Vermont Legislature SmartTranscripts:

[Lisa McCartz, Principal, Craftsbury Schools]: We're live.

[Seth Bongartz (Chair)]: Go live. So, Seneca Education Committee, we're back after a short break. It's on February 13, and our last witnesses for the day are at the end of the table. So, if you could introduce yourselves, then the floor is yours.

[Lisa McCartz, Principal, Craftsbury Schools]: Yeah, great. Thank you. I'm Lisa McCartz, and I'm principal of Crassberry Schools, and I have a student representative who will be today.

[Ada Allen, Student, Craftsbury Academy]: I'm Ada Allen from Kesha Ram

[Seth Bongartz (Chair)]: And Kesha Ram Hinsdale.

[Ada Allen, Student, Craftsbury Academy]: Okay.

[Seth Bongartz (Chair)]: So

[Lisa McCartz, Principal, Craftsbury Schools]: Hey. Yeah, so it's interesting to be here today and hear from so many different rural towns and really diverse experiences, and I think that we'll probably bring a different perspective. So, I'll just start. I am principal at Crassberry Schools, and Crassberry is a pre K through 12 public school district in Orleans County. We have two campuses to our school. We have our pre K through two building, which is in the village, and then we have our three through 12 campus, which is referred to as the Academy, That's in Crassberry Common about two miles away and we are all public. Sometimes there's confusion with the name Academy. We're a member of the Orleans Southwest Supervisory Union which encompasses the towns of Crassberry, Wolcott, Hardwick, Greensboro, Standard and Whitbury. Before I speak in regards to the newly created maps that were introduced by the House Education Chair Conlon last week, I want to set the stage and provide understanding and context to the experience that a student in a rural community school has in the Northeast Kingdom Of Vermont. Crossbury is a town and community that deeply values education and the importance of local democracy and local decision making. There has been tremendous support for our pre K-twelve school system historically, and this remains true today. We currently stand out in our region as a school that has a stable and even increasing school population. We are not declining in enrollment like many other schools in rural Vermont. We're a school with a community school mindset, We have 25 active community partners, not including family volunteers, who we engage with on a daily basis. These are relationships that have been formed and cultivated over time and are an integral part of not just our school, but also the community of Craftsbury as a whole. School and community are intertwined. This current week alone, we are engaging with eight community partners in ways to enrich the educational experience of our students. On Monday and Tuesday, we had our Northern Counties Dental Hub at our school providing dental care for students who don't have reliable access. This morning, members of the Freedom and Unity Town Committee met with our students in grades three, four, and five to plan our Mock Town Meeting Day experience, which is an annual experiential learning opportunity and part of our approach to civics education. This week our middle school students as part of our Without Walls Wednesday program on Wednesdays, every Wednesday attended a Vermont opera performance at the Highland Center for the Arts, and they are at this moment in time, well

[Unidentified Committee Member]: they probably left three minutes ago, reading at the Crath Prairie Public Library. This is part of our literacy block and a component that

[Lisa McCartz, Principal, Craftsbury Schools]: we call DIRTT, it's daily independent reading time. And our students walk across the common in the middle school and read in the public library. So in addition to accessing the collection at the library, all students now have a public library membership and a relationship with the town librarians. Many students now utilize the public library but previously never stepped foot in the doors prior to this experience. Additionally, we have a robust winter wellness program that is not only a component of our approach to physical education in Crassberry, but also serves students grades K through 12. This week students in grades four and five are Nordic skiing at the CrossFerry Outdoor Center, and our high school students traveled to JP for ski and ride for the foundations program. Many high school students also attended an informal session with Sterling College faculty on ice climbing in preparation for their ice climbing trip next week. At the high school level, students have a flexible pathway to obtain PE credit through our CAPE program, which provides opportunities throughout the year in lifelong outdoor education experiences. The opportunities I just shared with you are an example of an average weekend crafts vary, and this is all possible due to our strong relationships with community partners in the town and immediate geographic region in which our school is located. Not only do these opportunities round out a high quality academic experience, but with the exception of JP programming, all are completely free of cost to our school and students due to the strong community relationships we have fostered. In Crassberry, we're proud of the rigorous and relevant high school experience that we provide in our small high school. We offer diverse high quality instructional programming so that our small school can provide students with a

[Unidentified Committee Member]: big

[Lisa McCartz, Principal, Craftsbury Schools]: opportunity. We currently have nine AP course options at the high school level and students engaging in flexible pathways for dual enrollment, early college, work based learning, attending the tech center, virtual learning, and other creative learning opportunities. We also have a wide range of clubs and activities, and athletics overlap with Lake Region and Hazen, which provides increased opportunity and also increased social experience. This year alone, we added various clubs, including animal husbandry clubs, scholars bowl, and rocketry club that were all developed based on student interest. In CrossFerry, our school board, administration, and community members are not afraid to engage in the hard and sometimes gritty work of local democracy to have the tough conversations needed in regards to balancing educational priority and fiscal responsibility. This current budget season, our original draft budget had a projected 12% total increase. In January, the secretary Zoe Saunders called on school boards to engage in the tough work of maintaining fiscal responsibility. So as I was saying, we began the year with our budgeting process with a 12% increase. So, we went through a process that involved a lot of community input. There was input, there were conversations, there were school board meetings, and ultimately the budget that was approved by the board reflected a 6% increase, which is below or in line with many towns in the state of Vermont this year. Local democracy is not always efficient. It takes time and it takes dedicated elected officials care. It takes time to listen, it honors input and feedback, and it welcomes creative problem solving. Local decision making is not always efficient, but it is a central component of a thriving democratic society. It's something we do well in Vermont and we do well in Craftsbury. I want to be clear, I'm not opposed to change at the state level in regards to education. I do think change needs to happen. However, I believe that Act 73, as it was originally presented in the last legislative session, has impacts that disproportionately impact rural schools and communities. At the end of last week, legislation was not introduced, but maps were introduced that delineated 27 school districts. I was dismayed to see a return to maps and especially maps that included only school districts and did not include a supervisory union model. I had significant concerns that a school district governance structure would not only significantly impact our school in Crasberry, but would have far reaching impacts on our ability to maintain viable rural towns across the state of Vermont. Currently it appears that at the state level, there's an ideological debate being played out through education that's pitting a vigorous better mentality against our long seated tradition and history in Vermont that values the importance of local democracy and community. Rural schools are not the enemy, and quite honestly are not the cost driver in the complex statewide education funding system. The current map presented last week, which outlines 27 school districts, strikes our rural communities of decision making around their schools. It creates a governance structure that depersonalizes decision making and leads to a top down approach. There is no evidence that this type of structure has any cost savings and I do believe that this type of structure will inevitably lead to the closure of schools in rural towns, which could in all probability lead to a change in our grade level configurations in Crassberry. It's important to know that Crassberry Academy doesn't only serve the students at Crassberry, but attracts students from our neighboring towns of Volkitt and Standard. Chair Conlon was clear during discussions last week when the maps were introduced that these larger school district boards would more than likely need to close smaller schools if any savings were to be recognized. Therefore, our schools threatened if these maps are carried out as supervisory district maps or school district maps. And in all probability, they could lead to a change in the 197 old institution of Crest Prairie Academy. That is likely to occur due to the fact that we would be discussing a new school board elected via voting wards in a new school district that likely has no representation from the town where the school has stood for one hundred and ninety seven years. This approach would not be the Vermont I know. Brian up here. While I'm here today speaking about education, I do wanna address my concerns about how this legislation could impact Vermont in general. I have concerns about how the push to consolidate governance structures and community schools will impact the future viability of rural towns. I believe that large regional districts with elected boards that do not have strong representation from all towns will over time close schools and small communities. As a native Vermonter and somebody who moved back from out of state to start a family, I can attest that in choosing a town where I would raise my children, the school and the ability to be involved in a small local public school was a priority for me. I would not have bought a house in a town where I would then have to put my five year old child on a long bus ride. As is the case in Roxbury, I believe that property values will be impacted and families will congregate in closer physical proximity to the larger regional pools, leaving rural Vermont communities further burdened and with further declining town populations. I do not see this as a plan with the core values of Vermont being represented. I want to close today by circling back to the information that I did share about the Crasberry budget. While I did initially share this to demonstrate the power of local democracy, what I didn't share is that I believe we can all do better than a 6% increase in the future and I do think we need to. And this is where we need your help. The budget the board approved had a reduction of 1.5 FTE staff members. We made cuts from our facilities budget and other programming, but it's still rose 6% due to increases largely outside our control. Health insurance, transportation and special education costs continue to rise and impact our ability to be able to maintain a lower percentage increase, I strongly feel that the change we need is to commit to further exploring the redistricting task force's recommendation pursuing the Seesaw Model to consolidate and control these costs and expenses. I thank you for your time. Just taking the time to listen to all of us today. Now, I'll pass the torch to Ida.

[Unidentified Committee Member]: Quick question. Of the three costs that were outside of your control, health insurance, transportation, and special education, which one has consistently been the most expensive, have there been drastic variations that increase in either of those three?

[Lisa McCartz, Principal, Craftsbury Schools]: Sure. I became an administrator, this is my fifth year working in administration. I think that family health care plan has risen not quite 50%, but about that much in that time. This year we had a 7% increase and we were all excited. That honestly feels pretty ridiculous. I think last year it was 12%. So with our healthcare costs, a family spends $40,000 at this point and they're rising at that level, that's a significant cost driver. I will say special education costs, do feel like they are consolidated at the supervisory union level and we share services between our schools. I do believe a BOCES model or CSAIL model could really support even, especially with our out of district placements. I do believe if we had a larger structure that we could create in house alternative programming so that we weren't reliant on really costly at a district place. I'll address transportation too. Right now, we put out a bid for transportation, like we're currently in this process, we get one bid and it's up 21% for next year. And so, all of these costs combined, along with just cost of living in general and just inflation, just hard to maintain the budget.

[Unidentified Committee Member]: Thank you.

[Seth Bongartz (Chair)]: Rob.

[Ada Allen, Student, Craftsbury Academy]: Hello, thank you for taking the time to hear my best friend and friend. My name is Ada Allen and I am a sophomore at Cross Bear Academy in Orleans County, a public pre K through 12 school. With around 50 students in my high school, I feel it is integral for you to hear the story of life at a rural school, where you are making decisions that may completely change the future of Vermont education for generations of students to come. Over the past year, I have heard much about consolidation and reimagining schools to lay out a better system. Many legislators have claimed that small schools provide limited opportunities and that forced consolidation is the only way to ensure equity of opportunity. I would like to provide testimony today to repeat this claim and to share that rich opportunities can be found at schools both small and large across the state, including my community school in Crassbury. Crassbury is proof that small doesn't mean limited, it means personalized and connected. As a student at Crasberry, I've been able to expand my learning opportunities and intellectual growth. For example, I love language, writing, and learning by government. So this year I supported to add upper level classes to my course load, including AP Language and Composition and AP US Government. My teachers have offered a lot of one on one support to help me fill my passion and to work through some of blocks and challenges. For my junior and senior years, I will have seven more AP classes to choose from McAsbury, ranging from science to history and all within my small school. The statement that smaller schools are unable to provide enough mentally enriching classes or opportunities is inherently false. I've been fully immersed in challenging and fulfilling classes at Crassberry and participated in ways that I feel wouldn't be possible at a larger school. Also believe that Crassberry is better able to engage students in the classroom. In bigger schools, it is far easier to coast along without teachers noticing me falling behind. But at Crasberry, each teacher is able to support every single student. We have class discussions where each student can share their opinion and be heard, not forgotten as long as you have too many students in a building far too large for a personal learning experience. Commonly made claim that smaller schools don't allow for a diversity of connections between students is also false. At Casper Academy, I have built relationships with individuals who are unique and different for me. Compared to the experiences of my friends at larger schools, who form groups based on similarity and tend to be only comfortable with familiarity, my experience at school has taught me so much more. Our small school community is not divided into casuals. We all learn from each other and have helped each other grow into the people we are today. This level of connection and support is not possible in larger schools. In addition to this, I've been able to connect with many ages. Because our school is linked to the middle and elementary school, we can learn and thrive with all ages. I participate in the Dream Mentorship Program where I'm guiding elementary students. I can learn so much from the younger students and they are a very valuable part of our school community. Similar to building diverse relationships, I believe that small schools such as Raspberry are better able to support mental health, as our tight knit community will support each student no matter their differences. In bigger schools, students can simply get lost or forgotten. But in Casperi, every student has noticed. So if they are struggling, they will always have the community to support them. To me, our school dynamic feels that we are all one. When one of us is going through hardships, everyone is there to support them. Additionally, next week I am beginning to help in the fourth and fifth grade classrooms as an aid to teachers, but also as an opportunity to explore our passion for educating. These opportunities would not be possible without the small school we have, and I hope that I can continue doing this, and that soon to come, we're able to. I would love to see the kids I teach and mentor grow up with the kind of support and acceptance I have received from the Crassberry Academy. Another critique of small schools that I have heard often is that they are too small to offer extracurriculars or essential opportunities. My experience strongly advances in supports that small schools are even better able to support students with opportunities. For athletics, we have partnered with Hazen Union to create strong teams together. Throughout the year, I enjoy soccer cross country skiing and softball with my craftsmen and Hazen team members. Through this partnership, I've been able to create more connections and learn skills from different perspectives. The athletics experience in large schools pales in comparison. Tryouts cut student participation and even the opportunity to play on a team is limited. While at Casper and Hazen, everyone is given an opportunity to learn and play, no matter their skill level. How are students going to be given more opportunities at larger schools when they can't even make the sports team? Small schools like Casper Academy are deeply rooted in the community, which is something I'm very thankful for. This year, I chose to serve as a student representative on our school board, and I can participate in discussions on the decisions in our school. Each month, I take feedback from each middle and high school student and share it with the board, Because I believe it's important to allow everyone to have a voice. I'm on my student on my Town's Freedom and Unity Committee, which has helped me to support both my school and community. These active roles are a key part of my school and further support our connection to the community. While I am the only one here representing the students of Crasberry Academy, their accomplishments and active roles in the school community speak for themselves. The clubs are supposed to offer, including Scholar's Bowl, Animal Husbandry, and Rocketry Club, are all thriving and being led by students. These groups are receiving help from community members and are learning skills that they will keep for the rest of their lives. Every day I see the students and teachers around me supporting each other and doing their best. Whether it is a student staying out in a snowstorm to help a janitor shuffle snow without being asked to, or a high school student telling jokes to an elementary school student. Our school community is strong. This strength doesn't come from having large facilities with better equipment or more teachers and classes. It comes from the bond we have with each other and the strength in our community. While each of you works on studying the future of students like myself, I strongly suggest that you keep in mind the experience I share with each other. Please remember, statistics and percentages don't share the full story. So I thank you for allowing me to share what is most important, the student experience. How close is Hazen? Hazen, twenty minute drop.

[Seth Bongartz (Chair)]: What sports do play with them? Do you go to them? Do they go to you?

[Ada Allen, Student, Craftsbury Academy]: Do you have some sports? The sport. So for soccer, I go there for practice. But for like skiing, students will come here and softball students will come

[Seth Bongartz (Chair)]: are they not the same size?

[Ada Allen, Student, Craftsbury Academy]: He's hands a little larger.

[Seth Bongartz (Chair)]: Probably a question for you. Price per student, what's the average?

[Lisa McCartz, Principal, Craftsbury Schools]: I wish I had that here. I'm wondering, because I don't believe Is it

[Seth Bongartz (Chair)]: far off from $1,920,000 per student you think, or is it higher?

[Lisa McCartz, Principal, Craftsbury Schools]: It's slightly higher. So, I think that our board's been really fiscally minded in terms of when we're thinking about you know, financially, we're always looking to stay under that cap and that threshold, you know, in terms of spending. But we've never been known as a town or community, you know, that has the lowest, you know,

[Seth Bongartz (Chair)]: That's part of the problem of being small is that it is hard. That's what the problem we're running into is that small schools and universities more extensively doesn't make them less important, mind you, as in your best of faith. But it does create an issue.

[Lisa McCartz, Principal, Craftsbury Schools]: Yeah, and I would say that looking, I'm just thinking of kind of like the bigger picture, looking at terms of our budget over the past few years, and I addressed this earlier on where our expenses are rising and making it kind of difficult for us to maintain that lower percentage increase, it is often those cost drivers that I feel like are really outside the board's control in a lot of ways. That's been a difficult component.

[Seth Bongartz (Chair)]: If we had something like a BOCES that you were sharing cost, the cost of either teachers or supplies, that would help bring down your cost. Yeah, I believe it would. Not a huge difference probably, but every little bit will make a difference.

[Lisa McCartz, Principal, Craftsbury Schools]: Yeah, I believe it would. I think that one of the things around special education is those costs continue to rise for us. And so, that is really challenging. And our child count numbers in Crassery are actually going down and our special education costs are rising. And that's a challenge. And it's hard for me as an administrator, you know, when I'm trying to kind of right, you know, keep the ship right also. Did

[Seth Bongartz (Chair)]: you just say your class size is going down?

[Ada Allen, Student, Craftsbury Academy]: No, our

[Lisa McCartz, Principal, Craftsbury Schools]: child count number, so in terms of the number of students that we have receiving special education services, in Crafts Ferry. Our town are going down. Good. We're, you know, special education costs are at the SU level and then reallocated back based on your ADMs so that we're picked, So, it is from an equity minded place around supervisory union models. I think it's a really, it's a good way to do business, but I think right now that it is a challenge for us in terms of our budget. I do believe a BOCES model would help more in terms of consolidating the other piece of that, the expenses. The other piece is that in terms of curriculum and instruction and also professional development, I think that that's something that we could benefit from in the BOCES model. Does that work? Yeah, would really be helpful.

[Seth Bongartz (Chair)]: Senator Hinsdale, question? No. Okay. I can't think of anything else but both great testimony today. Really helpful to everybody. Yeah. How many high schools are in the district?

[Lisa McCartz, Principal, Craftsbury Schools]: In ours, we have Hazen and we have Crossberry.

[Ada Allen, Student, Craftsbury Academy]: Good. Yeah.

[Seth Bongartz (Chair)]: And what's the Crossberry in East Hazen is 20 miles away?

[Ada Allen, Student, Craftsbury Academy]: Twenty minutes. Yeah,

[Lisa McCartz, Principal, Craftsbury Schools]: Hazen's about twenty minutes.

[Seth Bongartz (Chair)]: Twenty minutes at? He's in Hardwick. When it serves Hardwick, it was

[Lisa McCartz, Principal, Craftsbury Schools]: Okay. So he's in he's in serves Hardwick, Greensboro, and Woodbury. And then Standard K-six is part There's an elementary district that's called Mountain View. Standard's part of that K-six, but then they have choice after. They can go to both schools. They can go. Yeah. Standard's right on Standard Mountain, so I do believe, I don't know at this point in time, St. Jay Academy's over there, Linden Institute, so they have school choice. But Standard's a very small student population.

[Seth Bongartz (Chair)]: And does your school tend to be Crassberry?

[Lisa McCartz, Principal, Craftsbury Schools]: So we have Craftsbury students and we have, and I do think this is notable, we have 21 Wilkut students, grades seven through 12. Wilkut is K-six school and they have choice seven through 12. And I think one of the things that speaks to Craftsbury is that we have a lot of local students choosing us, and it's the same distance to People's Academy and Hazen as it is to Craftsbury, and then Stella Memorial or just a little bit further.

[Seth Bongartz (Chair)]: So you compete with us in Chittenden. Yeah,

[Lisa McCartz, Principal, Craftsbury Schools]: think we have about 30% of Wilkite students who attend Praxisbury.

[Seth Bongartz (Chair)]: I can't think of anything else. You all for coming. We're