Highlights of the Proposed Budget

Kelly Bowen, CVSD School Board Finance Committee Chair, has shared the following on Front Porch Forum in each CVSD town. It's the next in a series of posts to help inform voters about the proposed budget for 2022-2023.

Dear CVSD Community Members and Voters,

This is the final post in a series to update you on the upcoming 2022-2023 proposed school district budget. Thank you for your continued support and for reading these updates. And most of all, thank you for taking the time to VOTE on March 1, 2022.

Here are important takeaways for this year’s budget:

• The Champlain Valley School District is committed to supporting all students.
• During pandemic recovery, we will continue to provide mental health services, social-emotional guidance, and academic support that acknowledges the unique needs of each student.
• We are committed to diversity, equity, & inclusion.
• We strive to maintain class sizes within the recommended range.
• The bond proposal focuses on critical health & safety needs at CVSD facilities.
• The estimated Pre-CLA (Common Level of Appraisal) tax rate is down 9¢ from last year. After applying the CLA factor, we estimate that the tax rate will be down for most CVSD towns.

It has been a pleasure to serve this community as Chair of the Finance Committee these past two years. With a growing district and a growing budget, I recognize the need for frequent and clear communication. As this budget cycle closes, I urge community members to get involved with your school district. A vibrant district with strong fiscal health can only be maintained by an active community. Please reach out to me: kbowen@cvsdvt.org if I can be of assistance.

Kind regards,

Kelly A. Bowen, CVSD Finance Committee Chair


Please join the CVSD INFORMATIONAL MEETING via Zoom on Monday, February 28, 2022, at 5:00. ZOOM meeting information: https://www.cvsdvt.org/budget or directly: https://cvsdvt-org.zoom.us/j/88634652241 Meeting ID: 886 3465 2241 - Passcode: cvsd11

Phone Participation: 1-646-876-9923 - Passcode: 854788

More information:
Budget page www.cvsdvt.org/budget
Annual Report https://www.cvsdvt.org/Page/602
2022-2023 Budget Flyer https://bit.ly/CVSDBudgetFlyerFY23
Budget FAQ’s https://bit.ly/CVSDBudgetFY23FAQs

See the Annual Warning on the budget page of our website for all of the ballot articles. We encourage all eligible residents in Champlain Valley School District towns to vote on March 1st or earlier.

 

What are the other Articles on the Ballot?

 Kelly Bowen, CVSD School Board Finance Committee Chair, has shared the following on Front Porch Forum in each CVSD town. It's the next in a series of posts to help inform voters about the proposed budget for 2022-2023. 

Dear CVSD Community Members and Voters,

This is the fourth post in a series to update you on the upcoming 2022-2023 proposed school district budget. Look for bi-weekly updates on Front Porch Forum or other school news outlets. Thank you for your continued support and for reading these updates.

In this post, I will talk about ballot Articles I-VI. As mentioned in prior posts, articles are simply questions and each question is listed by a Roman numeral. There are ten total articles on the ballot this year.

Articles I-VI - Typically these standard articles are voted upon in person at the CVSD Annual Meeting. Because this year's Annual Meeting will, once again, be held online, the articles will be printed on the ballot and voters will be asked to cast their vote during the regular election. Voters can cast early ballots or for those who prefer to vote in person, TUESDAY, MARCH 1, 2022 is the voting day.

• Articles I-III – Approves three non-voting CVSD administrative support positions: moderator, clerk, and treasurer. These positions are not full-time or salaried.
• Article IV – A yes vote allows the District to engage in short-term borrowing in anticipation of upcoming tax payments which allows CVSD to meet payment schedules during the fiscal year.
• Article V – Asks: Should CVSD continue to mail a notification announcing the availability of its annual report in lieu of distributing it to all residents?
• Article VI – Confirms the date for next year’s Annual Meeting.

You might have noticed this year that the District opted for a more detailed budget flyer in lieu of sending a full CVSD Annual Report to every home. This was done for a couple of reasons. First, the CVSD Annual Report is costly to print. Making it available online on the district’s website with the option to request a printed version (please call 985-1914) saves the taxpayers money. Second, many in our community continue to experience delays in regular mail deliveries.

As Finance Committee Chair, I appreciate and share the public’s concern for fiscal conservatism. Please reach out to me: kbowen@cvsdvt.org if I can be of assistance.

Kind regards,

Kelly A. Bowen, CVSD Finance Committee Chair


Please join the CVSD INFORMATIONAL MEETING via Zoom on Monday, February 28, 2022, at 5:00. ZOOM meeting information: https://www.cvsdvt.org/budget or directly: https://cvsdvt-org.zoom.us/j/88634652241 Meeting ID: 886 3465 2241 - Passcode: cvsd11

Phone Participation: 1-646-876-9923 - Passcode: 854788

More information:

Budget page www.cvsdvt.org/budget
Annual Report https://www.cvsdvt.org/Page/602
2022-2023 Budget Flyer https://bit.ly/CVSDBudgetFlyerFY23
Budget FAQ’s https://bit.ly/CVSDBudgetFY23FAQs

See the Annual Warning on the budget page of our website for all of the ballot articles. We encourage all eligible residents in Champlain Valley School District towns to vote on March 1st or earlier.

CVSD Update, February 11, 2022

We anticipate that many community members may have questions about masks in our schools after the announcements at the Governor's press conference yesterday.

Please see this update for information about:

• Masks
• Changes at the district's Central Office
• COVID testing before returning to school on February 28
• Getting informed about the proposed budget prior to voting

and more!

What Is ESSER and What Does that Have to Do With The Budget?

Kelly Bowen, CVSD School Board Finance Committee Chair, has shared the following on Front Porch Forum in each CVSD town. It's the next in a series of posts to help inform voters about the proposed budget for 2022-2023. 

Dear CVSD Community Members and Voters,

This is the third post in a series to update you on the upcoming 2022-2023 proposed school district budget. Look for bi-weekly updates on Front Porch Forum or other school news outlets.

In this post, I will talk about the third installment of ESSER funding including: What does ESSER stand for? Where do ESSER funds come from? How much money will CVSD receive in this third grant? How does ESSER impact CVSD? While ESSER funds are not included in our budget financials, it is important for taxpayers to understand how these federal funds impact CVSD.

What do ARP and ESSER stand for?

ARP is the American Rescue Plan of 2021. ESSER is the acronym for the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund. ESSER Funds were allocated in three separate grant offerings. ESSER 1, ESSER 2, and this final round of funds ARP ESSER.

Where do ARP ESSER funds come from?

ESSER funds are federal tax dollars that the US Government allocated to schools to support pandemic recovery. CVSD receives funds via the Vermont Agency of Education (AOE) that manages Vermont’s grant.

How much money will CVSD receive?

ESSER funds are allocated to each school district based on a formula that considers the proportion of students receiving free and reduced-price meals to the whole of the student population. Like any grant, all ESSER funds come with spending restrictions, and ARP ESSER funds must be used over the next three years.

CVSD's ARP ESSER grant amount is $4,351,752 or $374 per student/per year of the three year grant term. This 4.4 million dollar grant is welcome and will be used constructively. But, to keep it in fiscal perspective, compared to our annual cost per pupil, the ARP ESSER grant translates to $374/per student or less than 2% of annual per student spending ($18,454.)

For the upcoming 2022-2023 year, ARP ESSER funds will be used to fund eleven professional positions including: social workers, school counselors, and reading and math specialists.

For details about all ESSER Funds including ARP ESSER Funding and CVSD’s COVID Recovery Plan visit: https://sites.google.com/cvsdvt.org/cvsdrecovery/home

As Finance Committee Chair, I appreciate and share the public’s concern for fiscal conservatism. Please reach out to me: kbowen@cvsdvt.org if I can be of assistance.

Kind regards,

Kelly A. Bowen, CVSD Finance Committee Chair

Please join the CVSD INFORMATIONAL MEETING via Zoom on Monday, February 28, 2022, at 5:00. ZOOM meeting information: https://www.cvsdvt.org/budget or directly: https://cvsdvt-org.zoom.us/j/88634652241 Meeting ID: 886 3465 2241 - Passcode: cvsd11

Phone Participation: 1-646-876-9923 - Passcode: 854788

More information:

Budget Page www.cvsdvt.org/budget
Annual Report https://www.cvsdvt.org/Page/602
2022-2023 Budget Flyer https://bit.ly/CVSDBudgetFlyerFY23
Budget FAQ’s https://bit.ly/CVSDBudgetFY23FAQs

See the Annual Warning on the budget page of our website for all of the ballot articles. We encourage all eligible residents in Champlain Valley School District towns to vote on March 1st or earlier.

Math Counts in CVSD

6th, 7th, and 8th grade students from CCS, HCS, SCS, and WCS competed in the district MathCounts competition this week. 

For the individual part of the competition AJ (WCS), Anna (SCS), and Will (HCS) were the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place finishers. 

One of the Hinesburg teams won the team competition and took home the trophy. Students will be competing in the regional competition, which is virtual this year, on February 17th.

Congratulations to all competitors! 

CVSD's Proposed Bond on the Ballot

Kelly Bowen, CVSD School Board Finance Committee Chair, has shared the following on Front Porch Forum in each CVSD town. It's the next in a series of posts to help inform voters about the proposed budget for 2022-2023. 

Dear CVSD Community Members and Voters,

This is the second post in a series to update you on the upcoming 2022-2023 proposed school district budget. Look for bi-weekly updates on Front Porch Forum or other school news outlets.

In this post, I will outline Article X (ten) on the ballot. Article X requests a bond that will positively impact all CVSD schools.

The CVSD Board of Directors is committed to a sustainable capital funding strategy, which minimizes costs and stabilizes tax impact. Our goal is to present district voters with consistent, small investment (bond) requests prioritized to eliminate the need for the large and costly construction projects that we have experienced in the past.

Tax-paying residents of Charlotte, Hinesburg, Shelburne, St. George, and Williston share fiscal responsibility for maintaining the six CVSD buildings.

The projects funded by this proposed $7.5 million bond focus on urgent needs–life-safety, and accessibility upgrades, hazardous material remediation, trip/fall hazard remediation, security improvements, HVAC upgrades, and a few high-priority maintenance projects. Every school will benefit from the passage of this bond article. The most significant proposed project is for Charlotte Central School, where CVSD continues to address significant deferred maintenance. We are following the district's plan to stay ahead of maintenance needs in other schools. (Deferred maintenance is costly and time-consuming and detracts from students' needs.)

The bond timing is designed to take advantage of other retiring debt (past bonds that are expiring.) This is done to minimize the impact on the tax-rate and the taxpayer. We anticipate that the entire debt payment (at its highest level with no offsets) would be one cent on the tax rate.

For a complete outline of the proposed work plan to be funded through this bond, see: https://www.cvsdvt.org/budget Or, view a short video by CVSD's COO, Jeanne Jensen, here: https://youtu.be/D1g7rsSvy3s

As Finance Committee Chair, I appreciate and share the public's concern for fiscal conservatism. Please reach out to me: kbowen@cvsdvt.org if I can be of assistance.

Kind regards,

Kelly A. Bowen, CVSD Finance Committee Chair


Please join the CVSD INFORMATIONAL MEETING via Zoom on Monday, February 28, 2022, at 5:00. ZOOM meeting information: https://www.cvsdvt.org/budget or directly: https://cvsdvt-org.zoom.us/j/88634652241 Meeting ID: 886 3465 2241 - Passcode: cvsd11

Phone Participation: 1-646-876-9923 - Passcode: 854788

More information:

Budget page www.cvsdvt.org/budget
Annual Report https://www.cvsdvt.org/Page/602
2022-2023 Budget Flyer https://bit.ly/CVSDBudgetFlyerFY23
Budget FAQ’s https://bit.ly/CVSDBudgetFY23FAQs

See the Annual Warning on the budget page of our website for all of the ballot articles. We encourage all eligible residents in Champlain Valley School District towns to vote on March 1st or earlier.

What's on the School District's Ballot This Year?

Kelly Bowen, CVSD School Board Finance Committee Chair, has shared the following on Front Porch Forum in each CVSD town. It's the first in a series of posts to help inform voters about the proposed budget for 2022-2023. We'll re-post them on our blog for those that might want to view them again.

Dear CVSD Community Members and Voters,

FY23 budget season is upon us. As Finance Committee Chair, I am pleased to report that the CVSD FY23 budget was developed with our ongoing commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion of all learners. As we continue our COVID-19 recovery efforts, our focus on social-emotional and educational supports remains a top priority.

I know personal time is tight and attention spans are limited, so I’ve crafted a series of simple posts to keep you informed. Look for bi-weekly updates on Front Porch Forum and in our school news outlets until 2/24.

Voters can cast early ballots or for those who prefer to vote in person, TUESDAY, MARCH 1, 2022, is your chance to vote on the 2022-2023 proposed CVSD Budget and school-related Articles. (Articles and Ballot Questions refer to the same thing.)

In this post, we’ll share a few budget highlights and explain the standard Articles VII-IX, which appear yearly on the ballot.

• Article VII - The BUDGET QUESTION: to approve an operating budget for the six schools of the 4000-student Champlain Valley School District for the fiscal year starting July 1, 2022. The proposed budget is $89,397,762, an increase of 4.8% from the current year.

The 4.8% budget increase is reflective of the needed addition of diversity, equity, and inclusion professionals as well as increases in salaries and healthcare costs.

• Article VIII – The FUND BALANCE QUESTION: this question requests permission from the taxpayers to spend reserved money to offset budget increases. FY23 Article VIII asks: Shall the voters of the Champlain Valley School District authorize the Board of School Directors to allocate $1,000,000 of the school district's current fund balance as revenue for the 2022-2023 operating budget and assign the remaining balance as revenue for future budgets.

• Article IX - The BUS QUESTION: This question asks taxpayers to approve the District’s need to borrow funds for bus purchases. The article gives the District authorization to borrow up to $210,000 to maintain our fleet. This year it is proposed that we purchase two new buses to replace old buses. (These older models are 12 & 15 years old and each have more than 170,000 miles on the odometer).

As Finance Committee Chair, I appreciate and share the public’s concern for fiscal conservatism. Please reach out to me: kbowen@cvsdvt.org if I can be of assistance. I look forward to the continued educational and fiscal success of the Champlain Valley School District. On behalf of the CVSD School Board, we appreciate your generous support through what has been another extraordinary year.

Kind regards,

Kelly A. Bowen, CVSD Finance Committee Chair

Please join the CVSD INFORMATIONAL MEETING via Zoom on Monday, February 28, 2022, at 5:00. ZOOM meeting information: https://www.cvsdvt.org/budget or directly: https://cvsdvt-org.zoom.us/j/88634652241 Meeting ID: 886 3465 2241 - Passcode: cvsd11

Phone Participation: 1-646-876-9923 - Passcode: 854788


More information:

Budget page www.cvsdvt.org/budget
Annual Report https://www.cvsdvt.org/Page/602
2022-2023 Budget Flyer https://bit.ly/CVSDBudgetFlyerFY23
Budget FAQ’s https://bit.ly/CVSDBudgetFY23FAQs

See the Annual Warning on the budget page of our website for all of the ballot articles. We encourage all eligible residents in Champlain Valley School District towns to vote on March 1st or earlier.

CVSD Update, February 4, 2022

 

Thank you for taking the time to view this recent update. It includes: 

• Information about diversity, equity, and inclusion in the district
• An invitation to the upcoming DEI Town Hall
• COVID mitigation measures and testing
• Budget and bond information and resources for voters

and more!