CSD FY'27 Budget and Voting Information

Colchester School District FY'27 Budget Information Voters will decide whether to approve next year's operational school budget by voting on or before Tuesday, March 3. In addition to our budget website, here are some additional resources to get information before you vote. Your Vote Matters: Superintendent Overview Watch the first video in our Your Vote Matters series to hear an overview of district enrollment, academic achievement, the facility bond construction, and the proposed FY'27 budget that will be on the Town Meeting Day ballot. Your Vote Matters: Student Voice The second video in our Your Vote Matters series was created by CHS Senior Trinity McCarthy, who is serving as the student representative on the school board. Her heartfelt video explores the "Butterfly Effect" and how the connections made within our halls shape futures forever. Annual Report to the Community This year's Annual Report to the Community should have arrived in your mailbox last week; however, we know the Colchester Post Office has been experiencing some delays. If you haven't received a copy yet, a digital copy is also available on our website. In addition to FY'27 budget information, it includes enrollment and assessment data, short articles about district investments and initiatives, and an update on the voter-approved bond facility work. Colchester School Board Budget Q&A Members of the Colchester School Board summarized the FY'27 budget and answered questions in this 30-minute roundtable discussion recorded by LCATV. The video can be viewed on their website or on Comcast TV channels. When & Where to Vote Town Meeting Day is just over a week away. Sometimes the vote comes down to just a few hundred ballots! We hope you have made plans to have your voice heard. If you'd like to vote early, ballots are available at the Town Offices until noon on Monday, March 2. If you'd like to vote at the polls on Town Meeting Day, head to CHS on Tuesday, March 3, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.

Friday, Feb 20 2026

The Compass: CSD Districtwide Newsletter for February

District Newsletter at a Glance CHS School Counselors Win Award. Recognition for supporting our students. FY'27 School Budget Information. Get informed before the vote on March 3. YouthTruth Family Survey. We want to hear from you! Food Resources. A big list of places to access free food in Chittenden County. Flu Shots - It's Not Too Late. Illnesses are going around, a message from our school nurses. Changes to ParentSquare Text Messages. DM's and posts will have their own 10-digit phone numbers. The Joys of Preschool. Check out our new MBS Preschool video! Radon Testing. Our schools were tested and passed. Booked at Burnham. Lots of activities for the upcoming February break. Colchester Connection Survey. A local group wants to hear how you travel around town. Calendar Reminders. February break and family conferences. Sailing Around the District. A check-in at our schools.   CHS School Counselors Win Award We are proud to announce that the Colchester High School Counseling Team has won the Excellence in School Counseling Program Award from the Vermont School Counselor Association! This honor celebrates the hard work of Mr. Hall, Ms. Pastore, and Ms. Moran and their efforts to build a program that supports every student. Our counselors go far beyond just fixing schedules. By using data-driven programs and tools, they work side-by-side with students to map out academic goals, career readiness, and personal growth. You’ll also find them deeply involved in school life, from integrating counseling into "AT/Homebase" mod to supporting student-led groups such as the Social Justice Alliance and the "We Matter Here" mental health club. Congratulations to our dedicated team for creating a welcoming, organized, inclusive and truly student-centered environment. We are so proud of the heart and expertise they bring to CHS!   FY'27 School Budget Information At its last meeting, the Colchester School Board approved the proposed budget that will be on the Town Meeting Day ballot on Tuesday, March 3. Superintendent Minor has been presenting budget information at faculty and PTA meetings across the district, and we just uploaded the first video in our “Your Vote Matters” series, which is linked below. Our Student Representative School Board Member, Trinity McCarthy, is finishing up her video for the series and we'll be sharing both on our various social media and community platforms next week. Another place to get information on the district and the proposed budget is the Annual Report to the Community. The report is starting to be delivered to mailboxes, but we are aware of the challenges facing the Colchester Post Office. We are optimistic they will reach all residences before Town Meeting Day, but in case they’re delayed, the report is also available on our website.  If you won’t be able to vote at CHS on Tuesday, March 3, ballots should be available for early voting at the town office starting next week. For more information on the FY27 budget, visit. csdvt.org/budget.    YouthTruth Family Survey We believe that families are essential partners in our work, and your voice matters. Once again this year, we are partnering with the national nonprofit YouthTruth to invite families to share honest, anonymous feedback about their child’s school experience. If you are a parent or guardian, please take a few minutes to complete the family survey before it closes at midnight on Friday, February 27. The insights we receive from families help guide important decisions and improvements, ensuring our schools are welcoming, supportive, and safe places for every student. We truly value your perspective.   Food Resources The Vermont Department of Health compiled a list of free food resources in Chittenden County, including distribution locations, food pantries, meals-to-go, and meal sites. It includes information about hours, location, accessibility and eligibility requirements. Access the link above or it can be found on the VDH website.    Flu Shots - It's Not Too Late! Flu-like illness is at a high level in many communities around Vermont. Our school nurses want to share that it's not too late to get your flu shot! The best time to get a flu shot is in the fall before flu season starts, however, flu-season often lasts into late winter or early spring. Getting a flu shot now can still provide protection for the rest of the season. Schedule your flu shot through your medical provider or a local pharmacy.   Changes to ParentSquare Text Messages ParentSquare is making a change to how you’ll receive many text messages from our schools. Up until now, most texts come from a 5-digit number but they’re changing it so you’ll start getting texts from different regular 10-digit phone numbers for:  Direct messages Classroom and group posts School posts  Messages from the district, digests and alerts will still come from the 5-digit number. For more details, review the districtwide post we shared yesterday.   The Joys of MBS Preschool We’re excited to take families inside our classrooms with our brand new Welcome to Preschool at MBS video! Because our program is popular and spaces are limited, we use a lottery process to ensure fairness for all applicants. The enrollment process for the next year has begun and interested families should fill out this form by March 17.  Feel free to reach out to Darcie Lehouiller at darcie.lehouiller@colchestersd.org or 264-5894 with any questions.   Radon Testing In Vermont, schools are required to test for radon as part of a law passed by the legislature in 2021. In 2022, an extension was granted, giving schools until June 30, 2025 to complete testing. Under the Act, schools must follow the ANSI/AARST protocol for conducting measurements of radon and radon decay products. This includes hiring a certified radon measurement professional. School must test on school days or with the HVAC system operating under occupied conditions, ideally during cooler months when the heat is on. The district worked with Fuss & O’Neill to conduct testing in all five schools in January 2025. Radon detectors were placed in various areas throughout each school for a few days. The results were then sent to the lab to find out what the radon levels are in our schools. All test results were below the action level for radon, meaning no further action is required.   Booked at Burnham Library Hello from Burnham Library! Hope you're staying warm this February. Looking ahead, we have a packed slate of activities scheduled here during the school break starting later this month. Below is a quick rundown, but click on the links for more information and to sign up (many of them have a limited number of spots, so you'll want to make sure you're on the list!): Monday 2/23: "Retro Gaming" sessions — come use our Wii! — for both grades 1-5 and for grades 6+ Tuesday 2/24: Kids Escape Rooms for ages 6-11, with a morning session or an afternoon session Wednesday 2/25: Middle School Escape Room for grades 6-8 Thursday 2/26: STEM: Circuits activity for ages 6+ Friday 2/27: Family Puzzle Race (at least 1 child and 1 adult per team) Monday 3/2: Duct Tape Wallets craft for ages 6+ Tuesday 3/4: Family Movie: Part 2 of the musical about the future Wicked Witch of the West and her relationship with the Good Witch of the North And of course, the Burnham Library will be open that whole week for you to find books, movies, and more to stay entertained while you're on break. Just let us know how we can help!   Colchester Connection Survey Connecting Colchester is currently distributing a community survey to better understand how and where people travel in Colchester, as well as what improvements would make walking, biking, and rolling safer and more enjoyable. The group plans to use the results to inform future projects and advocacy efforts and to share community input with town leaders as they draft their town plan. They would especially value hearing from Colchester families, whose experiences traveling to/from school and around town can provide important insights. The Connecting Colchester survey can be accessed here. It takes about 10 minutes to complete and is open through February 20.   Upcoming Calendar Reminders Here are some upcoming dates to mark on your calendar. For a full list that’s always updated, visit csdvt.org/calendar. No School: Monday, February 23 -Tuesday, March 3 Family Conferences: Monday, March 2 and Tuesday, March 3 (specific dates/times by school) Town Meeting Day: Vote on the FY'27 School Budget at CHS on Tuesday, March 3 No School: Friday, March 20   Sailing Around the District Highlights From Our Schools Colchester High School On February 4th, we proudly hosted our second annual Laker Nation Day! The day was headlined by CHS alum and 2025 CHS Hall of Famer Merritt David Janes, whose presence inspired our entire school community. Students engaged in a wide range of community-based activities and performances throughout the day, including an interactive experience with Jeh Kulu, engaging workshops, celebrations across the building, and recognition of our student-athletes on National Signing Day. It was a meaningful day filled with connection, school pride, and shared experiences that truly embodied the spirit of Laker Nation. Colchester Middle School CMS held our own Opening Ceremonies! Just like the Olympic Opening Ceremonies, we had a flag procession to kick off our school-wide assembly. We started off with Greece, ended with the United States. In between, we had flags representing the many different cultural heritages that exist within our school community. Over 100 students participated as flag bearers while their classmates cheered them on throughout the procession. Next, these flags, representing 64 different countries, will be hung up in our Cafeteria. This is just one more way we help all of our students feel a sense of pride and belonging here at CMS. Our school-wide assembly also included the CMS Song, Student Shout Outs, Dude Be Nice award recipients, and a fun Relay Race! Malletts Bay School Our third, fourth, and fifth graders have been making the most of our recent snowfall by snowshoeing as part of their physical education curriculum. Snowshoeing is a fun, healthy lifetime activity that we intentionally teach and revisit each year to build skills and a love of winter outdoor activity. It’s been a joyful way for students to stay active while embracing winter here in Vermont! Union Memorial School The UMS first and second graders really enjoyed the Flynn Center's production of Cirque Mechanics: Tilt. The kindergarteners saw The Very Hungry Caterpillar back in October. We are so fortunate to be able to expose students to art of this caliber in such an amazing venue.  So much fun. Porters Point School Over the next two weeks, students at PPS will participate in our Compliment Card project, a tradition connected to our Second Step learning about kindness, empathy, and friendship. Students start by making a list of kind actions and thoughtful words that become the foundation for their compliments to others. Taking time to think about what you appreciate about someone—and then writing it down—is a meaningful way for students to practice empathy and spread kindness across our school community. Preschool at MBS Did you know that each of our preschool classrooms has a sensory table? While it might just look like a great place to make a mess, it has enormous benefits for our students. Activities like scooping, dumping, and grasping small items with tongs or hands strengthen hand muscles and improve hand-eye coordination. Our students explore volume, measurement, and properties of matter (e.g., wet/dry, heavy/light). Sharing tools and space at the table encourages cooperative play and negotiation. It can also act as a calming, therapeutic tool for self-regulation. Using descriptive words (e.g., "crunchy," "slimy," "fast," "slow") expands vocabulary. Open-ended, sensory-based play allows children to test hypotheses, imagine, and explore without a specific "right" answer. Plus, it so much fun!   Follow Along! If you're on Instagram or Facebook, we are, too! Follow along with our students on their educational journeys and see what makes ou Colchester community such a great place to learn and work. Facebook: Colchester School District Instagram: @colchester_schools

Friday, Feb 13 2026

A Change to How You’ll Get Texts From Our Schools

CSD Community, Starting today, many of the text messages you get from our schools will come from regular 10-digit phone numbers. This change is being made by ParentSquare and should make it easier to see who is messaging you. For example, a message from your child’s teacher will come from a different phone number than a message from the school office.  What’s changing?  Right now, most texts come from the same 5-digit number. Soon, you’ll start getting texts from different regular 10-digit phone numbers for:  Direct messages Classroom and group posts School posts  Messages from the district, digests and alerts will still come from the 5-digit number.  What should you do? When you receive a message from one of these new 10-digit numbers, ParentSquare recommends saving it to your contacts . Here are some suggestions: Save a teacher’s number as: Ms. Smith - 4th Grade Save classroom/group posts as: Union Memorial School Classes or UMS Classes Save school posts number as: Colchester Middle School Updates or CMS Updates This before-and-after example shows how text messages can be organized by school and conversation. Each school gets its own number for school-wide posts, as do classes and group posts:  Why is this happening? There are two key reasons behind this update: A better experience for families: You’ll be able to see who a message is from and keep texts organized by person or school. For example, messages from your child’s teacher will come from a different number than messages from the school office, so it’s easier to stay on top of conversations and know exactly who’s contacting you. Industry-wide updates from phone carriers: Phone providers like Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile now require messages like these to come from 10-digit phone numbers instead of short codes. This change helps providers reliably deliver messages and avoids providers mistakenly flagging them as spam. Read more about this change and some helpful tips: Changes to ParentSquare Text Messages . Colchester School District 

Thursday, Feb 12 2026

School Safety and Our Commitment to Every Student

CSD Community, At the Colchester School District, our mission is to ensure that every student feels safe, valued, and has a strong sense of belonging in our schools. Throughout the year, our school leaders closely monitor national and state-level safety incidents to assess how they might affect our community. Recently, this includes federal immigration enforcement activities and their significant impact on communities near Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Lewiston, Maine.  We want to reassure families that Colchester schools remain safe and inclusive for every student, regardless of background or immigration status. Coming to school should never be a source of fear for a child or their family. We appreciate your partnership and trust as we work together to support every Colchester student. With that in mind, we want to share how we’re protecting our students’ well-being, safety, and privacy. Our goal is to keep school feeling normal, welcoming, and a safe place for all our families. School Safety and Building Access Our schools have well-established safety procedures in place to protect students and staff. This includes controlled building access, locked exterior doors, and staff training on securing our buildings and classrooms. Administrators undergo additional training and have a deeper understanding of our safety protocols and know exactly when and how to activate them, including if immigration enforcement were to attempt to enter one of our schools. Practicing our safety procedures  helps make sure that, should we need to activate them for any reason, our employees and students know how to respond.   Student Privacy and Rights Our district does not collect information about immigration status, and federal law guarantees every child the right to attend public school, regardless of immigration status. Additionally, all student records are protected by the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Our employees are trained on student and family privacy requirements, and any inquiries from outside agencies are handled at the district level in accordance with the law.  Learning and School Activities At this time, students will continue to participate in classroom learning, outdoor activities, recess, and after-school programs as scheduled. We will continue to monitor local events and are prepared to respond as needed by adjusting our schools' daily routines to keep students safe, supported, and focused on learning. A Culture of Belonging To keep our promise of safety and belonging, we’ve recently reviewed our safety protocols with our entire staff. Our leadership team is also working closely with school counselors and multilingual educators, as well as districts across Vermont, to make sure we’re coordinated and ready to support our families. Vermont law and district policy protect students from discrimination and harassment. Students and families are encouraged to report any concerns to a trusted adult. Our school communities are dedicated to treating every child with care and respect. Reporting concerns allows administrators to respond quickly and prioritize our students’ safety and dignity. We are here for you. Please contact your school’s principal or an administrator in our Central Office if you have questions, need support, or are looking for resources. Through it all, we remain focused on what matters most: strong instruction, social-emotional growth, and ensuring that school is a safe, supportive place for every student. Thank you for being a valued part of our school community. With gratitude, Amy Minor Superintendent of Schools

Thursday, Feb 05 2026