Harwood district sinks $59.5 million school construction bond

November 2, 2021 | By Lisa Scagliotti

Editor’s note: This story was updated on Nov. 4.

Voters in the Harwood Unified Union School District, by a nearly three-to-one margin, rejected a proposed $59.5 million bond to fund extensive high school maintenance, renovations and upgrades, and a middle school expansion.

The district’s six communities — Waterbury, Duxbury, Moretown, Waitsfield, Warren and Fayston — had just the single school item on the Nov. 2 ballot and the tally came in at 2,599-975 against the measure, according to HUUSD School Board Chair Torrey Smith.

In an email announcing the vote results, Smith and Vice Chair Tim Jones simply stated, “We will look forward to figuring out next steps on Wednesday, November 10,” referring to the school board’s next meeting.

Duxbury now has a special booth for its drive-through voting set-up. Greg Trulson (left) and Town Clerk Maureen Harvey greet voters, check them in and hand out ballots. Photo by Gordon Miller

Roger Clapp casts his ballot in Waterbury as elections official Robert Dostis looks on from the check-in table. Photo by Gordon Miller

The ballot item asked voters to approve borrowing up to $59,545,312 over a period of 20 years. Of that, approximately $53.5 million was to pay for work at Harwood Union High School; another $6 million was earmarked to build a new wing onto Crossett Brook Middle School.

The bulk of the proposal addressed replacing many features and systems in the high school that have reached or exceeded their expected life. The school was built in 1965 and proposed improvements included a new roof, new heating and ventilation systems, windows, insulation, flooring and lighting. The high school project also included constructing a second gymnasium and rebuilding the running track.

The Crossett Brook work focused on adding a new wing to accommodate approximately 90 to 100 more seventh- and eighth-graders and about 15 more staff. Classrooms and gathering spaces were included in the design, the first expansion to the grade 5-8 facility since it was built in the late 1990s.

Ballots in the unified district were commingled and counted together for one grand total. Overall turnout of nearly 32% was as strong if not stronger than a typical Town Meeting Day election, according to town clerks. Of the 11,260 registered voters in the six towns, 3,587 cast ballots. Turnout ranged from 27.8% in Waterbury to 37.5% in Waitsfield. Duxbury had 37% of its voters participate; Warren had 31.3%; Fayston 32.4%, and Moretown 33.5%, all according to reports from municipal clerks.

About a third of those who voted did so early either by mail or in person prior to Tuesday. In Waterbury, for example, Town Clerk Carla Lawrence said many local residents came in to pay their property taxes which are due this Friday, and they voted at the same time.

From Board Chair Smith: Looking ahead

In an email on Wednesday to Waterbury Roundabout and The Valley Reporter newspapers, school board Chair Smith reflected on the bond vote result and looked ahead to 2022.

“The resounding ‘no’ vote is definitely a disappointment – our Board worked intensively over the last several years to find agreement on what to include in the bond, and this proposal was overwhelmingly supported by our board members,” Smith said, adding that the result raises many questions, especially around the role of unified school boards and the limits of local authority within state regulations.

“At a more practical and time-sensitive level, how are we going to pay for the high school repairs that are so long overdue? Is there any hope of bringing the Harwood building from the 1960s into the 2020s and beyond?” she asked. 

Based on conversations with and among people in the community, Smith said she believes voters expect the board to return with a revised proposal for the March Town Meeting ballot. Town Meeting Day is March 1, 2022. That will be a challenge given that the school board must prepare the budget for 2022-23 by the end of January to be ready for a March vote and it also is starting the search process for a new superintendent during the same time period. The board’s goal is to make a job offer in early February to a successor to Superintendent Brigid Nease whose contract ends in June.

“I look forward to our next meeting on November 10th when board members can share their thoughts as we try to understand the implications of the ‘no’ vote and begin to consider possible next steps,” Smith said. 

March Town Meeting also brings up another important consideration for the school district. “Looking ahead, I urge community members to start thinking about school board elections next March. We expect to have 7 of the 14 seats up for election, many of which will need to be filled,” she said. 

Smith, one of Duxbury’s two representatives, and Vice Chair Tim Jones of Fayston have said they do not plan to run for re-election. Likewise, Waterbury board member Caitlin Hollister and Waitsfield member Jeremy Tretiak both have terms expiring and they do not plan to run again. Jonathan Clough of Warren has not said if he will seek re-election. Scott Culver of Waterbury and Cindy Senning of Duxbury were appointed this summer to fill vacancies. Their appointments run through the March 1 election and both said they intended to run for a full term at that point. 

Waterbury has four seats on the board while the other five communities each have two. Smith shared a document with more details on serving on the school board that’s on the board’s section of the school district website.