Op-Ed: A new approach for CVCC, built with our community

September 28, 2026  |  By Jody Emerson

Last year, voters in the Central Vermont Career Center School District considered a $149 million bond to build a new, standalone career center.

That proposal was not supported by the voters.

We heard two things clearly:

First, people believe the Central Vermont Career Center is important. They understand the value of career and technical education and want Central Vermont students to have access to these opportunities. Second, the proposal we brought forward was not workable for our community.

We went back to the community, not just the drawing board. 

After the vote, our team was disappointed, but our first question wasn’t, “what’s next?” It was, “What is the community telling us?” 

We combed through social media, news coverage, Front Porch Forum posts, and direct feedback — for the positive and the negative — to understand what people were actually saying. We were confident that Central Vermont supports career center students and the chance to build skills across a range of trades. We suspected cost and location were the real barriers.

From there, our Facilities Committee chartered a Facilities Work Group to revisit the full process that had begun back in 2018 and to run through last November's vote, this time, more quickly and with different voices at the table. 

The group included myself, board Chair Todd Comen, facilities committee members Iara Mesquita, Terri Steele and Flor Diaz Smith, and community members Joe Castellano, Josh Jerome, Andy McMichael, Sue Paxman and Paul Malone — several of whom had voted against the November bond. We also reached out to people who'd shown up at board meetings, regardless of which side of the vote they had been on, and to everyone who’d taken part in the earlier process.

The group met almost weekly from Dec. 28 to April 27. They produced a problem statement, a needs assessment report, an options review. In May, they made a formal recommendation to the Central Vermont Career Center School District School Board’s Facilities Committee.

That process led us to a substantially different approach, and one that I believe better reflects what we heard from our communities.

This November, voters will consider a $54.9 million bond to support a multi-campus model centered at both Spaulding High School and U-32.

The need driving this hasn’t changed. For the 2025–26 school year, CVCC received 443 applications, compared with 134 in FY21, just five years ago. That’s a 230% increase. Our current capacity is roughly 245 students, and for each of the past five years we’ve been an independent district, we’ve turned away more than 100 qualified students because we simply don’t have room. 

I think about those students a lot. They’re young people looking for engagement and purpose, who want hands-on experience and a chance to connect what they learn in school to what they might want to do after graduation. We continue to have more students who want these opportunities than we currently have room to serve.

The question became: How do we address that need in a way that makes sense for our communities? The answer we developed is very different from last year’s proposal.

Rather than building a new, standalone career center, the proposed model would use Spaulding High School and U-32 as two campuses. It makes greater use of existing facilities, infrastructure, and shared resources, while allowing CVCC to expand capacity to approximately 450 students.

It also gives us an opportunity to think differently about how students experience their education.

Career and technical education gives students the opportunity to apply what they learn. Our students prepare for a trade and college while at the career center. Students in career and technical education earn college credits and/or industry credentials while they participate in our programs. This approach gives us more ways to connect students with opportunities that fit their interests and goals and may provide more flexibility for Central Vermont students as the state works to transform education.

CVCC offers a broad range of programs — Early Childhood Education, Medical Professions, EMS, Building Trades, Electrical Technology, Plumbing and Heating, Automotive, Welding, Cosmetology, Baking and Culinary Arts, Graphic Design, and Videography for juniors and seniors. Underclassmen are able to sample all of our programs through our Exploratory offering. Students pursue industry credentials, college credit, apprenticeships, and work-based learning while still in high school. For some, CVCC is where they discover their strengths and purpose — a chance at success in a setting where school hasn't always felt like that.

I don’t think we’ve answered every question, and we shouldn’t. A project this size deserves scrutiny, and we want to answer those questions directly. Headed towards the November vote, we are sharing more information about the proposal, updating the Central Vermont Career Center website, and meeting with people throughout the region, including upcoming community information sessions. Our goal is for voters to understand what’s being proposed, how it’s different from last year, and how it expands access for students.

I’m proud of the work that got us here. The process did what it was supposed to do: we listened to our communities, stepped back, brought people with different views to the table, and developed a different approach. Now it’s up to voters.

On Nov. 3, voters in the 18 participating communities will decide on the $54.9 million bond proposal. I hope people will take the time to learn about it, ask hard questions, and see the work that’s gone into a plan built to expand opportunity for more Central Vermont students.

Jody Emerson is the superintendent of the Central Vermont Career Center School District and director of the Central Vermont Career Center.

Ballots for the CVCC bond are not being automatically mailed to all registered voters with general election ballots. They will be available at the polls in all 18 communities in the career center school district on Nov. 3. Ballots are also now available from city and town clerks. To vote on the bond before Nov. 3, voters may request a ballot by mail or visit their municipal clerk’s office.

Find more information about the project online at CVTCC.org.