2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 16 - Education › Chapter 11 - Union School Districts › § 716. Transition to full operations

§ 716. Transition to full operations
(a) Operational date. The operational date of a union school district is the July 1 next following the date on which the voters vote to approve formation of the district, unless the voter-approved articles of agreement establish a different date.
(b) Roles and authority during transitional period. During the transitional period:
(1) The forming districts, through their boards, shall continue to be responsible for the education of their respective resident students.
(2) The board of the new union school district shall develop school district policies; adopt curriculum, educational programs, assessment measures, and reporting procedures; negotiate and enter into contractual agreements; negotiate and enter into collective bargaining agreements; set the school calendar for the fiscal year that begins on the operational date; prepare and present to the voters the proposed budget for the fiscal year that begins on the operational date; prepare for the annual and any special meetings of the new union school district that may occur during the transitional period; and transact any other lawful business coming before it.
(3) During the transitional period and continuing until the voters approve a budget for the initial fiscal year of operation, the board of the new union school district shall have the authority to borrow sufficient funds to meet pending obligations. The board shall vote whether to include the total sum borrowed under this subsection as education spending in the board’s proposed budget for the initial fiscal year or to treat the sum as a deficit pursuant to 24 V.S.A. § 1523(b) (municipal and county government; duties of selectboards as to a deficit).
(c) Assets.
(1) Definition. For purposes of this subsection, the “assets” of a forming district shall include all real and personal property, operating fund accounts, special fund accounts, trust fund accounts, accounts receivable, and any other property to which the forming district holds title or over which it has control.
(2) Transfer and acquisition of title. On or before the operational date, the forming districts shall transfer and the union school district shall acquire ownership of all assets of the forming districts that are owned by the forming districts on or before the June 30 immediately preceding the operational date, unless the voter-approved articles of agreement explicitly provide for an alternative disposition of a specific asset. The transfer of an asset shall be subject to all encumbrances and conditions of record, unless the voter- approved articles of agreement explicitly provide otherwise.
(3) Prohibition. A forming district shall not transfer ownership of an asset to any entity other than the union school district between the date on which the vote occurs pursuant to section 710 (vote to form union school district) of this chapter and the operational date unless explicitly authorized in the voter-approved articles of agreement or approved by the voters of the union school district during the transitional period.
(4) Trust funds. A union school district shall hold and apply all trust funds transferred to it by a forming district as the terms of the trust indicate. If the trust allows, a union school district may use the funds to benefit union school district students who reside, or buildings that are located, outside the geographical boundaries of the forming district that originally held the trust.
(5) Reserve funds. A union school district shall hold and apply all reserve funds transferred to it by a forming district pursuant to the conditions imposed prior to the date on which the forming district voted to approve formation of the union school district.
(d) Liabilities.
(1) Definition. For purposes of this subsection, the “liabilities” of a forming district shall include all contractual obligations, all indebtedness including principal and interest, and any other legal commitment of a forming district.
(2) Transfer and assumption of liabilities. On or before the operational date, the forming districts shall transfer and the union school district shall assume all liabilities of the forming districts that exist on the June 30 immediately preceding the operational date, unless the voter-approved articles of agreement explicitly provide otherwise.
(3) Prohibition. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (2) of this subsection (d), a union school district shall not assume liabilities that a forming district incurs between the date on which the vote occurs pursuant to section 710 (vote to form union school district) of this chapter and the operational date unless explicitly authorized in the voter-approved articles of agreement or approved by the union school district board during the transitional period; provided, however, that a union school district shall in all cases assume the contractual obligations of the member districts regarding each collective bargaining agreement or other employment contract entered into during the transitional period until the agreement’s or contract’s expiration.
(e) Unpaid expenses. At the district’s first annual meeting following assumption of full operations or at a later meeting as necessary, the voters of a new union school district shall vote a sum sufficient to pay any unpaid balance of expenses, as defined in subdivision 715(c)(1)(H) of this chapter, that was incurred by or on behalf of the union school district during the transitional period. (Added 2021, No. 176 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. June 7, 2022.)