Current Realities facing HUUSD Schools��Slides by Caitlin Lovegrove�Moretown Representative on the HUUSD School Board

What we will cover in this presentation

• Where we currently stand with the school budget
• Where we see the future of the school budget

Our Goals:

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• To ensure all voters have an informed choice when they vote on the school budget this year
• To familiarize voters with the broader challenges facing the long-term viability of our school district
• To give voters the opportunity to collaborate on potential solutions, knowing the full facts

HUUSD Enrollment has been on a downward trajectory for the past 11 years

If we continue the birth population trajectory, we can estimate enrollment to be�~ 1,450 in 5 years

Projections

Source: Vermont Department of Health, Vital Statistics Annual Reports, HUUSD Annual Reports, and NESDEC’s District Projections

Opinions those of individual school board members. These do not reflect the views of the HUUSD Administration

In total, our district has declined by 8% in the last 10 years.

Source: HUUSD Annual Reports�Opinions those of individual school board members. These do not reflect the views of the HUUSD Administration

And yet, our costs keep going up

Average

Growth of 4.3%

Per Year Over the last 7 years

Source: HUUSD Annual Reports

Opinions those of individual school board members. These do not reflect the views of the HUUSD Administration

Why are costs increasing if enrollment is declining?

What’s in the Budget?

27% covers all other costs, including:

73% of our costs are for personnel and benefits

12% of our costs are for Health Insurance

Source: Budget breakdown from HUUSD Director of Finance and Operations

Opinions those of individual school board members. These do not reflect the views of the HUUSD Administration

So why the increase? Much of this is out of our control:

Other Costs are also rising, including�Special Education Mandates, Transportation, and Building Costs

+71%

+10%

+32%

Source: (left) Budget breakdown from HUUSD Director of Finance and Operations, (right) HUUSD Annual Reports

Opinions those of individual school board members. These do not reflect the views of the HUUSD Administration

But we’ve worked hard to keep the budget under control:

For the 2024-25 year, we cut 27.5 Staff:

Teachers:

• 4 Elementary World Language Program Teachers
• 0.5 Word Language (HUHS Sabbatical Pay)
• 1 Classroom Teacher (HUHS Math)
• 1 Classroom Teacher (Brookside 1st Grade-reduction due to class size)
• 1 STEM Teacher (HUHS-Retiring)
• 1 English Teacher (HUHS-Retirement)

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Others:

• 4 Interventionists
• 1 Math Interventionist (CBMS-Vacant)
• 3 Interventionist (Warren, Fayston, Brookside all ESSER Funded)
• 1 district-wide Case Officer
• 1 Mental Health Clinician (HUHS-Resignation-ESSER Funded)
• 1 Administrator
• 1 Dean of Students (HUHS-1 Year only-Not Renewing)
• 1 SEL Coordinator (CMBS-Moving to vacant staff position)
• 1 504 Coordinator
• 1 Flexible Pathway Coordinator (CMBS/HUHS-Resignation-ESSER Funded)
• 1 Restorative Practices Coordinator  (HUHS-Vacant-ESSER Funded)
• 1 Student Support Specialist (Vacant position-ESSER Funded)
• 1 International Travel Coordinator (Partial Federal Grant Expiring)
• 1 Library Assistant (HUHS-Resignation)

For the 2025-26 year:

We cut 16-20 full-time equivalent positions (FTEs): ~$2.0M

• Student Support
• Classroom teachers (due to class consolidation)
• Central Office/Administrator Leadership
• Nursing, Librarian, Art (areas where we are staffed beyond EQS)
• Open (currently vacant) positions

We made Program and Service Adjustments

• Reduction in instructional resources: $35K 
• Reduction in library and technology resources $38K 
• Elimination of Summer Academies cost saving of $325K (FY23 & FY24  funded out of ARP ESSER funds)

We made Operational Changes 

• Transportation route efficiency adjustment 
• Reduction in building operational resources $135K 

Source: Budget Presentations from previous years

Opinions those of individual school board members. These do not reflect the views of the HUUSD Administration

And the cuts are having impacts

Staff is so tight that it isn’t uncommon to see principals or even our staff admin and superintendent serving the kids lunch when someone is out sick.

Without a nurse on-site, teachers spend class time dealing with bumps and scrapes. A quick visit to the nurse turns a teacher’s attention away from time spent with the full class.

In High School,�students used to have Teacher Advisors that stayed consistent throughout their full 4 years. Each Teacher had ~10 kids. Now, TAs are having to either drop their seniors, or advise ~20 kids. At least one Freshman came home from her first week confused and upset, because she didn’t have the help she needed knowing where to go as she transitioned into High School.

A principal could only find time to speak with the Director of Special Education and Student Support Services while also cleaning returned ChromeBooks

A principal fielded an IEP call while also on the bus, chaperoning a school trip.

Source: School Board Discussion on 9/9/26

Opinions those of individual school board members. These do not reflect the views of the HUUSD Administration

But, due to recent legislation (Act 170), we have more costs on the horizon:

Vermont currently has an Excess Spending Threshold (EST) which is a limit on per pupil spending. 

• Spending above this amount triggers a tax penalty: For every dollar we go above the EST, we owe the state two dollars per pupil.
• Because of the way student counts are weighted, for every $100 we go over the EST, we owe the state about $500,000.
• Recent legislation gradually lowers that threshold, making it much easier for districts to exceed it, even if spending only increases because of inflation and mandated costs.
• When we crunch the numbers, we estimate that the State’s lowered EST is forcing us to cut an additional $600,000 above the cuts we had already anticipated making this year.
• The EST gets lowered every year until FY 2031 (i.e. 2030-31), so this forces deeper and deeper cuts in the school budget.

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In 2031-32, school districts will be funded according to a foundation formula.

• This means that each district will get a fixed amount of funds per (weighted) pupil.
• In the current Legislature plan, the per pupil funding in 2031-32 will be $15,033. 
• Our current per pupil spending is $16,229. This means our school budget will have to decrease �substantially between now and 2031.

Source: HUUSD Budget FAQ

Opinions those of individual school board members. These do not reflect the views of the HUUSD Administration

Where this will impact us, using FY26 as an Example:

In future years it will become harder to remain under this threshold, and for every $1 over the threshold, we are taxed $2

Source: FY26 Budget Presentations

Opinions those of individual school board members. These do not reflect the views of the HUUSD Administration

Keeping all costs the same and accounting for agreed-upon salary increases and projected inflation,�Increases to costs would cause the tax rate to grow by 50% in 5 years.

***Note that this is only a projection, and numbers will change, tax rates will vary by town, CLA and Equalized Tax Rate (set by the state) ***

Source: FY28 Budget Development Presentation, and School Board Meeting on 6/24/26

Opinions those of individual school board members. These do not reflect the views of the HUUSD Administration

Keeping all costs the same and accounting for agreed-upon salary increases and projected inflation,�Increases to costs would cause the tax rate to grow by 50% in 5 years.

+30%

-5%

+50%

***Note that this is only a projection, and numbers will change, tax rates will vary by town, CLA and Equalized Tax Rate (set by the state) ***

Source: FY28 Budget Development Presentation, and School Board Meeting on 6/24/26

Opinions those of individual school board members. These do not reflect the views of the HUUSD Administration

This means that for next year, to keep taxes from rising, we project needing to cut ~$3.3 Million from our expenses

Source: Budget Presentation to HUUSD School Board, 9/23/26

Opinions those of individual school board members. These do not reflect the views of the HUUSD Administration

How did we get here?�Our representatives voted for it:

Source: Vermont General Assembly, Bills and Resolutions and Vermont General Assembly, Journal of the House, April 16, 2026

Opinions those of individual school board members. These do not reflect the views of the HUUSD Administration

So what can we do?

One option: cut the costs we can control.

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Cuts

Implications

Operations:

• fewer supplies

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Educational Quality:

• fewer curriculum/materials purchases
• less professional development

Extra-Curricular activities:

• Athletics
• Other extra-curricular programs (e.g. Theater, robotics, etc.)

Infrastructure:

• pushing key infrastructure issues farther down the line

Staff:

• fewer support staff
• larger class sizes
• Fewer teachers

Staff:

• Less individualized focus on students
• More potential for students to “slip between the cracks”

Operations:

• Teachers will be forced to “do more with less”
• Parents asked to donate basic supplies to schools, as happens in other parts of the country

Educational Quality:

• Teachers cannot keep up with evolving needs of a classroom (e.g. how to integrate technology into the classroom).
• Difficulty recruiting: new teachers do not want to go to a school with no potential for professional development

Extra-Curricular activities:

• Fewer opportunities for kids
• Loss of core community building (no more “Friday Night Lights”)

Infrastructure:

• Crumbling schools, more flooding, mold, non-potable water or non-functioning sewer systems in some schools, etc.

Death by a Thousand Cuts

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Opinions those of individual school board members. These do not reflect the views of the HUUSD Administration

And our Buildings Need Help!

The work necessary to keep our 7 schools usable is estimated at $121 Million: a third of total replacement.

Priority 1 – Items related to health, safety and welfare issues, which may include items like water

intrusion, mold, code, accessibility or structural concerns. Items like this should get

consideration in the short-term.

Priority 2 – Items related to energy or water efficiency gains and replacement of systems that are

at the end (or beyond) their recommended usable life. This is often the bulk of the items

in an aging building.

Priority 3 – Items that do not fit into either Priority 1 or 2 but would improve the overall

functioning of the facility.

*Harwood Union MS & HS cost information was derived from a previous facilities report and PMC Concept Design Estimate, dated November 2024. Costs are escalated from a June 2026 construction date to a September 2027 construction date—estimated 4% per year in VT market.

Source: Facility Evaluation Report by Truex Collins, October 27, 2025

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Opinions those of individual school board members. These do not reflect the views of the HUUSD Administration

A longer-term option: consolidation

• Fewer overall staff needed, and less moving around between buildings for staff retained.
• Easier hiring : small schools struggle with hiring qualified staff for part-time positions, who much prefer full-time opportunities that might be available at a larger school.
• Increased collaboration: with more peers, staff could create more collaborative opportunities. There is also a social benefit.
• Less infrastructure to maintain, and potentially newer buildings: Renovation Costs currently estimated at $121,049,746 for all buildings.
• Some budget freed up by consolidated infrastructure and services could potentially be used for other programs or specials (potentially democratizing something like broader music programs).
• Incentivized by the state. There is currently $50M for the whole state if school districts consolidate. However, our estimated costs for new buildings and renovations is around $300,000,000.
• More peers for students: scale allows specialization, particularly in secondary school.

• Staff reductions may impact community members.
• Larger class sizes means the potential for less individualized student attention. BUT it also offers more opportunity for students to find friends.
• Loss of “town centers” in valley towns.
• Initial outlay of money to create new, consolidated school building. The cost of this is currently being determined.

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Benefits

Drawbacks

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Opinions those of individual school board members. These do not reflect the views of the HUUSD Administration

A note on class sizes:�Research favors small classes, but not necessarily tiny cohorts

Elementary

• Small classes improve individual attention and teacher-student interaction. The strongest randomized evidence, Tennessee’s Project STAR, found positive academic effects for K-3 classes of 13-17 students compared with 22-25 students.¹
• There is little evidence that “smaller is always better.” Research suggests the benefits of smaller elementary classes become more apparent below ~20 students, but the gains are small, for example +1 month for a reduction from 35 to 20 pupils.² ³
• Very small classes do not necessarily produce better peer relationships. Research found more individualized teacher interaction in smaller classes, but more peer interaction in larger classes and no evidence of better peer relationships in the smallest classes.⁴

High School

• Smaller classes can support individual feedback, discussion, and targeted instruction, but the evidence that reducing class size improves academic achievement is weaker and more mixed at the secondary level.³
• At the school/cohort level, there is a tradeoff: smaller schools can provide stronger perceptions of community and personalization, while larger schools can support broader course offerings, extracurriculars, and teacher specialization. A systematic review found no single “ideal” secondary-school size.⁵
• National data also show that smaller high schools tend to offer fewer college-preparatory academic opportunities, reinforcing the importance of sufficient scale at the secondary level.⁶

1. Krueger, A.B. (1999). Experimental Estimates of Education Production Functions. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 114(2), 497–532. Project STAR. �2. Education Endowment Foundation. Teaching and Learning Toolkit: Reducing Class Size. �3. Filges, T., Sonne-Schmidt, C.S., & Nielsen, B.C.V. (2018). Small class sizes for improving student achievement in primary and secondary schools: A systematic review. Campbell Systematic Reviews, 14(1). �4. Blatchford, P., Edmonds, S., & Martin, C. (2003). Class size, pupil attentiveness and peer relations. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 73, 15–36. �5. Newman, M. et al. (2006). Does secondary school size make a difference? A systematic review. Educational Research Review, 1(1), 41–60. �6. U.S. Government Accountability Office (2018). K–12 Education: Public High Schools with More Students in Poverty and Smaller Schools Provide Fewer Academic Offerings to Prepare for College. GAO-19-8.

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Opinions those of individual school board members. These do not reflect the views of the HUUSD Administration

The Building Committee worked to cost out multiple options for consolidation, and is working on more.

Source: District Reconfiguration Options by Truex Collins, March 2025

Waitsfield was later determined to be unusable as a single hub school

Opinions those of individual school board members. These do not reflect the views of the HUUSD Administration

A note on state-mandated work in the�coming year:

In Act 170 are several items with implications for our schools�and budgets:

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School Governance & District Structure

Creates 7 Cooperative Educational Service Areas (CESAs). Each district is mandated to have a representative in a working groups to discover how these CESAs can share services, such as special education services, transportation planning and operations, administrative functions, specialized instructional programs, and technical expertise.

Requires every district to participate in a process studying whether it should join a larger Unified Union School District (UUSD). (This is separate from the CESAs).

Establishes a formal district-merger study process beginning in 2026, with recommendations, State Board review, and local votes on potential mergers.

Sets a target scale of roughly 2,000 students per district and creates a special process for "orphaned" districts with fewer than 750 students.

Education Funding Reform

Accelerates Vermont's transition to a foundation funding formula, with implementation planned for July 2029.

Excess Spending Threshold

Reduces the "excess spending" threshold over time from the current 118% of statewide average spending to approximately 112.5% over several years.

School Construction

Authorizes up to approximately $50 million annually in bonding capacity for school construction projects.

Special Education

Requires the transition to a new funding model to preserve federal maintenance-of-effort requirements, student rights under special education law, analysis of impacts on students with disabilities before major program changes occur.

Pre-K

Requires additional reporting and analysis regarding: Pre-K funding , administration of pre-K programs, and appropriate funding levels for pre-K students under a future formula.

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$

$

$

$

Source: Act 170, “An act relating to next steps in transforming Vermont’s education system” as enacted

Opinions those of individual school board members. These do not reflect the views of the HUUSD Administration

One ask: Look to the state legislature

Education spend accounts for around 1/3 of our state’s budget, and recent legislation passed in Montpelier has and will have a deep effect on what we can and cannot afford in our towns.

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Reach out to your elected officials with your perspective. Here are our requests:

• Reduce Health Insurance: A key driver for school budget increases, the state legislature has worked on ways to reduce this, but their latest attempt (S.190) was vetoed by Phil Scott in the last legislative session. Ask your legislators how they plan to address rising health insurance costs in the state this year.
• Stop lowering excess spending threshold, and revisit the foundation funding formula: These two restrictions will cost our schools millions more over the coming years, with no benefits. Ask our legislators to update Act 170 and lower the threshold.
• Support for buildings: If consolidation is the only way the legislature sees as viable for our schools, we will need support to fund new and larger facilities. $50 Million for the whole of Vermont is a drop in the bucket.
• Move Special Education Support and Mental Health Funding out of school budgeting: almost 10% of our school budget last year was for support services for Special Education. These services are not part of school budgets in other states, and they shouldn’t be in Vermont.

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Opinions those of individual school board members. These do not reflect the views of the HUUSD Administration

Overall, we ask that you:

1. Reach out to your legislators with our four asks.� There’s an election in November!
2. This year: Work with us this budget season: ask clarifying questions, send us emails or attend meetings! Suggest solutions we haven’t thought of! Then vote yes when we align on a budget.
3. Longer Term: Keep your mind open to difficult future ideas. We are exploring consolidation as an option. We want to explore other options, too!

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Opinions those of individual school board members. These do not reflect the views of the HUUSD Administration

Questions?�Conversation

Appendix

Our Budget, and its impact on property taxes

How we set the budget:

1. Each school district submits their initial budget, and projected “students” to the state, weighted based on a set of factors, including poverty levels, population density, and English Language Learners
2. The state legislature tallies the total students, and sets an excess spending threshold per student, based on an estimate of total weighted students across the state
3. Our budget, including both expenses and revenues, needs to meet or be under this cost (“weighted students” x max rate per student set by state)
• If a school goes over this, they pay a penalty (double the amount per pupil they are over)

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Opinions those of individual school board members. These do not reflect the views of the HUUSD Administration

How the budget impacts your property taxes (cont.):

3. Our budget, including both expenses and revenues, needs to meet or be under this cost (“weighted students” x max rate per student set by state)
4. The state sets the Estimated Property Yield, based on a rate of spend per student. This determines how spending is translated into taxes: If the yield matches the spending per weighted pupil, the yield will be at $1.00 (For every $100 of property). If it’s higher than our spend per weighted pupil, the tax rate will also be higher.
5. The total per-student cost is divided by the Estimated Property Yield, which is what becomes our Property (i.e. Homestead) Tax.
6. In recent years, a “Taxing Capacity Discount” has been applied to reduce the total property tax. This is extra money the legislature applies to help keep taxes lower, but the source of this money will not continue to be available.
7. This is applied in conjunction with the CLA (Common Level of Appraisal) to set local tax rates: if our appraisals are under market value, the CLA adjusts for that so we pay taxes based on market value of our properties.

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Opinions those of individual school board members. These do not reflect the views of the HUUSD Administration

In a nutshell:

• Our district's budget is converted into a per-student spending amount.
• If we go over the average per-student spending in the state, we pay a penalty.
• The state then decides how much income it needs from property taxes to cover the cost of the total statewide education budgets. (It has a few other sources of funding for this as well.)
• It uses a property-yield formula to convert that spending into a tax rate, then adjusts that rate using property values (CLA) so taxpayers across Vermont are taxed based on the market value of their homes.

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Opinions those of individual school board members. These do not reflect the views of the HUUSD Administration

Weighted Pupils

A district’s funding and tax calculation are based on weighted pupils, not just enrollments.

Students who incur higher education costs are weighted to count for more, based on:

Our students in poverty count for more “weighted” students

Estimated Total Students in 2025-26:�1,750

Estimated Total Weighted Students in 2025-26:

2,625

Our pre-K students count for negative “weighted” students

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Opinions those of individual school board members. These do not reflect the views of the HUUSD Administration

Determined at the State Level:

• Weighted Pupil Formulas
• Property Yield
• Taxing Capacity Discount
• Common Level of Appraisal

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84 cents of every tax dollar raised in our towns stays within district

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16 cents is allocated to other Supervisory Unions/Districts

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Opinions those of individual school board members. These do not reflect the views of the HUUSD Administration

Unfunded Mandates & Federal Requirements�A few Legislative acts and state/federal mandates impacting school district operations and budget.

Legislative Acts & Compliance Standards

• 2018 Act 11: Commission on Public School Employee Health Benefits. 

• 2021-Act 172: Radon Testing

• 2022-Act 29: Access Control, Emergency Operations & Threat Assessment

 • 2022-Act 127: Improving student equity by adjusting the school funding formula

• 2021-Act 72: Requirement to Employ a Facilities Director

• 2021-Act 74: PCB Testing and Remediation Program

• Act 35: Ban on Suspension or Expulsion for Under 8

• Hazing, Harassment and Bullying Legislation

• Title IX Requirements

• Act 166: Universal PreK

• Act 76: Child Care Contribution

• 3 Acre Storm Water Project (Clean Water Act 2015)

• Act 139: Evidence-based Literacy Instruction

• Act 64: Universal Meals

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Operational & District Mandates

• Act 77: Flexible Pathways

• Act 66: Lead in Water Testing & Remediation

• Act 173: MTSS and Special Education Funding

• Act 114: Pension Costs (In Appropriations Bill)

• Act 66: Access to Menstrual Products

• Act 157: Access to Contraceptives

• Uniform Chart of Accounts

• Shared School District Data Management System

• Continuous Improvement Planning

• Resource Allocation Reviews (RAR)

• Requirement to Have a Food Service Director

• Shared District Administrative Reporting Standards

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Opinions those of individual school board members. These do not reflect the views of the HUUSD Administration

The US Population Growth is Stagnating:

Without Immigration, US Population would start shrinking by 2040

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Opinions those of individual school board members. These do not reflect the views of the HUUSD Administration

This trend is worse in Vermont, where population has been declining since the spike in 2020.

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Opinions those of individual school board members. These do not reflect the views of the HUUSD Administration

And, given birth rates, population looks like it will continue to decline

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Opinions those of individual school board members. These do not reflect the views of the HUUSD Administration

Births in HUUSD towns are also on a downward trajectory.

Source: Vermont Department of Health, Vital Statistics Annual Reports

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Opinions those of individual school board members. These do not reflect the views of the HUUSD Administration

Births are not a perfect correlation to kindergarten enrollment, but may be directionally helpful.

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Opinions those of individual school board members. These do not reflect the views of the HUUSD Administration

Source: Vermont Department of Health, Vital Statistics Annual Reports, HUUSD Annual Reports

Over the last five years, the size of our pre-K class has decreased by 11%

Source: HUUSD Annual Reports

Education is ~ 1/3 of the Total Vermont State Budget

Source: Vermont Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2025

What is currently in the education fund, that should be elsewhere?

Source: Vermont Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2025

Are there alternative/additional sources of funding for education spending in Vermont?

Source: Vermont Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2025

Special Education need is increasing

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Opinions those of individual school board members. These do not reflect the views of the HUUSD Administration

Source: Data from HUUSD

HUUSD operates one school for every 33 square miles, serves fewer than 8 students per square mile, and maintains a lower pupil:teacher ratio than the typical Rural district.

• We span 232.7 square miles of land across six towns: Duxbury, Fayston, Moretown, Waitsfield, Warren, and Waterbury
• That’s ~ 7.7 students per square mile (including Pre-K) or 6.8 for K-12.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), Common Core of Data, Public School District Directory, 2024–25: Harwood Unified Union SD #60, Mountain Views SD, and Governor Wentworth RSD; U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024 5-year School District Profiles (area), via Census Reporter—Mountain Views and Governor Wentworth; NCES, Digest of Education Statistics, Table 214.40.

HUUSD – FY2027 School Budgets�DISTRICT-WIDE SHOWN SEPARATELY

Source: Budget Presentation to HUUSD School Board, 9/23/26

Opinions those of individual school board members. These do not reflect the views of the HUUSD Administration

Preliminary Major Cost Drivers

48

FY27 to FY28 | Ranked by Dollar Increase

Estimated increase: $3,339,273

6.4% overall growth

Source: Budget Presentation to HUUSD School Board, 9/23/26

Opinions those of individual school board members. These do not reflect the views of the HUUSD Administration