School Board of Directors

Chris Casey (chair)
Monty Shatney
Dan Brush (secretary)
Lindsay Whalen
Dana Maxfield (vice chair)

2010 OSSU Annual Meeting

Woodbury School Study

At the 2009 Woodbury Town Meeting, voters unanimously approved the appropriation of $7,500 to hire a consultant to prepare a study report for the Select Board that analyzes and justifies all economical options to educate Woodbury K-6 students. The Woodbury Select Board then charged the School Study Committee to work with a consultant to research how education services might be delivered in a more cost-effective manner and to communicate to citizens the benefits and challenges of the many available school options.

This study investigates concerns and issues related to the maintenance of a centralized public elementary school in the town of Woodbury. Cost and quality considerations therefore revolve around various scenarios that the School Study Committee sought to better understand. School options were examined and their viability reported in this study, including the implications of closing the elementary school and providing full school choice for all students, closing the school and designating a particular school or schools where the School Board would pay tuition, creating a joint contract school between Woodbury and another elementary district, and/or establishing a union or unified union governance system with another town or towns.

At the heart of the study is a key concept for Woodbury residents to understand. The primary cost-driver that has the most impact on the budget for any school is the student/teacher ratio. This study examines current student/teacher ratios in detail and in comparison to other Vermont districts.

View or download the Woodbury School Study report