2006 Adoption Note.

1995 Pawlet and Rupert voted yes to the following article and final report:

Shall Pawlet/Rupert School District join with the Rupert/Pawlet School District for the purpose of forming a Union Elementary School District.

The districts necessary for the establishment of the proposed union elementary school are the School Districts of the Town of Pawlet and the Town of Rupert.

There are no additional school districts the committee considers advisable to be included in the proposed union.

The union elementary school district shall be established for the class levels K-6, and as permitted or required by law, Pre-Kindergarten education.

The proposed location for the union elementary school will be in either the Town of Pawlet or the Town of Rupert. The estimated cost for building the union school is $2,750,000.

Current contracts for transportation shall be completed by the member districts. On completion of these contracts, the union elementary school district may provide transportation in accordance with 16 V.S.A. § 1222 or other statutory requirements concerning transportation of students.

Initially, the curriculum will follow the combined curricula of the Rupert and Pawlet Districts Schools which meet the requirements of the Vermont State Statutes and, in addition, shall meet any requirements that shall be established by the union district school board.

All collective bargaining agreements of the member school districts negotiated prior to the formation of the union elementary school district shall be honored by the union elementary school district until the earlier of either (a) or (b) below:

(a) The union elementary school district board and staff organizations negotiate new agreements for the union elementary school district.

(b) The term of the agreement(s) expires. In the absence of a specific end date, the end date is defined as the end of the fiscal year in which the Union School opens.

The union elementary school district shall assume all the member school districts' assets and liabilities acquired or incurred in the planning or construction of the new union school. All other member school districts' assets or liabilities acquired or incurred prior to the formation of the union elementary school district, except as otherwise set forth in these Articles of Agreement, shall remain the assets and liabilities of the member school districts.

The contents of the Pawlet School District and the Rupert School District shall be transferred to the new union elementary school district. Any items not required by the new union school shall remain the property of the original district owner. The land and structures of the Rupert and Pawlet School districts shall remain the property of the original district owner.

Capital, operating, and General Mainstream Special Education costs of the union elementary school district, after deduction of tuition receipts, will be shared between the member districts based on the average daily attendance at the union school of pupils who are residents of the member districts for the first 40 days of the prior school year of which school was in session.

The General Mainstream Special Education Costs shall include the cost for learning specialists, speech and language pathologists, and general teacher assistants.

Additional services for individual special education students will be billed back to the district of residency. These services shall include, but not be limited to, individual teacher assistants, counseling, occupational therapy, physical therapy, specialized equipment, and specialized transportation.

The school directors shall be structured as to reflect the total population of each member town as defined by the US Census data taken every ten years. The union elementary school district shall have a seven person governing board.

According to the 1990 US Census population statistics, there are 1,314 people in Pawlet and 654 people in Rupert. Each member district shall have one board member for each 281 residents.

The 2000 US Census will be used to adjust the make up of the board for the election following the tenth anniversary of the vote to establish the union. This adjustment will continue in the same manner every ten years thereafter.

Union School Directors shall be elected by the registered voters of the member district which they represent in accordance with the provisions of 16 V.S.A. § 706e.

Annually, one member of the school board will be elected chairperson by the board. The chairperson shall be a voting member of the board.

The initial members of the new union district school board shall be elected in accordance with the provisions of 16 V.S.A. §§ 706e and 706f (Article II). The terms of office of directors shall follow guidelines set forth in § 706b(10) of the Vermont State Statutes. Initially, the terms of the school directors shall be as follows:

Subsequently, all directors will be annually elected to three year terms in accordance with 16 V.S.A. §§ 706b(10) and 706m.