Category: Budget

This video focuses on the actual people that make up our district, and how the school budget relates to them. To learn more about the proposed budget for next school year, join our informational meeting on February 28th at 7:00 PM. You can join in person at the MVU library or virtually on Zoom with the link below!

Get a detailed look at the proposed school budget for the 2023-24 school year and read updates on each school and department from principals and district leaders.

Download MVSD 2023 Annual Report

The School Information Meeting will be an opportunity for the community to come learn about next year’s proposed budget and and get any questions answered. It starts at 7:00 PM on Tuesday, February 28th and will take place at the MVU Library and on Zoom with the link below. We hope to see you there!

More information about our proposed budget for next year. If you have questions about next year’s budget, don’t forget to join our School Budget Informational Meeting at the MVU Library and on Zoom at 7:00 PM on Tuesday, February 28th.

In this video from our school budget informational series, you’ll learn more about the federal COVID relief funding that we’ve received and how it is being used. If you have any further questions, don’t forget to join our informational meeting on Zoom or in person at the MVU library on Tuesday, February 28th at 7:00 PM.

A more detailed look at the facility spending in the proposed MVSD ’23-’24 school budget. Join the informational meeting at MVU and on Zoom on Tuesday, February 28th to learn more. If you would like to vote by mail, remember to return this request form to your town clerk soon. The vote is Tuesday, March 7th.

The legal voters of the Missisquoi Valley School District, consisting of the Towns of Franklin,
Highgate, and Swanton, are hereby notified, and warned to meet to transact the following
business by Australian ballot in their respective polling places hereinafter named for each of
the above referenced towns on March 7, 2023 at the polling places and times hereinafter
listed.

ARTICLE I To elect from the legal voters of said District the following officers:

A. A Moderator for a term of one (1) year,
B. A Clerk for a term of one (1) year,
C. A Treasurer for a term of one (1) year,
D. A MVSD School Director for a term of three (3) years from Franklin,
E. A MVSD School Director for a term of three (3) years from Highgate,
F. A MVSD School Director for the remainder of a three (3) year term from Highgate,
G.A MVSD School Director for a term of three (3) years from Swanton.

ARTICLE II Shall the voters of the Missisquoi Valley School District approve the School
Directors to expend $44,983,567 which is the amount the School Directors have determined
to be necessary for the ensuing fiscal year?

ARTICLE III Shall the voters of the Missisquoi Valley School District authorize the Board of
Directors of the said School District to borrow money to pay the current expenditures in
anticipation of taxes and to sign notes for that purpose?

Said persons and voters warned are further notified that voter qualification, registration,
absentee voting, and voter procedures shall be in accordance with Chapters 43 and 51 of
Title 17 VSA.

The legal voters of the School District are further notified that an Informational Meeting will
be held in person at Missisquoi Valley Union High School Library and electronically via
Zoom on February 28 at 7:00 p.m. for the purpose of explaining the budget items to the
voters. The link to access this virtual meeting will be posted on the MVSD Website and
social media.

POLLING PLACES AND TIMES

FRANKLIN- Franklin Town Hall, 5336 Main Street, Franklin; from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

HIGHGATE- Highgate Elementary School, 219 Gore Rd, Highgate Center, from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

SWANTON-Swanton Village Municipal Complex, First & Elm Streets, Swanton; from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Dated this 30th day of January, 2023

MVSD Annual Meeting Warning - March 7, 2023 (466 downloads)

The MVSD school board invited members of the community to take part in a discussion on the budget on January 11th. While slight adjustments were made to the budget after this meeting, the conversation is still relevant to the current proposed budget.

We hope you find the video informative, and if you would like to see more details, you can view the full, unedited meeting here.

Please join our next informational meeting at 7:00 PM on February 28th. In the meantime, feel free to reach out to the district office with any questions.

The Missisquoi Valley School District (MVSD) board has been reviewing budget drafts
for the Fiscal Year 2024 budget, which will be presented to voters on Town Meeting Day
in March. As with most industries in our region and school districts in Vermont, we are
being challenged with rising costs that will require us to make difficult decisions as a
community. We are asking for community members to engage in the budget preparation
process now, while there is time for input, to help the board reflect the priorities of our
three towns in the proposed budget.

The latest draft of the FY2024 budget that was brought to the board showed an
estimated 1.09% increase in our equalized tax rate. Some state-level variables have not
yet been finalized and could cause a significant change to the current estimates.

Many community members completed the budget input survey (results are available on
the MVSD website). The results showed that our community would like to prioritize
investments in:

1. Competitive pay and benefits to recruit and retain highly qualified employees
2. Curriculum investments and instructional services to improve student academic
   outcomes
3. Capital investments to improve and maintain safe and healthy school facilities
4. Support for technical education, student apprenticeships/work readiness

The current version of the FY2024 budget reflects these priorities. The largest expense
in a school district is staffing, and the FY2024 budget includes increased pay for staff as
negotiated in the last professional staff contract cycle, and increases for support staff
that were put into place in January of 2022. We have received an immediate return from
this investment in the form of very low vacancy rates to start the current school year,
which was not the case in many school districts in our region and throughout Vermont.
Stable teams allow us to reap the benefits of investments in professional development
and experience gained, which help improve student outcomes.

Improved academic performance is a key priority for the board, and is one of the goals
set by the board for the district. The budget includes continued professional
development for staff, investments in social, emotional and behavioral support,
investments in truancy monitoring and intervention, and other strategies determined to
help influence student outcomes.

We have included a major facility investment in FY2024, to be paid directly from local
tax revenue, which is the replacement of the D pod roof at MVU. The roof at MVU is
now failing and the Facilities Committee of the board has developed a long-range plan
to replace all areas of the roof. The FY2024 budget includes $1.1 million, which
represents the second year (C pod completed last year) of a six-year plan. The
Facilities Committee has presented the urgent need for this roof project to be completed
as soon as possible. Segments of the roof are failing and the earlier phases must be
completed before work can begin on the most problematic areas. Delaying this project
will likely lead to increased costs in the long-run, so it is financially prudent to move
forward with this project now. The Facilities Committee preferred a phased approach
that can be included in the annual budget rather than a construction bond.

The board continues to invest in the Agricultural Sciences program at MVU and to
partner with Northwest Career & Technical Center, to increase access to technical
education for any students wishing to follow this path.

The latest draft of the FY2024 budget shows total net educational spending increasing
by 10.86%, including the MVU roof project. Excluding the roof project, spending is
increasing 8.15%. This increase is slightly lower than the expected statewide spending
increase of 8.52% as forecast by the Vermont Tax Commissioner. The reason that the
equalized tax rate can increase only 1.09% with increased expenditures is that there is
surplus revenue in the Vermont Education Fund which will be used to buy-down tax
rates across the state. This will help us absorb the cost of the critical MVU roof project.

The MVSD School Board meeting scheduled for January 3, 2023 at MVU will be entirely
devoted to an in-depth review of the proposed FY2024 budget. If you have
questions/comments or would like to provide input, please contact a board member
prior to that meeting. If you would like to hear the detailed review of the FY2024 budget,
please try to attend that meeting, or watch it on Northwest Access TV. The board is
scheduled to vote on a final budget to be put before voters on January 17th , so please
provide any additional comments or input before then.

Devin Bachelder, Chair
Missisquoi Valley School District Board

Thank you to everyone who participated in our community and employee surveys regarding next year’s budget. We’ve sorted through the data, and you can view the findings below.