LUDLOW, Vt.—The Two Rivers Supervisory Union (TRSU) Board has approved the revised school budget of $10,897,278, representing a 13.65% increase from last year’s budget. Down from the $11,047,939 that voters rejected after Town Meeting Day, the new budget will be brought separately before the Green Mountain Unified School District (GMUSD) and Ludlow Mount Holly Union Unified School District (LMHUUSD) boards, before a public informational meeting and its return to the ballot later this spring. The spreadsheets for the new proposed fiscal year 2025 budget are available on the homepage of the TRSU website, www.trsu.org.
Superintendent Lauren Fierman reminded the board of the changes they had approved at their last meeting on March 7, including removing salaries for outgoing employees, adding new-hire information, state unemployment rate adjustments, and reducing the contingency rate for the supervisory union’s nonbargaining unit employees. Since that meeting, director of technology Lauren Baker was able to shave off some software costs after factoring in federal E-Rate funding, and removing an unused subscription to an accounting software that the office had previously forgotten to cancel. The new budget also incorporates corrections to benefits and adjustments to the GMUSD and LMHUUSD contingency rates for nonbargaining employees. “If you want us to cut further percentage points, we’re talking about cutting people,” Fierman said of the budget.
Joining remotely, Mount Holly representative Dave Venter asked Fierman what was driving the $7,094,105 for special education, which represents a 10.79% increase from what the district had budgeted for special education in fiscal year 2024. Fierman explained that in addition to a larger number of students requiring these services this year, the costs of health insurance, transportation, services, and outside special education programs have all increased. The district also has to replace its special education transportation van, contributing to the $35,000 equipment cost.
Fierman and Baker said that, of TRSU’s roughly 900 students, 249 – over 25% – have an individualized education plan. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the national average for students receiving services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in the 2021-2022 school year was 15%.
Director of student support services Mary Barton said that there are around 20 special education teachers, which does not include TRSU’s behavioral interventionists and paraeducators. “It is an unfunded mandate,” Fierman said of the requirements for supervisory unions to cover these special education costs, later correcting herself: “Partially-funded mandate; I want to be fair.” She said the union receives some reimbursement in the form of a block grant, “a chunk of money” that is supposed to help the supervisory union to learn to manage its costs more effectively. Fierman said the funding has also been complicated by changing special needs identification requirements. Special education is not one of the areas considered by the controversial pupil-weighting system that the state legislature passed last year.
Fierman asked the boards to hold their separate votes on the new budget on April 23, or no later than April 30, which she said would provide enough time but adequate urgency for publicity and decision-making.
The board also appointed Adrienne Williams of Baltimore as chair. The full annual board reorganization will happen at the board’s next regular meeting on April 4, at 6 p.m., at Ludlow Elementary School and on Zoom.