WCAX reported that residents across more than a dozen towns backed a reduced, nearly $55 million bond on Election Day to expand the Central Vermont Career Center, signaling a step forward for the region’s vocational instruction.
A Dramatic Course Reversal at the Ballot Box
The 9,738-to-6,609 vote arrived after a nearly $150 million proposal was rejected by voters last year.
The greenlit funds will add to the current U-32 campus located in Montpelier, alongside CVCC’s facility at Spaulding High School situated in Barre. Officials say the expansion will boost capacity from about 245 students to 450.
Relief for Educators Facing Long Waitlists
“Voters came out, they really came out,” said CVCC Superintendent Jody Emerson.
Addressing Demand After Years of Rejection
She noted that the ability to build new space for more students is desperately needed. “We’ve been turning students away for far too long, and so it’s exciting we can now start moving forward to expand to meet the needs.”
Town clerks representing the district’s 18 towns delivered ballots Thursday morning. Tina Lunt explained that ballots from the entire school district were tallied together instead of being separated by individual municipalities.
“So there’s no way of knowing how just one town voted on this, and we’re more of one big community than separate communities,” Lunt said.
Listening to the Electorate After 2018 Planning
Superintendent Emerson noted that after the bond vote failed last year, this approval is a sigh of relief for the district. She said the district went back to the drawing board to construct a different proposal.
“We didn’t come back with the same proposal. So, even though this work has been happening since 2018, it’s gone through a lot of iterations, and I think people appreciated just being heard, and I appreciate the support that resulted from that,” Emerson said.
District Leaders Target Fall 2030 Opening
District leaders will lay out next steps at the school board meeting on Monday. Those steps include securing necessary permits and architectural designs that must be completed before physical construction can begin. Emerson stated that officials hope to start welcoming students by the fall of 2030.
