Central Vermont rejects $149M bond for standalone career center – VTDigger

Central Vermont residents voted overwhelmingly against a $149 million measure to build a new technical education center on Tuesday. 

Across the 18 towns in Washington County that form the Central Vermont Career Center District, about 60% voted against the ballot item, while 40% voted in favor of it, according to results collected by the Barre Town Clerk’s office. 

The district proposed the bond as a response to the lack of space and inadequate facilities at the career center’s current home at Spaulding High School in Barre. For the current school year, the district received 414 applications for 228 spots, according to district data. 

District Superintendent Jody Emerson said last month that the career center also hoped a standalone building would allow it to offer additional programs and expand opportunities to younger grades. Two consulting firms drew up plans for a 167,000-square-foot facility at a currently vacant lot in Graniteville. 

But central Vermont residents raised concerns about the cost of the bond at an informational meeting in October. According to district projections, the bond was expected to raise property taxes between $99 and $420 per year on a $300,000 home. 

The district had set a target date of September 2029 to open the facility if the bond was approved, according to its website. Emerson has said if the bond failed, the district may be able to come back to voters at a later date with a different plan. But what that plan looks like depends on the future of the education redistricting proposals and school construction aid proposals being discussed in the Legislature this year. 

After the results were announced, Emerson said she was grateful for the high turnout because it provided information for the district to determine what its next steps should be. 

She blamed the failure of the vote on the state’s cost-of-living issues and the uncertainty around the future of redistricting, rather than opposition to technical education. “I know the voters support our kids,” she said.