Video Presentation: Central Vermont Career Center proposal

Feb. 17, 2022  |  By Waterbury Roundabout

Watch the video recording from the Feb. 15 presentation regarding the ballot item and career center board elections that voters will decide on Town Meeting Day.

Leaders from the Central Vermont Career Center held an online presentation and question-answer session on Feb. 15 to review plans for a new governance plan that will be on the Town Meeting Day ballot in 18 communities. 

Voters in six school districts including the Harwood Unified Union School District will vote on whether to create a free-standing school district to run the career center. 

The regional career and technical education school in Barre currently serve approximately 200 high school students from six school districts: Harwood, Barre, Montpelier-Roxbury, Washington Central, Twinfield, and Cabot. 

Students participate in programs at the center that provide hands-on training and experience geared to launch graduates into a variety of postsecondary career paths including the building trades, medical technology and culinary arts. 

The center’s operation currently falls within Barre Unified Union School District with only Barre voters having authority over its budget although it has an advisory board with representatives from the sending districts. 

Should the new district article pass on March 1, a new board would be created with 10 members, one each from the school boards in the participating school districts and four elected at-large from the four largest districts, including Harwood. 

Tuesday’s online program on Zoom was just about an hour with a 15-minute presentation followed by questions from the members of the public in attendance. It also has a short 5-minute video tour of the career center facility. 

Questions touched on how the district’s finances will work under the new model, plans for a new career center facility in the future, and how to vote. Ballots for the career center questions will be mailed to voters if they request their ballots from their town clerks before March 1. They also will be included in ballots voters receive at the polls. 

After the polls close on March 1, ballots from all of the towns will be collected, comingled, and counted, with one result announced. The district has 10 days to complete that process.

See an earlier story posted on January 27, 2022. More information is online at cvtcc.org.