Looking ahead to the 2027-28 school budget, the Harwood Unified Union School District School Board this week took a first step toward running two fewer schools next fall, proposing to close elementary schools in Waitsfield and Fayston.

BARRE — It took two tries, and a massive adjustment, but voters in the 18-town district that operates the Central Vermont Career Center approved financing for a $54.9 million new facility proposed on the East Montpelier campus of U-32 Middle and High School.

EAST MONTPELIER — The board that oversees the operation of the Central Vermont Career Center will learn later today what voters in the 18-town district think of its latest expansion plan.

The Harwood School Board continues its advance work towards next year’s budget – including discussions of potential school closures as soon as next fall – when it meets on Wednesday. It also is taking a step to accommodate growing public interest in its work to allow for more attendees to offer comments at meetings.

The Harwood Music Department’s Citrus Sale is taking orders through Nov. 13.

Although the final ballots will be cast on Tuesday, results of the Central Vermont Career Center bond vote will not be tallied until Thursday.

A Harwood School Board committee will take a first look today at five proposals for evaluating the Cabot Creamery office headquarters in Waitsfield to determine if it could be suitable as a future elementary school. Price tags range from $140,000 to $189,000 from five firms.

The death of a second student this school year in a car crash last weekend has touched off reflection, support and much concern at Harwood Union Middle/High School where Vermont’s top education leader paid a visit on Thursday. 

Following a girls volleyball quarterfinal win down the hall, Harwood Union Middle & High School’s auditorium was filled to the brim Friday night for the annual Sonic Futures Battle of the Bands.

Preliminary calculations for next year’s budget to run Harwood schools have district leaders contemplating closing two elementary schools and restructuring the district’s middle schools as soon as next fall.

Harwood Union High School’s music program hosts the 5th annual Sonic Futures Battle of the Bands music competition on Friday, Oct. 23, featuring student rock bands, duos and solo artists.

Vermont state Treasurer Mike Pieciak recently announced a record $3.4 million in awards for Vermont students from the state’s Higher Education Endowment Trust Fund.

The Harwood Union Hall of Fame Committee has announced the six inductees for its 14th class to be honored at the annual induction ceremony on Nov. 14.

The first preview of the budget needed to run schools for the 2027-28 school year appears to be setting up an unprecedented choice for the Harwood school district: either face a penalty for exceeding the state spending threshold, or make the deepest budget cuts to date.

Voters in 18 Washington County communities are being asked to consider supporting a $54.9 million bond to pay for a new Central Vermont Career Center. Learn more at a forum Oct. 21 at the Big Picture in Waitsfield.

A culvert replacement project on River Road in Moretown will result in a one-week road closure and modified school bus routes Oct. 1-7.

A Moretown Kindergarten teacher is one of three finalists up for consideration to be Vermont’s 2027 Teacher of the Year, according to the Vermont Agency of Education.

The University of Vermont recently announced that it has expanded access to UVM Promise, its zero-tuition program for Vermont students.

After receiving new declining enrollment data for the new school year, Harwood school leaders this week took two key steps this week regarding merger talks with neighboring school districts and a separate effort to investigate combining four of its elementary schools.

BARRE — The pitch for the latest bond proposal involving the Central Vermont Career Center is pretty simple: better price, better place, and, in retrospect, a superior solution to what has become a persistent problem.

The Harwood Unified Union School District has 23 new teachers and staff members this year from preschool through high school. During their orientation process, Superintendent Mike Leichliter asked them to complete a survey to share some details on their backgrounds as well as their hopes for their new positions.

The 2026-27 school year got off to a start on Aug. 26 with school buses rolling, parents lining up in the school drop-off loops, and those families who live nearby Brookside Primary School in Waterbury strolling through the crosswalks on Stowe Street to get their students to class.

BARRE — Voters in 18 central Vermont towns will be asked in November to consider a $55 million bond, which, if approved, would finance the Central Vermont Career Center’s latest expansion plans.

The recent listing of Cabot Creamery’s company headquarters in Waitsfield for sale for $2.95 million has caught the attention of Harwood school district leaders who are mulling a major school consolidation effort.

Harwood Unified Union School District School Board member Roberta “Bobbi” Rood of Waitsfield has submitted a letter of resignation from the board effective this Thursday, making tonight’s board meeting her last. 

For the third year, a local nonprofit created to support high school travel study scholarships will host a fundraiser on Aug. 29 to continue its work in the coming year.

Neck of the Woods child care in Waitsfield has set up fall preschool childcare at Moretown Elementary School for families with pre-K students attending the school.

With the new school year just on the horizon (first day back is Aug. 26), Harwood Union High School is putting out a call for opportunities over the coming months for students to participate in community service.

Across Vermont this summer, a program to distribute free meals to reach all children up to age 18 is underway as Hunger Free Vermont partners with school districts and various agencies.

A committee of the Harwood School Board says it’s ready to recommend a radical new setup for the district within five years: a major downsizing from operating seven schools to running just three.