Dear Barre Community,

Thank you to the many voices that showed up and shared their perspectives at the Board meeting on Monday night. Details or a recording of that meeting can be viewed at www.buusd.org/district/board.

The Board will meet again on October 5, 2026 to discuss the next draft of the budget (vote four) and to continue to discuss the operation of the district without a voter approved budget. We hope to have another budget for a vote in late October. We will share this date as soon as it is set.

We are continuing to work with the State of Vermont and the Agency of Education on our current operations plan to continue running schools without an approved budget. Please see their guidance memo attached to this letter that was released after our meeting with Secretary Saunders and her team on Monday. The conversations around temporary cuts to our operations (co-curriculars, athletics, staff, transportation, supplies, building projects, etc) are ongoing and are a result of needing to operate on 87% of last year's budget until we have a budget.

To operate on 87% for the full school year we would need to reduce costs by $8.4 million dollars. There are not $8.4 million dollars of cuts available to us in BUUSD and we have communicated that reality to the State. The total of all possible cuts, many of which are untenable, are at least five million dollars short of that goal. We know that this has been uncomfortable, but we have had to discuss all of the options. We know that this has been upsetting to many, as activities are an essential part of our programming. It is our goal to work towards another budget vote and move past the current operating restrictions that have been placed on us by Vermont law.

There are no plans to include cuts to student activities, co-curriculars, or sports programs in budget draft four. Those are not items the Board or administration want to remove from our budget proposal for the school year. We heard the voices that spoke at the meeting, and our business office is working to analyze many of the suggestions that we heard from board and community members as we work on the next draft of the budget.

There is a lot of misinformation circulating, and we encourage families to rely on official communication channels to understand the differences between operating on 87% of last year's budget and any reductions that the Board may consider for budget vote four.

Please know that we understand that these are painful conversations for many in our school community. It is our goal to inform you of the current situation as best we can, while navigating the uncharted waters we find ourselves in. Thank you for your passion and your support of our students.

Here is a link to a memo from the Agency of Education regarding what happens when a school budget does not pass.

Sincerely,
Emilie Knisley
Superintendent of Schools

The last video in our series provides an opportunity to learn about the Rowland Fellowship and district goals to improve the student experience.

In this video, some of the BUUSD's administrators discuss important progress that has been made within the district.

In this video, students from the BUUSD share their favorite subjects and what they've learned so far this year.

This video includes insight from several of our teachers across the district.

Fall of 26, Quarter 1 is full. Please have your student email Lora Gaudreault at lgaudshs@buusd.org with their permit number and date of issue to secure a spot for Q2, Q3, or Q4 of the 26/27 School Year.   

Please enjoy the first in a series of videos highlighting some of the wonderful things that are going on in our schools, in our classrooms, and in our community.

This fall, the Barre Town Middle School community participated in its 7th annual Rock, Paper, Scissors Challenge. This challenge is designed so that the last four participants represent their grade level from grades 5 to 8.

Barre City Middle School band and chorus students performed their Spring Concert on Wednesday, June 11, 2025.