The Rivendell Interstate School District annual meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 21, at Rivendell Academy in Orford. Voting for the district’s elected positions will begin at 6 p.m. on March 21 at the academy.
Orford
Arbour, who currently heads the Dover (N.H.) School District, will replace outgoing superintendent Michael Harris, who plans to retire at the end of the academic year.
“The thing I’m most excited about that really drew me to Rivendell is the innovative work they’re doing,” Arbour said in an interview last week.
Rivendell is implementing measures to encourage students to engage in “deep thinking,” she said, along with encouraging children to work collaboratively.
The School Board voted late last month to make an offer to Arbour, who was one of four finalists for the part-time position. Although she has accepted the board’s offer, she said, they’re still negotiating benefits and a salary.
Arbour has worked in education for more than 20 years, including time spent serving Upper Valley communities.
Arbour was one of three candidates chosen as finalists to become SAU 70 superintendent for the Dresden School District earlier this year. That job ultimately went to Jay Badams, who was previously a superintendent in Erie, Pa.
“People have been really friendly and welcoming,” Arbour said of Rivendell.
She toured the district with other finalists early last month.
“One of the things that I really appreciated was how comfortable the students are in having a voice in their education,” she said. “I think that speaks highly of all people in the school community that give students the encouragement to be active participants.”
She worked as a special education teacher at Mascoma Valley Regional High School about 20 years ago. She later held positions in Claremont public schools for more than a decade. Arbour served as that district’s director of curriculum and instruction from 2009-2012, and was then assistant superintendent from 2012-14, before moving to the top spot in Dover.
She graduated from the University of Maine at Farmington in 1996, before going on to earn a master of arts in education from Castleton State College and a doctor in education leadership from Argosy University, a for-profit college with 19 locations around the country.
Budget Proposal
Voters in Rivendell’s four member towns will be asked to approve a 2017-18 school budget and elect officers to the School Board on March 21.
The district has proposed a $10.5 million budget for the next school year, an increase of $360,000 over the current year.
Harris said the largest share of the increase in spending is attributable to an additional $141,000 in salary as part of a contract with teachers and support staff.
Special education spending is expected to increase by $64,000, and tuition payments to vocational schools will cost $53,000 more next year. Student interest in attending vocational schools nearly has doubled, Harris said, adding the budget increase would allow more students to take classes at River Bend Career and Technical Center or the Hartford Area Career and Technology Center.
Although it’s not in the budget, Harris said he’s expecting health care costs to decrease in 2018, as new plans are implemented by the Vermont Education Health Initiative. The plans will take effect on Jan. 1, 2018 and include higher deductible for school employees offset by health reimbursement accounts.
If all spending articles are approved, Orford residents would have an estimated school tax rate of $20.78 per $1,000 of valuation, or $5,195 on a $250,000 home.
Fairlee residents would pay an estimated tax rate of $1.76 per $100 of a home’s valuation; West Fairlee’s would be set at $1.99; and Vershire’s would be $1.87.
If the budget is approved, owners of a property valued at $250,000 in Fairlee would expect to pay $4,400 in property taxes to the district. Owners of a home of the same value in West Fairlee would expect to pay $4,975; and in Vershire, the bill would be $4,675.
Voters also will be asked to approve adding $30,000 to the district’s capital needs reserve fund. Harris said the fund’s current balance is about $200,000, but officials might have to begin increasing contributions in anticipation of needed building maintenance.
It’s expected the district will need to invest $1 million into its buildings over the next 7 years, Harris said.
On the ballot, voters will elect six School Board members, including two from Fairlee, one each from Orford, Vershire and West Fairlee, and an at-large seat.
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.