By John Kerrigan
I’ve been observing the reports and possible solutions to the Harwood Union Unified School funding situation.
School enrollment figures have immensely in the last decade. School expenses have increased. When I started teaching at Harwood in 1977 there were over 900 students. Today there are fewer than 600. The administrative, staff and faculty numbers and real estate taxes have more than tripled since that time.
Possible solutions that are being considered by the Harwood Unified District School Board eliminating programs and cutting expenses by consolidating middle schools and consolidating/closing at least one or two of the elementary schools.
Harwood citizens recently sent a clear message to their school board that they want all schools to remain open. How can we afford to do that?
Public/private schools that attract tuition paying students are doing quite well. Many of these schools are accepting students from neighboring towns that do not have public schools of their own but offer school choice to their residents. Schools such as St. Johnsbury Academy, Thetford Academy, Lyndon Institute and Burr and Burton have enrollments that are increasing not decreasing. Strictly private schools like Rice Memorial are flourishing with increasing enrollments. Rice, a South Burlington Catholic school attracts tuition paying families from our area. Next year, Rice is offering dormitory space to some students, making the school even more attractive to out-o- town families. Tuition for these schools ranges from $15,000 at Rice to $47,500 at Lyndon Institute
There is some question as to whether public funds can be used for private, religious schools. Like it or not, the present administration in Washington D.C. is moving in that direction. With the abolishment of the Department of Education funding for special education and other programs may be lost entirely. How can we supplement the loss of these funds if we want to provide an education that meets the needs of all our students?
Increasing school enrollment and adding school revenue by attracting tuition paying families will allow all schools to remain open.
Here is how we do that.
Make our school curriculum more diverse. We need to advocate for the return of honors programs and the Industrial Arts Program. We should add vocational programs. We have a 186-acre campus of forests, ponds and streams; arguably have the most beautiful public high school campus in North America. We need to incorporate our campus resources into natural science, agricultural, logging and recreational educational opportunities
Since the elimination of honors programs, Harwood students’ standardized test scores have dropped. The 2015 graduating class (which was the last year of honors’ classes) had, four of eight of the Vermont National Merit scholar finalists. Harwood has had only had one National Merit scholar since 2015.
Presently, Harwood vocational students ride a bus for 90-minutes daily on their round trip to Barre. Local taxpayers cover transportation and tuition. Harwood families are leaving by the dozens because of the lack of these programs. Let’s bring them back.
Next, market the success of our alumni.
Harwood graduates include:
- Paul Wennberg- Cal Tech scientist, world-renowned expert on the Atmospheric Chemistry of Planets
- Bill Parker – MIT Scientist, inventor of the Plasma Lamp. Parker was both a student and a teacher at Harwood Union.
- Scott Tighe – Technical director at the UVM Advanced Genomics Lab. Scott’s work was chosen for further experimentation on the International Space Station.
- Grace Potter – singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumental musician.
- Caitlin Compton Gregg – 2010 Olympic Nordic Skier, Bronze medalist in World Cup Championships
- Shaina Taub an actress, singer, musician, and creator of “Suffs” a Tony Award-winning play about the Women’s Suffrage movement.
- Stephen Groff – a native of Warren, formerly vice-president of the Asian Development bank. Presently governor of the National Development Fund of Saudi Arabia.
- Nolan Kasper - Olympic Alpine racer. Whistler Olympics in 2010. Tied for second in World Cup Slalom in 2011.
- Ilari Melart – Finnish professional ice hockey player
Harwood graduates include successful engineers, veterinarians, artists, musicians, rocket scientists and other skilled trades people. They are most of all; successful parents that have decided to raise their children here.
We can market the beauty of our natural area and the recreational opportunities it provides. Our school district is geographically located on the divide between both the Winooski and Mad River Valleys with wonderful recreational opportunities nearby: alpine and Nordic skiing, The Long Trail, bicycling, paddling, organic farms, sugar houses and breweries.
We should be to make it easier for out-of-state families and international students to move here. The Harwood campus includes the former six-acre DeLong homestead. This site would be ideal for dorms for international students or serve as a site for temporary housing for out-of-state families wishing to move to our area. Give incentives to local residents to take in international student boarders and others arriving from other parts of Vermont or from out-of-state.
We can compete with any school district in the country. We have talented award-winning teachers, small class sizes, and a diverse curriculum that allows art and music expression and opportunities to receive college credit.
I urge our school board directors to put together an exploratory committee to determine how to attract international, in state and out-of- state students and families to our piece of paradise.
A larger diverse student body will help to enrich the lives and learning of our present students. Best of all it will allow our excellent schools to remain open.
Let’s not wait for legislators to decide how to solve the school funding dilemma. We need to create a solution that works for us. Using the creative thinking and guidance of our community members, Harwood Union School district will become a role model for other school districts across the state.
This idea needs taxpayer support. There will be many challenges. We need imaginative and creative thinkers for support. History can repeat itself, much like the families of inventers that occupied Prickly Mountain in Warren in the early 70’s. We need to bring this spirit of innovation and creativity back.
Kerrigan lives in Duxbury, and taught and coached at Harwood from 1977-2023.
