2006 Adoption Note.
1995 Waterbury and Duxbury voted yes to the following article and final report:
Shall the Town School District of Duxbury/Waterbury which the State Board of Education has found necessary or advisable to include in the proposed union school district, join with the School District of Waterbury/Duxbury, 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 proposed union will operate schools serving students in grades K through 8, but the two districts would remain members of the Harwood Union High School District for grades 9 through 12.
(b) Board of School Directors. The Board of Directors of the proposed union school district shall have five (5) members, three of whom will be Waterbury residents, elected by the Waterbury School District, one of whom will be a Duxbury resident, elected by the Duxbury School District, and one of whom will be a resident of the proposed union, elected at large by both school districts. The term of office of directors initially elected:
Initial election to a one-year term-one Waterbury member
Initial election to a two-year term-one Waterbury member and the at-large member
Initial election to a three-year term-one Waterbury member and the Duxbury member.
(c) Apportionment of Expenses. The allocation of capital and operating expenses of the union among member districts: Capital expenses and operating expenses shall be allocated by the ratio of each school districts' equalized grand list in the prior school year. The intent of this allocation method is to equalize the cost of education to all taxpayers of the union regardless of the school district of residence.
(d) Assumption of Debts and Ownership of School Property. The union school district shall assume the indebtedness of member districts, acquire the school properties of member districts, and pay for them, all as specified in the final report.
(e) Final Report. The provisions of the final report approved by the State Board of Education on the 17th day of May, 1994, which will be on file in the Town Clerk's Office, shall govern the union district.
Final Report
1. The school districts the committee considers necessary to the establishment of the proposed union:
The Waterbury and Duxbury School Districts are necessary to the establishment of the proposed union, for the purpose of serving grades K-8.
2. The additional school districts the committee considers advisable to be included in the proposed union:
There are no additional districts which the committee considers advisable to be included in the proposed union.
3. The class of schools to be operated:
The proposed union will operate schools serving students in grades K through 8, but the two districts would remain members of the Harwood Union High School District for grades 9 through 12.
4. The cost and general location of any proposed new schools to be constructed: K-4 students would, for the foreseeable future, be educated at what is now known as the Waterbury Elementary School.
The proposed union would build a new middle school serving approximately 400 students in grades five through eight. The facility of approximately 62,000 square feet would cost an estimated $5,360,000.00, less anticipated state aid of 50%.
The location of the new middle school will be in Duxbury, as near as is practicable to the Village of Waterbury.
5. The transportation, teaching staff, and curriculum to be provided:
a) Transportation: Transportation services will be provided by the proposed union to the extent called for under a policy developed by the union school board.
b) Teaching Staff: The union board will hire a teaching staff that meets the needs of the students of the union and the requirements of the State of Vermont.
c) Curriculum: The curriculum of the proposed union will meet high standards, and will be appropriate to the needs of the students of the union.
6. The indebtedness of proposed member districts which the union shall assume:
At the time the union is formed, the union shall assume the outstanding amount of the Waterbury School District debt for recent accessibility modifications made to the Waterbury Elementary School. (As of April 1, 1994: $89,340.00)
7. The specific properties of proposed member districts which the union is to acquire, their valuation, and how the union shall pay for them:
The union shall acquire the contents of the current Waterbury Elementary School at no cost.
The union shall acquire the contents of the current Duxbury Elementary School at no cost.
The union shall acquire land suitable for the new middle school, located in Duxbury, at no cost.
The union shall acquire from the Waterbury School District what is currently known as the Waterbury Elementary School and the lot of land on which it stands, owned by the school district and located within the area bound by Stowe Street, High Street, Armory Drive, and Hillcrest Terrace. The cost of this acquisition shall be $644,000.00, and it shall be borne by the Duxbury School District.
If the communities' respective interests in any union assets need to be determined at any given time, they shall be determined by the ratio of each school district's equalized grand list in the prior school year.
8. The allocation of capital and operating expenses of the union among member districts:
Capital expenses and operating expenses shall be allocated by the ratio of each school district's equalized grand list in the prior school year. The intent of this allocation method is to equalize the cost of education to all taxpayers of the union regardless of the school district of residence.
9. The method of apportioning the representation which each proposed member district shall have on the union school board:
The Board of Directors of the proposed union school district shall have five members, three of whom will be Waterbury residents, elected by the Waterbury School District, one of whom will be a Duxbury resident, elected by the Duxbury School District, and one of whom will be a resident of the proposed union, elected at large by both school districts. The at-large board member will be elected by Australian ballot at each school district's annual meeting. For the purpose of election of the at-large member, the Waterbury Town Clerk will act as the clerk of the union district.
10. The term of office of directors initially elected:
Initial election to a one-year term: One Waterbury member.
Initial election to a two-year term: One Waterbury member.
The at-large member.
Initial election to a three-year term: One Waterbury member.
The Duxbury member.
11. The date on which the union proposal will be submitted to the voters:
The proposal will be submitted to the voters on June 16, 1994.
12. Any other matters which the committee considers pertinent:
Continued existence of the union is contingent upon approval by voters of the withdrawal of Waterbury and Duxbury seventh and eighth graders from Harwood Union High School, and approval by voters of construction and financing of a new middle school to serve students of the proposed union.
The annual budget of the union shall be voted by Australian ballot at the member school district's annual meeting. The ballots shall be commingled.