2006 Adoption Note.
1970 Topsham and Corinth voted yes on the following:
ARTICLE 1: Shall the Town School District of Topsham/Corinth which the State Board of Education has found necessary to include in the proposed Union School District, join with the School District of Corinth/Topsham, which the State Board of Education has found necessary to include in the proposed Union School District for the purpose of forming a Union School District as provided in Title 16, Vermont Statutes Annotated, upon the following conditions and agreements:
(a) Class of schools. The Union School District shall be a kindergarten through grade twelve Union District. The Union School District shall operate and manage a kindergarten through grade eight school if the voters in each town approve a bond issue of sufficient size to cover the cost of construction of such a school. Otherwise the Union School District would operate a kindergarten through grade six school in such new building as the voters in each town might authorize.
(b) Board of School Directors. One School Director shall be elected from each town with an additional School Director elected from each town for every one hundred pupils or fractional part thereof determined as of October 1st each year.
(c) Apportionment of Expenses. Each Town School District shall share in the capital and operating expenses of the Union as nearly as possible in that proportion which the average daily membership of the Town School District bears to the total average daily memberships of all town districts included in the Union. The calculation will be determined according to the average daily membership as of October 1st of each operating year.
(d) Assumption of Debts and Ownership of School Property. The Union School District shall not assume any existing indebtedness of either Town School District. Existing school buildings shall not be acquired by the Union School District. The Corinth Town School District shall pay the Topsham Town School District its proportionate share of the cost of the school site previously purchased by the Topsham Town School District from Eugene D. Eastman and wife according to the cost sharing formula set forth above with the average daily membership figured as of October 1, 1969 for the purpose of determining the proportionate share of each town district.
(e) Final Report. The provisions of the final report approved by the State Board of Education on the 24th day of February, 1970, which is on file in the Town Clerk's Office in the Towns of Topsham and Corinth, shall govern the Union District.
Final Report
The agreement recommended by the Planning Committee includes the following:
1. That the Towns of Corinth and Topsham are necessary for the establishment of the proposed unions.
2. That no additional school districts were considered by the Committee to be included in the proposed Union.
3. That a K-12 Union School District be voted. Furthermore, that the Union School District would operate a K-8 school if the voters in each town approved a bond issue sufficient to cover the cost. Otherwise the Union School District would operate a K-6 school in a new building which will be voted on a future date. In the event only a K-6 school building is authorized by the voters, pupils in Grades 7 through 12 will be educated in neighboring communities on a tuition basis.
4. That the cost of any new school building would be determined by the class of school voted by the citizens in each town, be it K through 6 or K through 8.
Any new school authorized by the voters will be located on a site previously purchased by the Town of Topsham for this purpose.
5. That the Union School District will enter into contractual arrangements with private transportation companies to provide transportation for the children attending the class of schools approved by the Board.
That the Planning Committee recommends maintaining a teacher-pupil ratio of one to twenty-three and, furthermore, that the necessary supporting staff members be included to provide instruction in music, art, physical education, and elementary guidance.
The Planning Committee's curriculum report is attached.
6. That the Union District Board of Education not assume any existing debt in either town. At this time no bonded indebtedness exists in either town school District.
7. That the existing school buildings (two in Corinth and three in Topsham) would not be acquired by the Union District Board.
That the Town of Corinth would pay the Town of Topsham its proportionate share of the cost of the school site previously alluded to in point No. 4 according to the cost sharing formula recommended by the committee in point No. 8 below. The Average Daily Membership figure of October 1, 1969 would determine the proportionate cost per town.
8. That each school District shall share in the capital and operating expenses of the union as nearly as possible in that proportion which the A.D.M. of the District bears to the total A.D.M. of each town in the Union. The calculation will be determined according to the A.D.M. figure of October 1 of each operating year.
9. That the method of proportioning school Director representation which each proposed member district shall have on the Union School Board will be as follows:
One school Director shall be elected from each town for a total of two. One additional school Director shall be elected from each town for every 100 pupils or fractional part thereof. This formula provides for an initial Union School Board of six members, three from each town.
10. The term of Office of Directors initially elected shall be arranged so that one-third expire on July first following the second annual meeting, one-third on July first following the third annual meeting and one-third on July first following the fourth annual meeting, or as near to that proportion as possible.
11. That the Union proposal will be submitted to the voters in each town as soon as possible and in conformance with the Statutes.
CORINTH-TOPSHAM CURRICULUM COMMITTEE REPORT
I.A. Corinth-Topsham curriculum would be planned around a Continuous Progress Program covering a chronological age equivalent to K-8 traditional elementary program.
B. The primary (K-3) and intermediate (4-8) sections would be divided into skill levels.
C. It will be necessary to develop:
1. Clearly written materials that present a learning skills sequence that is operationally defined. These documents or "skills curricula" would carefully define the skills to be acquired; describe the method or methods for establishing the necessary learning sequence; and indicate the optimum materials, equipment, etc., to accomplish the skill acquisition.
2. A carefully thought out set of diagnostic instruments to determine where a child is in relation to the established skills curriculum.
3. A learning inventory or profile to assess a child's progress and position in skill acquisition.
4. An organizational framework that encourages flexible scheduling and allows each child to work at his optimum level of efficiency.
D.1. The children will be grouped only on the basis of their need for particular skill development and acquisition.
2. Each child will be able to move freely within either the primary or intermediate level.
3. Enriched materials will be provided for those children who move rapidly through a learning skills sequence but are not yet ready to move from the primary to the intermediate level. Reinforcement material would be provided for those children who would be initially placed downward or who move more slowly through the skills sequence.
4. The seventh and eighth grades will be departmentalized to a degree to fully utilize their expanded programs in home economics, industrial arts and physical education.
The emphasis in the curricula will be on the acquisition of skill in the reading and math areas. The other major subjects to be covered extensively in the K-8 program will be used as vehicles for further reinforcement in the reading-math skills sequence. The basic orientation of this program considers the acquisition of basic skills essential for pupil progress. Physical education and health programs will be part of the curriculum especially on the intermediate level. A music-art combination room will be provided. To implement this curriculum we need a flexible building providing a library resource center, math-science facilities, physical education, art, music, guidance, health, home economics and industrial arts.
The implementation of this curriculum will be accomplished through a cooperative effort on the part of the principal, staff and local community working within the guidelines of the Vermont design.