FY 2020 Budget Report

To the voters, taxpayers, students, families, and communities of Barre Town and Barre City:

It is with gratitude, anticipation, and confidence that I write to you on behalf of the students, faculty, staff, and administration of the newly formed Barre Unified Union School District. 

I write with gratitude because, despite our sometimes different points of view, we are now moving forward and working together in order to be well-prepared to merge into a single district.  For the sake of educating our children, we are looking ahead rather than back, and are avoiding the controversy that many of our surrounding communities are still struggling with. I write with anticipation because our schools were able to retain and maintain their unique features and personalities. They were already strong, innovative, and dynamic places of learning, and they will continue to be so well into the future. In the midst of so much change, in this one very exciting way, so little has changed. And finally, I write with confidence, because I’ve seen time and again over the past year how passionate our communities are about their schools – and that kind of passion can only lead to better things.

One of our major goals in the coming year is to increase and improve communication with all of our stakeholders: from our school families, to the business people, taxpayers, board members, volunteers, and community members who support us. To that end, I encourage you to explore our new website; and while you’re here, download a copy of our Annual Report and Annual Budget Report (to the right).  I also encourage you to take a minute and glance through our community “thank you” pamphlet. Every one of us, from our students to our faculty to our administration, thanks you for the support you’ve given to your schools. We could not do it without you.

As a team of administrators, teachers, para-educators, and support staff, we are proud of the quality of education we provide, and we are committed to doing so at a “per pupil cost’ that is consistently among the lowest in Vermont. Every member of our team, as well as the members of our community who serve on our school boards, works incredibly hard to make this happen. For the upcoming fiscal year, the average “per pupil” cost in the eleven districts surrounding us is $16,932. Our per pupil cost is $13,556.

Whether we’re from Barre City or Barre Town, we all share the same Barre Pride – and we’ve all worked hard to get to where we are today. I thank all of you for getting out to vote, and for providing our students – your children – with outstanding academic, athletic, social, and extra-curricular opportunities.

Sincerely,

John Pandolfo

Superintendent