CABOT, Vt. (WCAX) – In Cabot, conversations are resurfacing on whether to close the high school due to several concerns.
Come town meeting day, Cabot voters will have two separate ballot items to mull over. One to approve the 4.4 million dollar school budget, and another to decide if the high school should close, giving the students school choice. Should people in town choose the second option, students would be sent to neighboring schools.
Simultaneously, over 50 Cabot residents took matters into their own hands, creating a petition to close the school. Supporters cite questions about the sustainability of the building, the size, the potential for more opportunities elsewhere, and the expense it takes to operate it.
Our Melissa Cooney had the chance to speak with over a dozen residents walking around town, and she says it’s clear the town is quite divided on this issue. The petition calling to close the school got enough signatures to warn as a ballot item, but others in town say they want the school open for its convenient location, history with the town, and to maintain local voting power.
“I love our K-12 school. My kids did really well in the school and it’s a great part of the community,” said Will Ameden of Cabot.
The possibility of a longer commute is also a concern for some. Aedan Scribner of Cabot said, “If I have to drive half an hour 45 minutes at the end of the day to pick up my daughter to go home, that’s an issue.”
Mark Tucker, Caledonia Central Supervisory Union Superintendent, notes there could be an extra cost associated with adding school choice if voters approve the budget and vote to close the school in the same election.
“If we manage to convince the community to absorb a 37 cent homestead tax increase to keep the school operating Pre-K through 12 on the campus, that’s one thing, and then to have to go back and say, ‘oh, by the way, now you don’t have a high school.’ And so we need another $300,000. I’m rounding,” said Tucker.
When this item was on Cabot’s town meeting day ballot in 2019, voters turned it down. But, if passed, Tucker says the other high schools in the supervisory union – Danville and Twinfield – do have room for the Cabot students if they opt to attend those schools.
