Champlain Valley School District Officials talk with CSH Rotary about this year's proposed school budget.
Today, we heard from the Champlain Valley School District regarding the school budget that will be voted on at our March Town Meeting. Adam Bunting, CVU Superintendent, Dave Connery, School Board Vice Chair, Meghan Metzler, School Board Chair, and Gary Markus, Chief Operating Officer came to share information about the proposed school budget. "This is a responsible budget for challenging times; inclusive and collaborative." Last year's budget was 101.7 million - this year even with an 11% increase in health care costs plus salary expense, the School Board was able to hold the increase to just 102.7 million which is truly incredible with all the pressures they faced in putting this budget together. Although it was incredibly difficult, 40 full time equivalents will be laid off and some programs needed to be cut in order to keep tax rates as low as possible. All of the board members and school officials are visiting with communities throughout the district to explain the changes needed in this year's budget and to answer our communities questions. There is more information on the Champlain Valley School District website. All of our guests did an excellent job explaining and discussing the changes we might see with regard to both our schools and our school property taxes.