TITLE SIXTEEN

APPENDIX

Education Charters and Agreements

CHAPTER 47

ESSEX COMMUNITY EDUCATION CENTER UNION SCHOOL DISTRICT

#46

2006 Adoption Note.

1995 Essex Junction Incorporated School District the Essex Town School District both voted yes to the following articles and final report:

Shall the Essex Junction School District/Essex Town School District, which the State Board of Education has found necessary to include in the proposed Union High School District, join with the Essex Town School District/Essex Junction School District, which the State Board of Education has found necessary to include in the proposed Union High School District, for the purpose of forming a Union High School District, as provided in Title 16, Vermont Statutes Annotated, upon the following conditions and agreements:

(a) Class of schools. The Union High School District shall operate and manage high school, offering instruction in grades nine through twelve, and the regional technical center.

(b) Board of School Directors. The Union High School District School Board representation shall be on a per capita basis with one school Board member for every 4,000 residents, or any portion thereof, in a given member District based on the most recent decennial census. The initial representation shall be as follows:

Member                       1900 Population             Number of

District                        from U.S. Census        School Board Members

Village of Essex Junction                   8,396                           3 Members

Town of Essex                                    8,102                           3 Members

The representation shall be subject to reapportionment following each decennial census.

(c) Apportionment of Expenses. Annual capital and operating expenses of the Union High School District shall be allocated on a per pupil basis using the most current first 40 day average daily membership enrollment as reported to the State Department of Education, excluding the regional technical center enrollment.

(d) Assumption of ownership of school property. The Union High School District shall assume the indebtedness, and acquire the school properties, as specified in the final report.

(e) Final Report. The provisions of the final report approved by the State Board of Education on the eighteenth day of April, 1995, which is on file in the Office of the Clerk of the Essex Junction School District, Incorporated, shall govern the Union High School District.

Final Report

706b(3)  The class of schools to be operated.

Decision: The class of school to be operated will be grades nine through twelve, including the regional vocational-technical education center.

706b(4)  The cost and general location of any proposed new schools to be constructed.

Decision: No new construction is planned upon formation of the proposed union.

706b(5)  The transportation, teaching staff and curriculum to be provided.

Decision:

A. Any transportation of students to and from the Union High School shall be the responsibility of each member District at its own discretion.

B. The negotiated agreements and individual contracts for Essex Junction Educational Center administrators, instructional and support staff shall be honored by the Union High School District until the expiration of the existing agreements/contracts or until the Union High School District Board and the staff organizations represented negotiate new agreements/contracts.

C. The curriculum to be offered shall be the current Essex Junction Educational Center curriculum with any amendments made by the Essex Junction Prudential Committee before the Union High School District is formed or by the Union High School Board after the Union High School District is formed.

706b(6)  The indebtedness of the proposed member districts which the union shall assume.

Decision: The Union High School District shall not assume the indebtedness of the proposed member Districts, except as necessary to replace the roof of the Essex Junction Educational Center if required prior to the effective date of the Union.

706b(7)  The specific properties of proposed member Districts which the Union is to acquire, their valuation, and how the union shall pay for them.

Decision: The specific properties which the Union is to acquire are the buildings and the land known as the Essex Junction Educational Center (the high school, technical center, skating facility, including the contents appropriate to the function of these facilities and the office building).

The valuation of said property is set at Thirteen Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($13,500,000.00). The Essex Town School District will pay the Essex Junction School District Six Million Seven Hundred and Fifty Thousand Dollars ($6,750,000.00) as its share of these facilities and properties, to be funded with the proceeds of bonds issued in accordance with 24 V.S.A. Ch. 53. This union is dependent upon the Essex Town Citizens approving this bond. Upon receipt of this payment, the Essex Junction School District will convey the above mentioned facilities and properties to the Union High School District.

706b(8)  The allocation of capital and operating expenses of the union among the member districts.

Decision: Annual capital and operating expenses of the Union High School District shall be allocated on a per pupil basis using the most current first 40 day average Daily Membership enrollment as reported to the State Department of Education, excluding the  Technical Center enrollment.

706b(9)  The method of apportioning the representation which each proposed member District shall have on the Union School Board. The Union School Board shall have no more than eighteen members, and each member District shall be entitled to at least one representative.

Decision: The Union High School District Board Representation shall be on a per capita basis - one Board member for every 4,000 residents or any portion thereof in a given member District based on the most recent decennial census.

The initial representation shall be as follows:

Village of Essex Junction          - 8,396 residence = 3 members

Town of Essex                           - 8,102 residence = 3 members

The representation shall be subject to reapportionment following each decennial census.

706b(10)  The term of Office of Directors initially elected shall be arranged so that one-third expire on the day of the second annual meeting of the respective Districts, one-third on the day of the third annual meeting of the respective Districts, and one-third on the day of the fourth annual meeting of the respective Districts, or as near to that proportion as possible.

Decision: The term of Office of Directors initially elected shall be arranged so that one Director's term from each member District will expire on the day of the second annual meeting of the respective Districts, one Director's term from each member District will expire on the day of the third annual meeting of the respective Districts, and one Director's term from each member District will expire on the day of the fourth annual meeting of the respective Districts.

706b(11)  The date on which the union proposal will be submitted to the voters.

Decision: The Union High School District proposal shall be submitted to the voters of Essex Junction School District and Essex Town School District on 6/6/95.

706b(12)  Any other matters which the Committee considers pertinent.

A. Tuition students from Essex Town who will be juniors and seniors

attending present State approved tuition receiving schools in the 1995-96 school year may elect to complete their studies and graduate from these same schools with allowable tuition being paid by the Essex Town School District. These students will not be counted in determining the initial allocation of capital and operating expenses unless designated as Special Education students of the Union High School District.

B. The Union High School shall be known as the Essex Community Educational Center.

C. It is recommended that the newly formed Union High School District be assigned by the State Board of Education to the Chittenden Central Supervisory Union.

D. The Chair person of the Union High School District Board shall be a voting member of the Union School Board.

E. If the vote on 6/6/95 is affirmed by both districts then the newly elected School Board shall take office at the time of the organization meeting. The Board's first order of business will be to commence planning and take the necessary actions to cause the Union High School to be operational for the fall of 1996.