CVSD Evaluates Current and Potential Configurations of Hinesburg and Charlotte Schools
By Tyler Cohen
CVSD Communications Manager
The configuration of Hinesburg Community School and Charlotte Central School has been a topic of conversation in the community for many years. Now, with a formal charge from the Champlain Valley School District board, district administration is looking into these schools’ configuration more closely.
Last May, the CVSD school board asked district administration to evaluate the current and potential future configuration of Hinesburg Community School (HCS) and Charlotte Central School (CCS). Throughout this academic year, a study committee will be assessing a wide variety of trends and data related to the schools’ current configuration and the potential impacts of moving grades 6-8 from HCS to CCS – about 165 students. Areas of consideration include student opportunity, transportation, enrollment, staffing, curricular and co-curricular offerings, facilities, and more.
As part of the configuration study, community forums and surveys are planned for late winter, and the study committee will make a recommendation to the school board on May 19, 2026, regarding whether restructuring is advised. At a later meeting (to be scheduled), the board will discuss the recommendation and take action.
The study committee held its first open meeting on Thursday, Nov. 20, covering the study’s scope and the topics of capacity, transportation, and food service. To begin the meeting, Gary Marckres, CVSD’s chief operations officer, clarified that the study is about restructuring – not closing either school – and aims to thoroughly analyze feasibility before making any recommendation.
“We decided to look at capacity, transportation, and food service first, because if these were not feasible, it would lead us to discontinue the study,” said Marckres. “From the capacity perspective, it is feasible.”
In a presentation, Marckres outlined that CCS has sufficient classroom and cafeteria space to accommodate an increased cohort of students, although some room configurations and updates would be needed. For preliminary planning purposes, potential kitchen, classroom, and cafeteria upgrades were identified and estimated to cost $243,000.
“[We] understand we’d have to make changes to make it work,” said Scott Wagner, K-8 food service director, speaking to the physical space and staffing that would be needed to provide a quality dining experience to a larger number of students.
CVSD Transportation Director Barry Russell is currently modeling the transportation impacts of a reconfiguration and shared his initial impressions, which include needing an additional bus and driver, as well as route adjustments. Ride times are expected to be manageable.
“We would need to up staffing a little bit, and the timing is the crucial piece to figure out,” said Russell. More detailed analysis is underway, including determining whether an HCS-to-CCS shuttle could be a feasible option.
Upcoming analyses will look at staffing, curricular and co-curricular offerings, student data, and pre-K structure. A review of these topics will be shared at the next meeting, which is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, at 3 p.m. at CVSD’s Central Office.
Find meeting agendas, minutes and more at cvsdvt.org/configuration-study.