Further Reading
Follow these links to read articles written by community members about why we should defeat the merger:
Letter to the Editor: Merger Panel Ignores Input in Favor of Sales Pitch by Eugenie Doyle & Joan Holloway, Monkton
"Power centralized in one large unelected administration. Harder to have our voices heard, harder to retain the right to influence to a measured degree how our children are educated. Even the proponents of consolidated districts recognized this problem and allow for vigorous local parent/citizen advisory committees. Our merger committee has not set these up. Let’s not merge ‘til they do."
Equity Demands That We Defeat the Merger by Margi Gregory, Starksboro
"We have seen the disastrous social consequences of rural disintegration across the US, caused in part by the closing of small, community schools and the creation of large, impersonal districts with long transportation times. Do we really want this to happen in Addison County?"
Stop the Merger: Students and Taxpayers Deserve Better by Herb Olson, Starksboro
"Many residents of our districts share a vision for our communities to work together to improve education for all of our students, and to do so in a cost-effective manner. A merger will not help us achieve that vision."
"Some board members weren’t keen on adopting the resolution, largely due to proposed articles of agreement relating to potential school closures in the merged district. ...'I think that the town vote issue is extremely problematic,' Starksboro representative Brad Johnson said. 'From my standpoint, I wouldn’t be able to adopt a resolution such as the one that was presented tonight.' "
MAUSD-ANWSD Merger Would be Detrimental by Louis Dupont, Starksboro
"The continuing drumbeat for consolidation of school districts and School Boards, triggered by Act 46 and accelerated by exaggerated claims of savings and continuing pressure from the state, and certainly by declining enrollment, is pushing our school governance further from our schools. This is bad for our communities that place a high value on their local schools, and bad for the close oversight of our educational tax dollars."
"Some community members pressed the committee on the [school closure] article, asking how voters could trust that a local school wouldn’t be closed or repurposed in a merged district."