fill-survey-monkey
In response MIcheal Cobett wanting to close "micro-schools"
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He published this as his findings for the first results
Thank you to the 1,924 people that have taken the ACSD budget poll/survey so far. If you have not taken it, you can find it here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/D78V66X
Some may recall that I started this survey as part of an effort to defeat that ACSD budget. If successful, I wanted to have some data for the school board to reference when modifying its budget so that it would not have to scramble and guess at what might be necessary for the budget to pass. I believe that the ramifications of the budget, which include cutting a full-time classroom teacher at Mary Hogan, are not in the best interest of the students at the school or the district as a whole. I had hoped that providing adequate staffing for the 400+ elementary students, the majority of all elementary students and at the highest concentration in the district, in Middlebury would be a priority of Middlebury voters. So far it appears that most plan to vote in favor of the budget and are in favor of its impacts. This was expected, but I felt compelled to try for a different outcome.
My primary justification for objection to the budget is that at Mary Hogan the enrollment in the 17/18 school year was approximately 429, then 441 in 18/19, and 418 as of the fall of this school year (19/20). Roughly 58 will go to MUMS in the fall of 2020. The incoming kindergarten estimate is 60. In 19/20 a science teacher transitioned to a classroom teacher. Even with this addition, at no cost to the taxpayers, the needs of all students are not being adequately met and this is in a year with roughly 23 students less than before. The enrollment projection next year is flat, yet a position will be cut. The previous enrollment decline is spread across the school, not isolated to one grade that would allow for a staff cut to be less impactful. To reiterate, there is not projected enrollment decline for 20/21. This future staffing cut would be to address a retroactive enrollment decline which, when it occurred in real time, was met with an increase in staff, not a decrease. I'd like ACSD to preserve the educational experience of Mary Hogan students and make cuts elsewhere to offset inflation in district wide expenses.
Survey Results so far:
Of the 548 that voted on the ACSD budget last year, 364 are from Middlebury, and 349 plan to vote in favor of the budget.
Of the 1,149 that did not vote on the ACSD budget last year but plan to this year, 1,004 are from Middlebury, and 983 plan to vote in favor of the budget.
330 votes from towns outside of Middlebury responded. All but one plan to vote this year and all but 3 plan to vote in favor of the budget.
This leaves 365 that plan to vote and plan to vote against the ACSD budget.
227 people completed the survey but have not voted on the ACSD budget in the past and are unlikely to this year. 226 of them indicated that they would vote in favor of the budget if they did vote.
60% of respondents that indicated they will vote on the ACSD budget also indicated that they will vote in favor of it and support its impacts. 17% will vote in favor but do not support increasing taxes. 8.6% plan to vote against the ACSD budget but are in favor of staffing cuts. 8.5% plan to vote against the ACSD budget and do not want to maintain all buildings.
So far it does not appear likely that the budget will be defeated. I have been pleasantly surprised by the number of responses however and that 1,149 (60%) of respondents did not vote on the ACSD budget last year but plan to this year. If the voter turnout, before these new voters, is similar this year in comparison to last, the new voters will represent roughly a 50% increase in turnout year over year. Middlebury has approximately 5,000 total "active and verified" registered voters and about 1,600 have responded so far. I plan to leave this survey open until around the end of the month to see how many more of the remaining 3,000 Middlebury voters it can capture as well as the thousands of ACSD voters in surrounding towns.
Thanks again to all that have taken the time, 26 seconds on average according to the software, to respond to this survey. If you have not responded yet, there is still plenty of time.