Meetings
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[Seth Bongartz (Chair)]: We're live. We are live. Conference committee on H955. We're back after break and some work on the tide. And I think you've got something for us to look at. Could be
[Kesha Ram Hinsdale (Member)]: a little bit disjointed because with all going on and demands on Ledge Council time, there is some sort of policy language that Ledge Councils put together and will present. And then there are just some groupings that I have written here, we can just sort of go over, maybe we should just go over those first since we have that in our mind. So we would propose, on the probably best to have the house groupings map or the house grouping maps or the center grouping over it map in front of the leagues. That's this one? This Anything with the house groupings, whether virtual or not. Okay, so first, talking about CISAs, we would propose the houses CISA regions with the adjustment of Milton being part of the Champlain Central region, Oh, that's you. Thus sort of keeping that alignment of Grand Isle and the land bridge that exists with Chittenden County, where they seem to get their services and where most of the kids go to school and I'll maybe email all the students who should have been with it. Now, when it comes to grouping, number one, I would just propose this isn't between yours and ours, but again, would just propose let's put CVSD and MMU together to at least have a conversation about becoming a superdifferent than showing the rest of the state and how it's done. It seemed very important to you to have Northfield and Williamstown, Paine Mountain from group 21 into group nine, I'm sorry, from group nine to group 21.
[Seth Bongartz (Chair)]: And this is your group nine.
[Kesha Ram Hinsdale (Member)]: This is our grouping. It's gonna make for, it's a pretty high number. But if it's important to you and the people there are desirous of it, I suppose we can give it a shot. I remain concerned that we are mixing CTE regions, so just to note that. Wells and Middletown Springs, putting that from group two into group three, earlier with West. And while I am nervous about breaking up an existing CISA, and I think it really needs to stay intact as possible because Stratton is sort of significantly different. If you had a rather formal proposal from them or request from them, we can accept Stratton going from group six to group three. The other ones pretty much stuck with the house position, largely due to geography and population and CTE and the existing CSA.
[Seth Bongartz (Chair)]: Okay. It's gonna take a look.
[Kesha Ram Hinsdale (Member)]: I am going to email this to all of you right now. And the group numbers are in fact, that are on the map are also the same ones that are in the. Send this to Daphne to send it to everybody. I'm happy to also walk through it again if that would
[Seth Bongartz (Chair)]: be helpful. No. I think if we have it in writing, we can go back and look.
[Kesha Ram Hinsdale (Member)]: So, definitely, I just emailed that to you if you sent out to everybody else. So that's the mapping constructs. And I think probably we'd be ready to have RedCatzel present the language with further explanation.
[Seth Bongartz (Chair)]: So can I ask a question? Yes. What did you do in the groupings? And maybe this is already answered. I don't know. Where did you put the islands in terms of their merger groupings?
[Kesha Ram Hinsdale (Member)]: Everything else stuck to the house map proposal.
[Seth Bongartz (Chair)]: Which is that they are with Milton and Colchester?
[Kesha Ram Hinsdale (Member)]: Yes. Okay. Yes.
[Seth Bongartz (Chair)]: And Essex Westford is?
[Kesha Ram Hinsdale (Member)]: Yeah, I didn't do anything there.
[Seth Bongartz (Chair)]: They're solo?
[Kesha Ram Hinsdale (Member)]: They're still solo. Okay. Yes. Of those three large districts, I think two should talk, but three would be too much.
[David Weeks (Vice Chair)]: So we're leaving them?
[Kesha Ram Hinsdale (Member)]: We're done with these.
[David Weeks (Vice Chair)]: Okay. And we're leaving those districts? Yes. Okay.
[Kesha Ram Hinsdale (Member)]: Yeah. As as opposed to the house.
[David Weeks (Vice Chair)]: With hesitancy. Yes.
[Seth Bongartz (Chair)]: That's that's what you're proposing.
[David Weeks (Vice Chair)]: Yes. Finalize. Yes.
[Kesha Ram Hinsdale (Member)]: Yeah, so the house map, but with the changes that were emailed to you and that I walked through.
[David Weeks (Vice Chair)]: So in other things, we've, as we said, sort of acceded to your language on school construction and still have concerns about the legacy debt coverage. And you said you were going to work on some sort of something, and I'm really happy to help figure that out with you if you want. With what to do if a vote fails?
[Seth Bongartz (Chair)]: Basically, just include language that says that you have to pay for your legacy debt, which is 25%. And that will be done by the
[David Weeks (Vice Chair)]: supplemental district spending. What if your supplemental district spending fails? You just don't vote on it. It's automatic. It's automatic. You just have
[Seth Bongartz (Chair)]: to pay for your 25% of your legacy debt through your supplemental district spending.
[David Weeks (Vice Chair)]: Oh, interesting. Okay. We will think about that.
[Seth Bongartz (Chair)]: They've already approved it. John will have language, but thanks. Got lots of things on his plate.
[David Weeks (Vice Chair)]: He does. Okay. And then so what that leaves us with that we're gonna go through with Beth is a contingency type thing, sort of a sunset on the definitions that we have talked about, a contingency around the topping off language. And I think that and then that just leaves us with one or two outstanding things from there to discuss. So, Beth, can you Yep. Thanks. And will you come sit here when you do it? Yep. If you can get out of that
[Seth Bongartz (Chair)]: Can I ask another question about the maps?
[David Weeks (Vice Chair)]: I'm sorry that we've No, it's really fun to talk about the maps.
[Kesha Ram Hinsdale (Member)]: That's not what you said after we wrote.
[Seth Bongartz (Chair)]: I know. I was
[David Weeks (Vice Chair)]: going something.
[Seth Bongartz (Chair)]: It's important. I'm sorry to be sarcastic. No, it's Okay. Franklin County and the Northeast Kingdom, you need to say anything about those. Again The House map
[Kesha Ram Hinsdale (Member)]: and The
[Seth Bongartz (Chair)]: House map
[Kesha Ram Hinsdale (Member)]: With the changes I know.
[Seth Bongartz (Chair)]: Okay, sorry.
[David Weeks (Vice Chair)]: So rather than trying to break up the Senate map, you sort of took the House map and aceded to some of the Senate conditions. I
[Seth Bongartz (Chair)]: see. Okay. That wasn't clear in your email, so it's not sure.
[David Weeks (Vice Chair)]: Thank you.
[Betsy James, Office of Legislative Counsel]: Betsy James, Office of Legislative Counsel. Are you sure you want me to share this language? We haven't spoke.
[David Weeks (Vice Chair)]: Yep. Okay. We looked over it. Okay.
[Betsy James, Office of Legislative Counsel]: Just trying to cover all my bases here. Yep. Thank you. We have hard copies?
[Kesha Ram Hinsdale (Member)]: I don't think we have hard copies.
[David Weeks (Vice Chair)]: Do want a hard copy? I
[Betsy James, Office of Legislative Counsel]: can it it's just a couple pages. Or Okay. Four. So we have it we have it done. Can send it to Daphne, but it will take me a second. That's fine. Would you like me to send it to Daphne?
[Kesha Ram Hinsdale (Member)]: You'd probably need to be
[David Weeks (Vice Chair)]: posted in Yes.
[Betsy James, Office of Legislative Counsel]: But in this moment? Yes, please. Okay.
[Kesha Ram Hinsdale (Member)]: Thank you.
[David Weeks (Vice Chair)]: And I'm
[Betsy James, Office of Legislative Counsel]: gonna stop sharing my screen. Okay. Thank you. And Daphne, can you make copies? Yes. Thank you so much. Do we want to wait to look at it until we get copies? You know, just assumed you that, actually. I hate to say it, but I like to work
[Kesha Ram Hinsdale (Member)]: on I'll talk about maps in the meantime.
[Seth Bongartz (Chair)]: Talk more about maps. It's like it's hard to do maps, almost.
[Kesha Ram Hinsdale (Member)]: I'll tell you, you know, they're still on camera, but the assistance of John Adams and his team has been really pretty phenomenal.
[Seth Bongartz (Chair)]: Yeah, amazing. Okay.
[David Weeks (Vice Chair)]: Yep.
[Seth Bongartz (Chair)]: Okay. Yeah.
[Kesha Ram Hinsdale (Member)]: It's okay. I'm waiting for copies.
[David Weeks (Vice Chair)]: I'm gonna go see what's happening with the conference time. I'll be right back. Okay.
[Kesha Ram Hinsdale (Member)]: I won't get stuck
[Seth Bongartz (Chair)]: in