel and transportation in order to keep our budget increase to 1.5%. We anticipate that we will need to dig much deeper to meet Act 146 targets. It is far too early to suggest how we will do this, but I anticipate that not all the programs currently offered at CVU will survive this legislation.
Our real challenge, then, is how do we maintain the high quality of education currently occurring at CVU while meeting the requirements of Act 146?
We need and value your input about this, and urge community members to get involved.
How can you do this?
• First, learn about Act 146. A good source of information is on the Vermont School Boards Association website vtvsba.org/leg2010part3.html.
• Next, if you have concerns about the implications of Act 146, please let our legislators know. This is important feedback.
• Also consider attending the CVU Board meetings. The budget is up for discussion on November 15, November 29, December 13 and January 3.
• Lastly, contemplate being a budget buddy. (Dick Hess has done this for years.) We have room for two buddies per town at the board table. Contact Marilyn Richardson (425-2391) or Lorna Jimerson (425-2497) if you are interested or have questions.
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Teacher Negotiations Moving Forward

The Chittenden South Supervisory Union Board Negotiation Team announced that the parties will return to the table on September 28, 2010. This is a rescheduling of a meeting between the two parties originally set for September 14 that was cancelled by the teachers due to the issues surrounding a possible strike in Winooski.
A press release from the CSSU boards outlined the objectives of the Board Team as follows:
“Throughout this process the Board Team has had one objective: to reach an agreement with the teachers for a new contract that is both fiscally responsible and fair to all Parties given the current economic environment. The Boards are proud of their schools and acknowledge the efforts made by our teachers and all school community members to provide the best learning environment possible to our students. However, the Board Team also believes that it is the Boards’ responsibility to provide this environment in a manner that is respectful of the needs of taxpayers in these challenging economic times.
“The difficulties presented by the negotiation process itself have always existed but have never been more apparent than right now. The Board Team finds itself challenged to operate and negotiate under a process that provides disincentives to settlement and rewards one party for drawing out the process. When a contract expires prior to the time a new agreement is negotiated, the Parties are required to maintain the “status quo” i.e., terms and conditions of employment cannot be changed. But the Vermont Labor Board has ruled that, absent a specific provision in the contract, teachers are entitled to advance a ‘step’ on the salary schedule until negotiations are final, and are entitled to keep the additional money they receive even if the final settlement does not call for ‘step’ movement. The Boards do not believe that this is a fair result: ‘status quo’ should mean that nothing changes until agreement is reached between the Parties. Neither side should benefit from delaying negotiations or failing to reach agreement. It is a goal of the Boards to negotiate contract language which would eliminate automatic step movement while the Parties continue to negotiate a successor agreement.
“The Board Team respects the fact that teachers and Boards agreed to salary schedules that allow for a natural and expected progression in salary based on experience and education levels. The Boards are not looking to eliminate salary schedules or steps in general. Put simply, the Boards feel that it is unfair for teachers, or any public employees, to receive raises which have not been negotiated with the Boards.
“CSSU teachers who are eligible for ‘step’ movement have already begun to receive a pay increase for the coming year, notwithstanding that the position of the Boards to date has been a proposed salary freeze for 2010-2011. The Board Team has been trying to schedule meeting dates with the teachers, both prior to and following receipt of the Fact Finding Report on August 18. A review of the negotiations timetable may be helpful to understand the difficulties inherent in the process. A complete timeline regarding the negotiations process and the Fact Finding Report can be found under Teacher Negotiations in the Headlines section at cssu.org.
“The Board Team remains hopeful that the Parties will find a negotiated solution to the impasse. In the event a successor agreement is not reached, the Boards have a legal right to impose a one-year contract and the teachers have the right to strike. The Board Team hopes to avoid either of those options. Nevertheless, these are difficult times and the Boards remain committed to a settlement which is in the best interest of the CSSU communities and their schools.”
-nw