BRANDON, Vt. – With the failure of the Otter Valley Unified Union (OVUU) budget on Town Meeting Day by a vote of 700 to 868, the school board met on March 17 to decide on a decreased budget to present to voters across the six towns.
On April 7, voters will decide on a new option, one that now increases overall spending by 2.28%, down from 2.92%. On the ballot itself, voters will see an increase per-pupil of 4.84%, equaling $14,168.03, down from the 5.5% initially proposed. If approved, this would eliminate a currently unfilled World Languages elementary teacher position and move an also unfilled Facilitator of Teaching and Learning position from full- to part-time as far as OVUU’s financial obligation is concerned.
The March 17 meeting, which lasted nearly three hours, opened with about 35 minutes worth of comments from the public expressing concern about the potential impact to Section 504 for students with disabilities, elimination of student-facing roles over administrative positions, and a perception of lack of transparency between the school board and the general public.
Ultimately the budget discussion led to removing $178,000 via two adjustments.
First, the board opted to remove the opening for a World Languages teacher at the elementary level, reducing the new budget by $110,000. Several board members recognized the importance of foreign language education and exposure for young students but admitted that the inability to fill the role at this time means it remains ineffective. Even when filled, this role only offers minimal exposure to languages due to the resource being shared across the district. The discussion ended with a general agreement to revisit this in future budgets, and to scope out how to expand access to languages in the elementary grades, given the childhood development benefits such learning supports.
This cut of the unfilled position prevented the board from having to eliminate a Social Studies position, a suggestion that was unpopular with the community feedback available both in-person and submitted via the Reach Out! platform, due to perceived student engagement, in particular with history classes taught by the educator in the role.
Second, the board approved moving a Facilitator of Teaching and Learning position, also currently unfilled, from full-time to part-time, reducing the budget by $68,000. To ensure that the role can support the district full-time, however, RNESU Board Chair Laurie Bertrand and Superintendent Rene Sanchez indicated that it may be possible to fund the other half of the position using unallocated federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) grant funding. RNESU would have to approve this, and, even if approved, this funding is not guaranteed past FY27, leaving the position in jeopardy for future budgets. At the time of this article, the RNESU did not meet quorum on March 18, meaning it did not meet to approve use of federal grants for this position.
Moving the facilitator position from full- to part-time alleviated the need to consider a cut to the planned growth of the Middle School Alternative Program. This program, which has been in planning stages for the past two years, is designed to support at-risk students who would otherwise need to be sent out-of-district at great cost. Deciding to cut elsewhere allows OVUU to continue recruiting for the Alternative Program teacher position, with hopes that the earlier intervention, rather than only at the high school level, will lead to better outcomes for students needing alternative learning options.
In response to concerns raised both at the meeting and in comments submitted beforehand about overspending at the administrative level, Board Chair Bertrand gave a brief overview of the 20 job roles paid for from the Central Office for RNESU budget. Bertrand made the case that not only is each role necessary, but each takes on a wide scope of duties and responsibilities.
While it is clear from public discussion, Reach Out! comments, and social media that concern still remains high regarding the perception that cuts could be made to the RNESU Central Office, none of these are in scope for OVUU’s Board unilaterally to take action on, and none were made for the budget being proposed next month. The timing of RNESU meetings related to budget, as well as the fact that Barstow’s budget passed earlier this month, limit OVUU Board’s ability to make RNESU budget recommendations.
In sum, the board moved to approve a warning, notifying voters that they are asked to cast ballots on April 7 to approve the new budget. On the ballot, voters will be asked to approve a budget of $28,663,285, a 4.84% increase in spending per pupil, bringing the cost to $14,168 per pupil. This likely equates to an $11 increase per $100,000 of homestead value for Brandon, and $18 dollars per $100,000 for Pittsford. Voters have an opportunity to attend the pre-vote meeting on April 6 at OVUHS at 6:30 p.m., or submit thoughts via Reach Out!.
Across Vermont, 19 of the 112 school board budgets being voted on during Town Meeting Day 2026 failed to pass. Those that passed, had an average overall spending increase of 4.19% and an increase in per pupil spending of 4.76%, bringing the total to $14,745 per student. It is up to voters within OVUU’s jurisdiction to decide whether this new budget proposal, which keeps OVUU closer to or under Vermont state averages, is acceptable.
OVUU Board Members discussed plans to reach out to constituents before the vote in April – accepting the responsibility of the work needed to obtain buy-in and acceptance of the new proposal and overcome perceptions of unapproachability. OVUU’s fiscal year 2026 budget passed by only one vote in 2025, and notably FY25’s approval took three ballots to pass. According to RNESU Finance Director Brenda Fleming, it costs OVUU about $7,000 per round of voting needed in order to present ballots to voters in all six towns. While it is unclear which of these proposals the school board would consider next, the presentation from March 10 gives the best indication as to what else could be considered for cuts if the budget fails to pass on April 7.
Questions also still circle around what changes the increasingly controversial Act 73 will bring for school districts as it comes into effect as legislators seek to reimagine Vermont’s public education via statewide codification of curriculum requirements, class sizes, and spending.
Already, plans to comply with future regulations are impacting OVUU’s decisionmaking. Superintendent Sanchez clarified that part of the reason the OVUHS Social Studies position cut was recommended was rooted in anticipated needs to comply with class size minimums, not with the educator’s performance.
As of now, the anticipated minimum is 18 students for 9-12 grade level classes that do not fall within an exemption. Unless OVUHS receives a waiver, and if minimums do not change or become more flexible, the district could fall out of compliance in the future, with current average class sizes resting around 11 or 12.
Act 73 remains highly controversial and highly debated, but as of now remains law and OVUU Board appears committed to prepare to comply with regulations as they come from the state Department of Education.
Community members have various resources for remaining informed. PEGTV Rutland covers school board meetings in addition to various other community happenings, including this recent meeting debating the new budget. Via RNESU’s website has a section for OVUU Meeting Agendas, Budgets and Supplementary Information relevant to meetings. Additionally, community members are encouraged to express opinions, concerns and comments to the school board via the Reach Out! page on their website.
