Woodstock CT Café

Woodstock Academy was established in 1802 with a private charter to “maintain and operate a school and engage in educational enterprises in . . . Woodstock for the benefit of the inhabitants of said town and vicinity.” The Academy’s Trustees have an affirmative fiduciary and legal obligation to manage the school in a manner consistent with this mission.

The Academy has grown to be a large regional high school and become a critical asset to the area’s public education system. In 1992, the school was financially stabilized, expanded and reconstructed with a $14.5 million bond issued by Woodstock and Eastford, guaranteed by Woodstock, and with a long term funding commitment by the State of Connecticut to repay the bonds. Consistent with the Academy’s charter and bylaws, the statute providing the State financing commitment required a governance structure to insure ongoing collaboration between the Academy and its sending towns.

The Academy Trustees have recently prioritized expansion of its student population and physical facilities over the academic environment of the smaller scale school many residents prefer, even while at least one sending town (Brooklyn) is examining leaving the Academy. The Academy’s recent problems all relate directly to this expansionist objective. These include a large land acquisition without proper due diligence and the associated legal default on the school’s primary bonding. The rapid increase in the student and staff population has caused overuse of the school’s septic system resulting in its premature failure and the need for a new sewer line. The budget conflicts with the Woodstock Public Schools include possibly improper retention of overcharged tuition funds that have been set aside in a growing cash reserve. Read the rest of this entry »

See the source of ranking of 169 school systems showing Woodstock as 164/169 in per pupil spending, e.g. the bottom 3%, below in the comments. Admin

This document was presented to the BOE at their meeting last Thursday night.

“Woodstock Academy is an intriguing model and a critical asset for public education in northeast Connecticut. For many families, this school is a primary motivation for a decision to raise their families in this part of Connecticut. But the current structure of this model is increasingly at odds with public education policy because it is incomplete. The Connecticut General Assembly created and fostered this model and it is incumbent on this body to make the proposed modest adjustments to carry it forward successfully consistent with the interests of the region’s public education system.” From the Summary at the end of this statement. Admin

Referenced State Statutes can be found HERE with key references in bold.

Submitted to Andrew Fleischmann, Chairman of the Education Committee, CT General Assemby, on February 21, 2007

Key Points

• The Town of Woodstock has a local ordinance called Proposition 46 which imposes a rigid fiscal constraint on the town’s expenditures.
• Woodstock’s public education expenditures are consistently ranked in the range of 160-165th among all Connecticut towns.
• Woodstock Academy is privately chartered with a public education mission and has almost exclusively public students and funding. Sending town representation is nominal.
• The Academy receives priority public funding and asserts exemption from Prop 46, so that Woodstock’s public K-8 system bears the full fiscal impact of Prop 46.
• The Academy is expanding staff and facilities and reserving cash from public tuition payments for a planned expansion. Woodstock Public Schools are reducing staff and programs and are unable to make necessary capital investments.
• Contract negotiations between the Academy and Woodstock BOE are deadlocked. The Academy asserts private control of its governance and budget; WBOE asserts the need for more effective sending town participation in Academy decisions in order to balance and coordinate overall educational expenditures.
• Payment for complete reconstruction of the Academy was recently completed; withdrawal and construction of a public high school is impractical.
• Statutory guidance (CGS 10-36/10-285b) for Academy governance appears to have ceased. Based on the substantial public investment in the school, Woodstock is seeking (i) clarification of the public education role of the Academy and its Sending Town Representatives; (ii) 50% sending town representation on the Academy Board with full participation in major decisions; and (iii) reimbursement of domicile costs.

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