Vermont Gubernatorial Candidate Aly Richards to Tour Failing Woodstock Union High-School and Middle-School Building

Visit slated for Wednesday, July 22 as democratic candidate throws support behind statewide education reform

WOODSTOCK, VT -- July 20, 2026 -- Mountain Views Supervisory District (MVSD) announced today that Vermont Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Aly Richards will join MVSD Board members, administrators, and representatives from the community for a tour of the beleaguered Woodstock Union High School and Middle School building on Wednesday, July 22. The hour-long visit is planned from 10: 45 to 11:45 am. The media is welcome to attend.

The 70-year-old WUHSMS building is now considered the worst case of school-building deterioration in Vermont.

Richards, the former CEO of Let’s Grow Kids, is recognized statewide for her work to advance both early childhood education reform and affordability. Her leadership is credited for driving the passage in 2023 of Act 76, landmark legislation that brought meaningful investment and important policy changes for the State’s early childhood education system. Let’s Grow Kids itself is an organization focused on building broad public and political support for child care reform.

Leading the WUHSMS building tour will be MVSD Facilities Director Joe Rigoli, who is currently overseeing the replacement of a large segment the building’s sewer system located beneath the food preparation areas of the cafeteria, the lavatories serving the cafeteria, and the hallways from the lavatories to the staff parking lot. Concurrently, Rigoli is also directing the replacement of a failed boiler with two new propane boilers. Both the sewer and boiler replacements were funded by voters last March, when they passed two bonds to the tune of $.5 million.

“What keeps me up at night is that we could experience similar system failures anywhere else in our building at any moment,” said Rigoli. “Bottom line, we’re making patchwork repairs at enormous cost while we’re being held back from building our new school because our State government can’t figure out how to appropriate the funds we’ve qualified for and been promised.”

About Mountain Views Supervisory Union (MVSU): Located in Central Vermont’s Green Mountains, Mountain 

Views Supervisory Union serves students from Barnard, Bridgewater, Killington, Pittsfield, Plymouth, Pomfret, Reading, Woodstock, and other neighboring school-choice communities. For more information, please visit the MVSU Website. 

About Aly for Vermont: Richards’ top priority is to develop a Vermont Economic Action Plan -- a serious, coordinated strategy to make Vermont a place where everyone can afford to stay, work, and raise a family. For more information, please visit Aly for Vermont. 

Contacts:
Gina McAllister
MVSU Communications Committee Chair
gina.mcallister@mtnviews.org
Mobile: (802) 738-6414
Office: (802) 952-1048  

Angela Arsenault
Communications Director, Aly for Vermont
angela@alyforvt.com
Mobile: (917) 743-7697