Important: Please Read

On Tuesday, May 30, 2017 the registered voters of Mount Holly and Ludlow will be asked to vote whether or not to join Mill River Unified Union School District (MRUUSD).

Voting “Yes” on the merger vote means:

• The Mount Holly School and Ludlow Elementary School will remain open Pre-K to 6. Black River Middle and High School (grades 7-12) will close at the end of the 2018 school year and grade 7-12 students will attend Mill River Union High School.
• As part of the MRUUSD, Mill River’s articles of agreement ensure that neither the Mount Holly School nor Ludlow Elementary School could be closed without the unanimous vote of the Board and the affirmative vote of the residents of Mount Holly or Ludlow as appropriate.
• The MRUUSD board will be comprised of: Clarendon (4 votes), Ludlow (4 votes), Wallingford (4 votes), Mount Holly (2 votes), Shrewsbury (2 votes), Tinmouth (1 vote). Ludlow and Mount Holly will have a school-based community-member advisory council to provide specific school-based feedback to the larger board.
• There will be a single homestead tax rate that reflects the costs of educating all of the pre-K through 12th grade students in all towns of the MRUUSD. The current pre-CLA tax rate for the MRUUSD is very comparable to the Mount Holly pre-CLA tax rate and lower than the Ludlow pre-CLA tax rate. The merger will minimize fluctuating tax rates that result from year-to-year changes in a town's student population.
• Student transportation will be provided by the MRUUSD.

Voting “No”on the merger vote means:

• The Mount Holly School, Ludlow Elementary School and Black River Middle and High School will remain open.
• Our schools will continue to operate under Two Rivers Supervisory Union (TRSU).
• Act 46 mandates consolidation by 2018 or the State Board of Education (SBOE) has the authority to redistrict us in 2019.
• If our schools continue to operate as they are, taxes are projected to increase to over $2.00 per $100 of assessment within 4 years.
• We would lose our small schools grant (over $78,000 for Mount Holly and over $58,000 for Ludlow) and the hold harmless option would be lost.
• Student transportation in Ludlow and Mount Holly will remain the same as it is now.

We will schedule information presentation meetings to address any questions you may have. Please take the time to become informed so that when you vote on Tuesday, May 30, 2017 you will feel comfortable supporting your choice. MRUUSD plans to vote to accept us in early August 2017.

Thank you, from the Ludlow Elementary School Board.

Please read this important message from your Ludlow School Board. This vote will affect your community, your taxes, and your schools.

Information Presentation Meetings will be held as follows:

Mount Holly Elementary May 9, 2017  @  6:00 pm

Ludlow Elementary May 23, 2017 @ 6:00 pm

Two Rivers Supervisory Union

609 VT Rte. 103

Ludlow, VT 05149