School Board Celebrates Scores, Achievements
Yet in the background are discussions of continued need for building repairs and the upcoming budget discussions.
By Tyler Cohen
CVSD Communications Director
For The Hinesburg Record
The Champlain Valley School District school board gathered on October 21 for their monthly public meeting, with discussion and reports covering topics including student performance data and recently released state testing scores, an FY27 budget target, and the work of the Vermont redistricting task force.
To begin the meeting, the CVSD Inspiration Awards shined the spotlight on Charlotte Central School. On behalf of CCS’s grade 7-8 Omega team, math teacher Rachael Miller celebrated JaKobe Paquette for the many ways he makes his peers feel welcome and the willingness he brings to any task. Then French teacher Owen Duff honored Sadie Devoid for her strength of character and clever, helpful and hardworking spirit.
The meeting’s major presentation focused on data—both student data and that of a spring 2025 survey of families and caregivers. As part of the data dive, CVSD Director of Learning and Innovation Sarah Crum shared the framework through which the district will be working to map and maximize student identity, connection, proficiency, and direction, including through key indicators and data points that represent student success and opportunities for growth.
Among some standout figures that Crum presented:
87% of students surveyed in CVSD say they feel known and understood at school.
73% of students surveyed in CVSD say they feel like their ideas are valued at school.
98% of CVU students surveyed report participating in at least one co-curricular activity during or after school (this includes opportunities beyond CVSD offerings).
96% of students surveyed in CVSD say they have at least one trusted adult at school who they could talk to if they needed help.
Crum also presented recently released scores from last year’s Vermont Comprehensive Assessment (VTCAP) exam, which demonstrate strength across the district. “In ELA [English Language Arts], CVSD is outperforming the state pretty significantly by 10-20 points in each grade level,” Crum said. “Similarly in math, while not as strong, we are outperforming the rest of the state in most grade levels.”
In a report to the board on behalf of Central Office leadership, Superintendent Adam Bunting shared two notable pieces of news. In early October, the New England Association of School Superintendents honored Elaine Pinckney, superintendent of CVSD and CSSU for 15 years, with a Duckworth Lifetime Achievement Award. Bunting also shared that Ruth Furman, the beloved CVU art teacher of 35 years who passed away in June, bequeathed a significant scholarship gift to the community.
To begin discussion matters, COO Gary Marckres presented an overview of CVSD’s approach to FY27 budget development, including an outline of budget targets and an overview of a bond proposal.
“Our buildings are pretty well maintained, but every year they get farther and farther into their lifecycle,” Marckres said. “We are at a point now, in this cycle, where we have $13-million in must-do work for our learning environments.”
The ensuing discussion focused on the consideration of a level service budget target, which would carry forward the district’s current level of services and programming into the 2026-27 school year. After significant cuts over the past two years, including the elimination of 82 FTE staff and faculty positions, board members voiced support for maintaining level service, while also closely examining the non-personnel budget for potential reductions.
“What we’re hearing is a request to have some time to adjust to the [reductions of] the last two years,” Bunting said.
Based on various factors—including tax capacity, enrollment trends and health care costs—a level service budget would require an estimated 5.7% increase in expenditures over the current year’s budget. At this time, the estimated impact on tax rates is unknown due to numerous state-provided figures that are not yet available.
“Once those numbers come in, in December, we’ll have another conversation about this and be sure it’s something the community can support,” said Board Chair Meghan Metzler.
Following the budget target discussion, the board approved a retirement incentive plan similar to last year, and discussed its position on work being done by the Vermont School District Redistricting Task Force. Members of the board read this statement at a public hearing of the Task Force on Oct. 28, the same night as the CVSD Community Budget Forum.
The next CVSD School Board meeting will be held on Tuesday, November 18.