Tuesday, March 5, :00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

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1 SPAULDING UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT PLEASE EXERCISE YOUR RIGHT TO VOTE Tuesday, March 5, :00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Barre Auditorium 18 Seminary Hill, Barre, VT ~~~~ Barre Town Middle and Elementary School 70 Websterville Rd., Barre, VT ABSENTEE BALLOTS are available by calling the BARRE CITY CLERK S OFFICE BARRE TOWN CLERK S OFFICE SPAULDING UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT BUDGET ANNUAL MEETING Monday, March 4, 2013 at 6:00 p.m. Spaulding High School Library For more information, please feel free to call: John A. Bacon, Ed.D., Superintendent BOARD MEMBERS: Norma Malone, Chair Tommy Walz, Vice Chair Giuliano Cecchinelli, Clerk Joel Garbacik Carlotta Simonds-Perantoni Joe Blakely Veronica Foiadelli-McCormick

2 SPAULDING UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT #41 ANNUAL MEETING WARNING FOR March 4, 2013 The legal voters of Spaulding Union High School District # 41, which consists of Barre City School District and the Barre Town School District, Vermont, are hereby warned to meet at the Spaulding High School Library in the City of Barre, Vermont, on Monday, March 4, 2013 at 6:00 p.m. to act on the following articles: ARTICLE 1. ARTICLE 2. ARTICLE 3. ARTICLE 4. ARTICLE 5. ARTICLE 6. To elect a moderator for a one-year term. To elect a clerk for a one-year term. To elect a treasurer for a one-year term. To elect an auditor: One for a three-year term. To determine what compensation shall be paid to the officers of the district: Moderator $100 To be elected Clerk $100/year To be elected Treasurer $500/year To be elected Auditors $100/year Dick Storz (2014) John Santorello (2015) To be Elected (2016) Board Members $1,500/year for each Board Chair $2,000/year Shall the voters of Spaulding Union High School District #41 vote to authorize its Board of School Commissioners to borrow money, when needed, by issuance of bonds or notes not in excess of anticipated revenue for the school year, to meet the expenses and liabilities of the school district? ARTICLE 7. To present and discuss the proposed budget which will be voted on March 5, ARTICLE 8. ARTICLE 9. To do any other business proper to come before said meeting. To adjourn. Adopted and approved at a regular meeting of the Board of School Commissioners of Spaulding Union High School District #41 held on January 9, Received for record and recorded in records of Spaulding Union High School District #41 on January 31, ATTEST: /S/Donna Holden, Clerk Spaulding Union High School District #41 /S/Norma Malone, Chair /S/Tommy Walz, Vice Chair /S/Giuliano Cecchinelli, Clerk /S/Joel Garbacik /S/ Carlotta Simonds-Perantoni /S/Joe Blakely /S/Veronica Foiadelli-McCormick Spaulding Union High School District #41 Board of School Directors

3 SPAULDING UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT #41 WARNING FOR March 5, 2013 VOTE The legal voters of the Spaulding Union High School District #41 who are residents of the City of Barre and the Town of Barre, are hereby notified and warned to meet at the Barre City Municipal Auditorium in the City of Barre, on Tuesday, March 5, 2013 between the hours of seven (7:00) o clock in the forenoon (a.m.) at which time the polls will open and seven (7:00) o clock in the afternoon (p.m.) at which time the polls will close; and the Barre Town Middle and Elementary School in the Town of Barre, on Tuesday, March 5, 2013, between the hours of seven (7:00) o clock in the forenoon (a.m.) at which time the polls will open and seven (7:00) o clock in the afternoon (p.m.) at which time the polls will close, respectively, to vote by Australian ballot upon the following Article of business: ARTICLE I Shall the Spaulding Union High School District #41 vote the sum of $12,303,664 to meet the current expenses of Spaulding High School for the fiscal year July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2014? This total includes $11,863,664 for operating expenses and $440,000 of grants (that do not increase local taxes). ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ The legal voters and residents of Spaulding Union High School District #41 are further warned and notified that an informational meeting will be held in the Library at the Spaulding High School and Barre Technical Center Campus in the City of Barre on Monday, March 4, 2013 commencing at six (6:00) o'clock in the afternoon (p.m.) for the purpose of explaining the articles to be voted on by Australian ballot. The legal voters of Spaulding Union High School District #41 are further notified that voter qualification, registration and absentee voting relative to said annual meeting shall be as provided in Chapters 43, 51, and 55 of Title 17, Vermont Statues Annotated. Adopted and approved at a meeting of the Board of School Directors of Spaulding Union High School District #41 held on January 9, Received for record and recorded in the records of Spaulding Union High School District #41 on January 31, ATTEST: /S/Donna Holden, Clerk Spaulding Union High School District #41 /S/Norma Malone, Chair /S/Tommy Walz, Vice Chair /S/Giuliano Cecchinelli, Clerk /S/Joel Garbacik /S/Carlotta Simonds-Perantoni /S/Joe Blakely /S/Veronica Foiadelli-McCormick Spaulding Union High School District #41 Board of School Directors

4 REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS BARRE SUPERVISORY UNION # The Barre Supervisory Union supplies leadership and a range of supports and services to its member schools to improve student learning, coordinate programs and provide for the efficient management and operation of your schools. The BSU office is supported financially by assessments to the local schools based on student enrollments and is governed by the supervisory union board which is comprised of three directors from each of the local boards. As your superintendent, I oversee the work of this office and work closely with the administrators in the schools and with your school boards. The supervisory union employs curriculum specialists in reading and language arts, math, special education, curriculum development, and early education. These professionals work with the principals and teachers in the schools to align and coordinate curriculum across the supervisory union, monitor student progress, develop programs, and plan school improvement initiatives. They also work with teachers to implement effective instructional practices in the schools and improve instruction. Much of this work is supported by grants to meet state and federal requirements. When appropriate, we plan for teachers from the different schools to work together, share ideas, learn from each other, and coordinate curriculum and programs. Currently, our specialists are working with teachers to adopt our curriculum and instruction to the common core standards which will be assessed in two years. For the past three years, we have had a grant funded early education coordinator working to expand the number of three and four year olds that we serve in our elementary schools and reach out to other early childhood programs and day care providers so that more children receive high quality early education services and are ready for kindergarten and a good start in school. Next year, our schools will enroll about half of our preschool students which is double the enrollment from when we started the program. Early education is the most cost effective program for helping students succeed in school, improve graduation rates and keep kids out of trouble. As required by the state, special education services are also coordinated at the central office. There are extensive grant, compliance, and reporting requirements which we provide, and when practical, the supervisory union provides shared services such as transportation. All financial services for the three schools and tech center are centralized at the supervisory union. We process payrolls for the district s employees and payables for the goods and services purchased. In addition, the business manager works with administrators and boards to develop budgets and track expenditures and revenues. The state requires a significant amount of financial reporting to access tax revenues and reimbursements. All grants are submitted and administered by central office personnel. When possible, we try to save time and money through centralized purchasing. We also work closely with the auditors to help them monitor our accounts and improve our accounting practices. Collectively, the schools employ approximately 500 people from support staff to teachers and administrators. This past Fall, we concluded negotiations with the teachers to unify them under a single supervisory union wide contract. The new contract established a common pay scale and benefits and creates greater equity and fairness within the supervisory union. There was no good reason to pay teachers differently in one school than the others and it is also easier to administer a single contract. In addition, the central office provides personnel services to the districts from the initial hiring and background checks of employees to contracts and licensure issues. The use of technology in our schools is expanding rapidly. Technology services for all four schools are provided by the central office from the initial purchase and installation of equipment and software to internet support services, and training. All schools utilize a central file server at the high school and common internet access. We have both wired and wireless high speed connectivity in all schools, most classrooms have interactive white boards, all students have access to computers, and our system runs on virtual servers. Parents and students can access grades and assignments through the parent portal of our Power School student information system. We are in the process of implementing an active directory in order to better manage our network and computers. We maintain an system for all of our employees and eventually would like to provide this service to our students. Technology is an important tool for engaging our students, accessing information, and for working more efficiently as adults. By working together, Barre s schools benefit from a wider range of more efficient and effective supports and services than they would if they weren t members of the supervisory union. Because the BSU has more students than many supervisory unions in Vermont, we are able to offer more services at a lower cost per student than many supervisory unions in Vermont. The BSU is a team effort and I feel fortunate to be working with so many strong, dedicated people who care about our schools, children and the greater Barre community. It is my pleasure to serve your schools and community and I thank you for your support. Sincerely, John A. Bacon, Ed.D., Superintendent of Barre Schools

5 Spaulding High School State of the School Report Spaulding High School kicked off the school year by having Mike Schmoker, a nationally renowned educational researcher and writer, support Spaulding High School s focus on close reading of text, active discussion of text, and writing in all content areas in relation to ideas inherent in the text. As Jim Collins noted in Schmoker s book Focus, the real path to greatness, it turns out, requires simplicity and diligence. It requires clarity, not instant illumination. It demands each of us to focus on what is vital and to eliminate all of the extraneous distractions. We have been preparing for the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) implementation, and the Smarter Balance Assessment Consortium (SBAC) for the year by aligning our units of study and developing common assessments for each course. In-house Professional Development, formation of the SHS Literacy Team, hiring a Literacy Coach, committing to writing across the curriculum, transforming instruction in math while modifying courses to better align to the CCSS are just a few things we have been working on to improve student achievement. In bringing costly out-of-district placement students back to SHS s Granite Academy and ACT program we have not only saved money, but have given these students the high-quality education they deserve. Our AP program continues to grow as we challenge students to reach their potential. This past year, we offered 11 AP courses to SHS students, and participation rates for AP have increased at SHS. Of the 132 exams taken by 90 of our students, over half received college credits for passing their exams at a high-level. In addition, participation rates rose for our on-line courses from 50 courses taken last year by students to 85 courses taken this year by students. Though we know the cost of education is rising every year, Spaulding High School has tried to remain responsive to the fiscal constraints of our economy, while still providing our students with the opportunity to receive a quality educational experience. Tom Sedore Principal

6 Barre Technical Center State of School Report We opened our doors to 198 high school students and 11 adult students. Our Open House October 24 th greeted over 300 community members, students, families, board members and local legislators celebrating Technical Education in Central Vermont. The Barre Technical Center programs offer either dual enrolled college credits (earning college credits while attending a technical program) or industry certifications. Barre Technical Center goes Beyond the Classroom. The Vermont Standards Board for Professional Educators (VSBPE) has been working with a team of students in the Digital Media Arts Program for two school years and has finished redesigning the cover for the Core Teacher and Leadership Standards booklet that will be published later this year. The VSBPE has distributed the booklet to over 18,000 educational professionals in Vermont and it will also reside on the Agency of Education s Educator Licensing website. Last school year, our faculty and staff had been involved in rigorous literacy training through the Southern Regional Education Board and have continued their focused training in numeracy best practices this school year. This training includes over 45 hours of workshop and applied sessions for all faculty and administration. We are committed to improving our instruction in reading and math for all of our students to better prepare them for post-secondary options and the career field. Our Guidance Coordinator is closely involved with all of our sending high schools and middle schools. We have reached students in the middle school years to assist with their future career planning in grades It is crucial for students in the 8 th grade to have discussions with support personnel in the schools to develop a four-year plan. Technical Education should be part of that four-year plan. In July 2012 we hosted Rosie s Girls Technical Skill Summer Camp for non-traditional careers. The program was full again this year, hosting 28 young girls. Some of the areas they explored were firefighting, welding, carpentry, bicycle repair and safety and automotive repair. We are proud to be able to offer this opportunity to our region through the support of Carl D. Perkins Federal grant funds. In October 2012 we sponsored over 30 young women to attend the Women Can Do conference held each year at Vermont Technical College. This is another program focused on exposing young women to the non-traditional career fields. The attendees are from grades 9-12 across the state of Vermont. Our Building Trades Program worked with SafeLine which supports battered women and was able to assist SafeLine with an addition to its office in Chelsea. We are proud to provide educational opportunities for adults across our region both in the evening and during the day. Evening programs range from Plumbing and Electrical Apprenticeship (through Vermont Technical College) to LNA (Licensed Nursing Assistant) to CDA (Child Development Associate). The evening program hosts up to 300 adults each week from September through June. They also run more intensive programming over the summer. Please watch your local paper for more details. We have developed an Action Plan for the Center ( ). The areas of focus for the next 4 years are: literacy and numeracy training, data driven improvements, center wide pre and post academic assessments, bridging high school and technical center initiatives that are student and teacher driven, and developing post-secondary pathways. Our Outstanding Teacher of the Year for 2012 was Wendy Clark, Bakery Chef. She received overwhelming support for this nomination from both students and staff. We will be sponsoring our annual Serving Our Senior Citizens event in the spring. Please watch the local paper for more information. The Technical Center Faculty and Staff invite you to stop in to the Center for a visit and tour. Please call for more information. Our technical programs continue to be of high interest and high demand to the students in our region. Please visit our website: to see what the students have been doing the site is updated regularly by our own Digital Media Arts Program students and faculty. Sincerely, Penny Chamberlin Barre Technical Center Director 1

7 Spaulding High School 2014 Proposed Budget Highlights The SHS FY 14 proposed budget reflects an increase of 3.86%, a sum of $440,918 over the FY 13 total budget approved by voters last March. The budget would require a projected tax rate increase of 1.5 in Barre Town and 7/10 of 1 in Barre City. The overall increase in the proposed budget is related to rising costs, additional expenses for educational programs and facility needs, and loss of federal and state funding. Significant cost increases include: - Negotiated wages, salaries and benefits - Projected 14% increase in health insurance premiums - Special Education services - SHS assessment for Supervisory Union expenses - Roof replacement project The Board and administrators completed a thorough review of the SHS instructional and operational needs and expenses. Enrollment data, student needs and academic requirements were evaluated and the following staffing adjustments were made: - A reduction of 3 part-time positions in regular education - A reduction of 6 full-time positions in special education (1 instructor, 1 behavioral interventionist, 4 para-educators) - A reduction of 2 full-time staff (1 clerical position, 1 custodial position) The proposed budget supports the education of 770 students with: a broad array of programs; course offerings including AP classes and on-line learning options; and a variety of athletic and extracurricular activities. Approximately 15-20% of students receive Special Education services ranging from in-class support to off-site programs for students with extraordinary needs. Funding is also provided for students who attend the Barre Technical Center and the Phoenix Program. Additionally, the budget finances ongoing projects for the repair and renovation of the school facility, and helps fund the services provided by the Supervisory Union staff.

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16 PLEASE EXERCISE YOUR RIGHT TO VOTE BARRE SUPERVISORY UNION #61 NOTICE All children who are disabled, regardless of the severity of their disability and who are in need of special education and related services are identified, located, and evaluated (from birth-21). In addition, all children and youth, ages 3 through 21 years, who are residents of Barre and who are eligible for special education services are entitled to a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment. If you know of a child who may be disabled and eligible for special education services at public expense, please notify Donald McMahon, Director of Special Services, Barre Supervisory Union, 120 Ayers Street, Barre, VT 05641, Ext BARRE SUPERVISORY UNION #61 INSURES EQUAL EDUCATIONAL AND EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES REGARDLESS OF RACE, COLOR, CREED, AGE, DISABILITY, NATIONAL ORIGIN, OR SEX IN COMPLIANCE WITH FEDERAL AND STATE LAWS. This notice is available in other languages upon request to the Superintendent s Office PLEASE NOTE: Informational Flyers for BCEMS, BTMES, and SHS/BTC are available at: March 5, :00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Barre Auditorium 18 Seminary Hill Barre, VT ~~~~~~ Barre Town Middle and Elementary School 70 Websterville Rd., Barre, VT