Starting (and probably ending too) the week with a blog post 1/12/2020

Red Clover Books

PTO News

Winter Sport Program Volunteer meeting Thursday 1/16.

This is a mandatory meeting for all program volunteers and open for anyone still considering to volunteer and/or parents or guardians wanting to learn more about inner workings of the program. We will be available to answer any questions at the end of the meeting. See you there!

Meeting location: MES cafeteria.

Time: 5:30 

Duration: 45min-1hr max

Childcare?: Please contact moretownpto@gmail.com Asap if you are in need of childcare during the meeting. Based on interest we will try our best to arrange childcare!

Community News/Opportunities

Please note that the opportunities/events listed below are not specifically endorsed or screened by school staff. As always, families should use their own standards and review processes to determine appropriate activities.

Kids Pottery Classes at Blockhouse: We are offering classes 3 days a week this winter for kids ages 6-17 starting January 13th. Explorations through clay are fun, creative & therapeutic.  Visit us online to learn more and to register- www.blockhousestudio.com. Discounts available for siblings- use code SIBS10 at checkout.

NSAA Safety Month Events at Sugarbush: Breakfast with patrollers, January 12, 8-9am, in the Sleeper Room, Gate House Lodge, Lincoln Peak , $10suggested donation for the Patroller Relief Fund. French toast, bacon/sausage, coffee, juice and hot chocolate to be served. Also on January 18, 11am-1pm, at the top of Slow Poke Trail, Lincoln Peak, meet the Sugarbush Parks team and learn how to navigate features and conquer the PARKS.  The Ski & Ride team will provide tips on how to improve your form and style. Space is limited.

Moretown Joins CVFiber CVFiber is an 18-town initiative attempting to bring faster Internet to residents of Central Vermont who have poor Internet connectivity.  In order to help assess Moretown's needs and plan our offerings, we need data from Moretown residents about their current Internet access.  Please take 5-10 minutes to help us by filling out the following survey.  If you have questions, feel free to contact Chuck Burt at chuck.burt@gmail.com or 802-735-2319 Thank you in advance! http://chaz.in/cvfiber

Community Workshop with Scott Noyes:

An Introduction to Power Struggles, Conflict and Anger

Monday 1/27/20
6 - 7:30 p.m.
Waitsfield School Gym

Waitsfield School & PTA is happy to present an evening with Scott Noyes as he discusses topics that we all work through as parents and educators: power struggles, conflict and anger. Through this presentation, which will include opportunities for open discussion and questions, Scott will provide guidance on how to respond to these challenges in a way that ultimately helps our children (and us) grow.

Power struggles come from a variety of components; fatigue, stress, frustration, helplessness or the quest for autonomy and power. This presentation looks at avoiding responses that provide short term relief, but long-term grief.

Valuable lifelong lessons are learned from childhood disputes. Helping children learn to disagree is a skill many of us have never been exposed to. This part of the presentation stresses resolving conflict through mediation, triads, and supportive intervention.

Childcare available; please contact korr@huusd.org to reserve a space.

School Board Updates

HUUSD Budget update / Important meeting Jan 15th Dear members of our six town community,

As you may have been hearing from headlines and news stories, this is a tough school budget

year around the state. We want to make sure our voters are aware of the financial challenges

school districts are facing and the work we are doing to address them. The HUUSD has been making good progress in its long-term preK-12 planning effort --

identifying major changes that will reduce operational costs across the system while also

improving opportunities for our students. But even as we plan ahead to re-configure our

district in the coming years, we face huge challenges right now to balance affordability

and excellence in next year’s budget. The combination of reduced merger tax incentives,

dramatic increases in health care costs, lower pupil counts, and property value fluctuations

(among other things) mean that actual tax rates in our towns could increase by 4.0% to 8.7%.

In response to this high number, the Board has asked for several additional budget plans to  be developed -- each of which makes different levels or types of cuts -- to see if there are  opportunities to reduce expenditures next year and what those opportunity costs might be.  Each of the plans has pros and cons, and many of them include significant changes in how  and where we teach our kids. At our next meeting on January 15th, the Board will be  reviewing and choosing among the different budget drafts. We are required to pass a budget for voter approval by January 22nd. As we prepare to narrow  our choices on the 15th, we are sharing this overview of what will be on the table and our  most current numbers: Budget #1, the original budget, is for $40,472,342. This shows a 4.8% growth in expenditures  and a 4.5% increase in equalized per pupil spending, with a 6-cent equalized tax rate increase. Budget #2 cuts $950,000 from Budget #1 and includes no new staff; would severely limit intra- district choice for incoming 7th and 8th graders; moves Moretown’s 5th and 6th graders to  CBMS next school year; reduces elementary music offerings; and eliminates foreign language  K-4. This budget of $39,720,778 shows a 2.9% increase in expenditures and a 2.1% increase  in equalized per pupil spending, with a 2-cent equalized tax rate increase. Budget #3 reduces Budget #1 by at least $300,000. Among other things, this budget severely  limits intra-district choice (IDC) for incoming 7th and 8th graders and prohibits cuts to  existing programs. This budget of $40,317,342 shows a 4.4% increase in expenditures and a  4% increase in equalized per pupil spending, with a 5-cent equalized tax rate increase. Budget #4 reduces Budget #1 by at least $300,000. Among other things, this budget would  add staff to CBMS to allow the district to approve most IDC applications for incoming  7th and 8th graders. It also prohibits cuts to existing programs. This budget of $40,314,842  shows a 4.4% increase in expenditures and a 4% increase in equalized per pupil spending,  with a 5-cent equalized tax rate increase. Budget #5 is based on moving all 7th and 8th graders in the district to CBMS for the coming  fall. This budget of $39,427,342 shows a 2.1% increase in expenditures and a 1.1% increase  in equalized per pupil spending, with a 1-cent equalized tax rate increase. Budget #6 is based on moving all 7th and 8th graders to CBMS for the coming fall, and  eliminates most new programmatic or operation additions that administrators had requested.  This budget of $39,194,842 shows a 1.5% increase in expenditures and a .4% increase in  equalized per pupil spending, with a 1-cent equalized tax rate reduction. We hope you will review the details available online athttps://huusd.org/business-officeby  clicking on the “FY21 Budget Development” tab, and welcome you to join us at our next  meetings, Wednesday, January 15th and Wednesday, January 22nd at 6:00 pm in the  Harwood Union School library. Respectfully, The HUUSD Board