Woodstock Union Rebuild Bond Vote

Article 4 authorizes the District to borrow up to $111,950,078 for the final design and construction of a new school building, sports facilities and campus as well as the demolition of the current building ONLY IF 

1. The District secures 25% of the bond cost from federal, state or private sources, AND IF 

2. The State legislature eliminates the current double-penalty for school construction debt.

In total these two contingencies and the $1M made in cuts to the revised plan reduces the local share of the bond by over $15 million as compared to 2024.

Even with a “YES” vote, the project will only proceed if two criteria are met:

1. At least $28 million in outside aid is secured to offset local costs. Depending on our state eligibility, total state funding over the life of the bond could range between $25 million and $50 million.

2. The State Legislature eliminates the 2x–penalties for capital projects. State Senator Clarkson and State Representative Kimbel have introduced legislation that will eliminate the stiff penalty school districts now face when taking on debt to maintain their facilities.  

These conditions are written into the ballot question to protect taxpayers and contain costs. The rebuild will not happen unless both conditions #1 and #2 are met.

Why do we need this bond and why now?

The current school building, constructed in 1958, is aging, inefficient, and increasingly expensive to repair.

After years of study and community input, the Board believes this rebuild proposal is the most cost‑effective way to ensure our students have a safe, modern school for the next 75 years. Acting now is critical because:

• The building is in very poor condition. The facility is now ranked the worst physical school building in Vermont with its value estimated to be over 96% depreciated. 

• Repairs cost more in the long run. Patchwork repairs or renovations will cost more, take longer, and be more disruptive than reconstruction and construction costs will continue to rise. We are experiencing this challenge daily and due to inflation and tariffs costs have risen approximately 13% since the 2024 vote.

• New State construction funding is coming. State funds for school construction are planned for July of 2026 that will focus on the most urgent building projects.

• We already have state pre-approval. This pre-approval is critical for state aid and took approximately seven years of work and $2 million in private funding to secure. If we delay, we risk losing it and the investment made.

• Local control is at risk. If redistricting moves forward, we could lose significant local control. If we are moved into a larger district, our towns have less representation and less control over spending priorities. This could result in greater challenges to rebuilding or facing the risk of closure.