Mailing list oversight will be rectified, school superintendent says

By Guy Page

An unknown number of Williamstown voters were not notified about the Paine Mountain School District budget revote that passed April 16. The district is one of only two thus far to approve a revised budget rejected at this year’s Town Meeting. 

A voter in one of the two school districts to approve a school budget on the second try this year said he and his neighbors were not notified of the school vote by the Central Vermont Supervisory Union. The school superintendent attributed the problem to a mailing list oversight.

33 Vermont school districts (at last count) rejected their school budgets at Town Meeting, most voters citing opposition to the proposed 20% statewide property tax. Since then, 15 school districts have revoted revised budgets, as required by state law. 13 revised budgets failed. One of the yes votes was Champlain Valley Union School District, representing affluent suburban Chittenden County towns. 

The other was the Paine Mountain School District, covering Northfield and Williamstown and part of the CVSU. Williamstown approved the school budget 578 Yes, 502 No. CVSU announced the revote on social media, and also sent out a mailer to voters – but apparently not to the slice of Williamstown served by the 05654 zip code, including Williamstown resident Dennis Fournier.

Most of Williamstown is located in the 05679 zip code. The 05654 zip code also serves Graniteville, a village in the Town of Barre. USPS zip codes occasionally cross town lines. 

The problem was with the mailing list, Supt. Matthew Fedders explained. The supervisory union uses a local print shop to print and also mail the notices. This year is the first time he’s ever heard of the omission of the residents served by the Graniteville Post Office.

Part of Williamstown – less than 100 addresses, he thinks – is covered by the Graniteville post office, Fedders confirmed today. “I’m glad someone [Fournier] brought this to our attention, and we’ll definitely take care of it going forward.”

“To my knowledge, everyone within my area received no notice. I talked to several neighbors and everyone received nothing,” Fournier told VDC. “I spoke to an assistant at the Supervisory Union office on April 17, the day after the vote and they admitted that the mailings were not sent out to my area.”

“Yes, mailings went out but not in both area codes. When taxes are sent out, we do not have this problem,” Fournier said. “According to Vermont election law [ Title 17 Sub-Chapter V Sect. 2521 Warning and Notices } town offices are to notify voters by mail. There might be a grey area since this was not a general election, but Northfield and some of Williamstown residents were notified with mailings.” 

The district announced the revote on Facebook. Fournier said social media is hardly a foolproof way to contact voters. 

“They would not rely on Facebook to collect taxes. An older generation of constituents most likely doesn’t use Facebook.”

What’s not clear – yet – is how many Williamstown voters were unnotified and unaware of the April 16 revote, and whether they were enough to affect the 76-vote margin. Fournier said the Williamstown Clerk is providing him with a number of voters who were left out of the mailings by the end of the week.

Fournier did not support the revised school budget. “From what’s being proposed, I believe it’s just too much to bear,” he said at the Vermont Values Under ATAX rally at the State House Thursday. “I’m retired, on a limited income, and things are just going to get that much tougher to survive.”

What should be done?, VDC asked Fournier.

“I suggest that anybody who feels as I do, vote no on the proposed property tax.”

An employee at the Northfield Town Office said 753 voters voted in the budget revote, but did not have the yes/no totals. The Town Clerk was unavailable. VDC has emailed her for this information and will provide it as soon as it is available.