The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 16 Appendix: Education Charters and Agreements

Chapter 023: WINOOSKI INCORPORATED SCHOOL DISTRICT

• § 23-1. Incorporation of district; powers

  The territory now included within the City of Winooski and the inhabitants thereof are hereby incorporated and constituted a school district of the City of Winooski, by the name of the Winooski School District. Except where inconsistent with the provisions of this charter, all provisions of the statutes of the State of Vermont relating to incorporated school districts and municipalities shall apply to the Winooski School District. The Winooski School District shall have all the powers granted to incorporated school districts and municipalities by the laws of the State and this charter, together with all implied powers necessary to carry out its express powers.

• § 23-2. Trustees

  Instead of the prudential committee required by law to be elected, the Winooski School District shall be governed by a Board of five Trustees, to be elected at large, and that three of the positions will hold office for a term of three years each and that two of the positions will hold office for a term of two years each, commencing on the day elected. All vacancies caused by resignation, death, or otherwise shall be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term, if any, at an annual or special meeting, duly warned for that purpose, but the Board of School Trustees by a majority vote of all its remaining members may appoint a qualified person to fill the vacancy until the person elected to serve the remainder of the unexpired term takes office. The Trustees shall have the powers and perform all the duties of a prudential committee, shall choose one of their members to be President, and shall appoint a Secretary of the Board of Trustees who shall hold office for the term of one year and until their successors are chosen and appointed.

• § 23-3. Annual District meeting

  The annual District meeting shall be held on the first Tuesday of March and the immediate preceding Monday as follows:

  (1) Monday: At 7:30 p.m. at a place to be selected by the Board of Trustees. The Moderator shall convene the annual District meeting with the following agenda:

  (A) The District shall elect a Moderator and Clerk, the term of office to start July 1.

  (B) The Board of School Trustees shall present the annual reports of the District to the assembled voters, answer any questions, and ask for approval.

  (C) The District shall authorize the Board of School Trustees to allow appropriate groups and agencies to use school facilities and equipment in accordance with District policy and Vermont law.

  (D) The District shall conduct an informational public session for the Board of Trustees to present the budget for the following fiscal year and answer any questions regarding the same.

  (E) The District shall conduct any other business of the District which may be legally conducted, except as provided in section 7 of this charter.

  (2) Tuesday: The voters shall at this continued annual District meeting, to be held on the first Tuesday in March from seven o’clock in the forenoon to seven o’clock in the afternoon and conducted at the same place and manner as the annual meeting of the City of Winooski (Appendix A):

  (A) Vote a sum of money necessary for the support of the public schools as is required by law. Such sum shall include the amounts anticipated from State education aid and other sources of revenue. The Board of School Trustees shall determine how the voted funds shall be expended.

  (B) Elect Trustees as set forth in section 2 of this charter.

  (C) Conduct any other business of the District which may legally be conducted as set forth in section 6 of this charter.

  (D) Elect a School District Treasurer for a term of three years, the term of office to start July 1, whose duties, authority, and responsibilities shall be those established by law. (Amended 2013, No. M-10 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. Feb. 12, 2014.)

• § 23-4. Nominations for Trustee

  Nominations for the office of Trustee shall be made by petitions to be filed with the Clerk of the City of Winooski and shall meet the requirements of section 7 of the charter of the City of Winooski (Appendix B) as now and hereinafter amended, and voting shall be upon a separate ballot. The City of Winooski voter checklist shall be used (Appendix C).

• § 23-5. Bylaws, rules, and regulations

  The School District may make such bylaws, rules, and regulations as it may deem expedient, not inconsistent with the laws of this State, and may provide for the establishment and maintenance of such number of schools and of such grade or grades and for teaching such branches of knowledge as it may deem expedient.

• § 23-6. Additional revenue sources

  The Board of School Trustees is hereby authorized to apply for, accept, and expend additional funds not included in the annual budget on behalf of the District from whatever sources, except local taxation, without further action of the District.

• § 23-7. Australian ballot

  All questions at any annual or special meeting, except for the acceptance of the annual report and the election of School District officers other than the Board of Trustees and the School District Treasurer, shall be voted by Australian ballot. The election of School District officers other than the Board of Trustees and the School District Treasurer, the acceptance of the annual report, and public discussion of Australian ballot issues shall be on the day preceding the Australian ballot.

• § 23-8. Abatement board

  The officers of the Winooski School District, except the Collector, shall be a Board for the Abatement of District Taxes, and it shall have the same power which the Board for abatement of town taxes has in the abatement of such taxes. The Trustees of the District, on request of the Collector, shall call a meeting of such Board on or before January 15 in each year, by posting a notice thereof in three public places in such District at least five days before such meeting.

• § 23-9. Taxes assessed

  The taxes assessed by the Winooski School District shall be paid to the Treasurer of the City of Winooski on the same date as the corresponding taxes of the City of Winooski are paid to the Treasurer of the City in each year; and thereafter, if unpaid, shall be turned over to the Tax Collector of the City of Winooski for collection, together with legal addition and fees.

• § 23-10. Taxes; payment

  On the first day of each and every month, the Treasurer of the City shall pay to the Treasurer of the School District all monies collected by the City Treasurer and belonging to the school district by virtue of this charter, after deducting therefrom one-half of one percent of the amount to be retained and paid over to the City as compensation for the expenses of collection and which shall be in lieu of all other fees provided by law for the collection of the taxes.

• § 23-11. Voters; qualification

  The qualifications of a voter in the District shall be the same as the qualifications of a voter in the City of Winooski (Appendix D).

• § 23-12. Severability

  If any provisions of this charter are held invalid, the other provisions of this charter shall not be affected thereby. If the application of this charter or any of its provisions to any person or circumstances is held invalid, the application of the charter and its provisions to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby.

• § 23-13. Applicability; State statutes

  If any matter mentioned in this charter is said to be controlled by State statutes, the reference to the State statute shall apply to the statute as amended or renumbered, or any statute substituted therefor and having similar subject matter.

• § 23-14. Public act; effective date

  This charter and its amendments shall be deemed a public act, and shall take effect from its passage.

• § 23-15. Sale of real or personal property

  The Board of School Trustees may authorize the sale of real or personal estate belonging to the District in the same manner as the Winooski City Council is authorized under the provisions of section 5.12 of the Winooski City Charter (Appendix E).

• § 23-16. Professional audit

  The Board of School Trustees shall annually contract for a professional audit of all District financial accounts. The audit report shall be published as part of the District’s annual report. Copies of the audit report shall be available for public inspection upon acceptance by the Board. This provision shall be in lieu of electing local officials.

• § 23-17. District Treasurer

  The School District Treasurer shall:

  (1) Deposit in the school account school tax levies paid over and received, as well as State education spending payments and all other State and federal public education payments.

  (2) Serve as a member of the board of abatement.

  (3) Keep an account and registry of monies, bonds, notes, and evidences of debt paid or delivered to or issued by the School District, and monies received and disbursed for the School District, which accounts shall be open to the inspection of persons interested.

  (4) Invest and reinvest monies received on behalf of the School District with the approval of the Board of School Trustees.

  (5) Keep uniform accounts.

  (6) Appoint an Assistant District Treasurer and revoke any such appointment at any time, and file notice of the appointment and revocation with the School District clerk and School Board of Trustees.

  (7) Keep a record showing the amount of taxes voted for the support of the School District.

  (8) Pay orders drawn by the Board of School Trustees, keeping a record thereof.

  (9) Settle with the person conducting the audit required under section 23-16 of this chapter 30 days prior to each annual School District meeting and at such other times as the Board of School Trustees may require.

  (10) Upon retirement or resignation, immediately pay over to his or her successor all funds in his or her possession belonging to the School District, together with all official books and records.

  (11) Keep in a separate bank account all monies appropriated or given for the use of the School District.

  (12) Procure and maintain a personal bond in such sum as the Board of School Trustees shall determine, conditioned upon the faithful performance of the School District Treasurer’s duties.

  (13) Prepare an annual report and deliver the same to the Board of School Trustees within 60 days following the close of the School District’s fiscal year.

  Historical Citation

  Added 2011, No. M-13 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. May 3, 2012.

  Appendices

  Editor’s note—2004. The following appendices represent sections of the Winooski City charter that were incorporated by reference in the Winooski School District charter.

  Appendix A

  § 7.1. City elections

  (a) Regular elections. Annually on the first Tuesday in March, a meeting of the legal voters of said City shall be held at seven o’clock in the forenoon at a place to be designated by the City Council. Notice of said meeting shall be posted in at least three public places within said City not less than 14 days nor more than 25 days prior thereto. Such notices shall be signed by the City Clerk and in case of the Clerk’s failure to do so, by the Mayor. If the annual meeting shall fail to be held for want of notice, the officers of the City may, at any time thereafter be elected at a special meeting called for that purpose. The several officers shall be elected by ballot, using the Australian system, and the ballot boxes shall remain open until seven o’clock in the afternoon for all offices and on all other questions to be voted upon, notwithstanding any State law to the contrary.

  Appendix B

  § 7.2. Nominations in general

  Nominations for the office of Mayor and Councilor shall be made by petitions which shall be filed with the City Clerk not less than 30 days nor more than 40 days before an annual City election or a special City election called for that purpose. The petition shall state the name of the candidate, the candidate’s residence and the office sought and shall be signed by at least 50 legal voters of said City qualified to vote at the time the petition is filed. The petitions shall contain no party designations. A person shall not sign more than one petition for each office to be filled. The City Clerk shall cause the names of the persons so nominated to be printed on a ballot in alphabetical arrangement according to surname and sample ballots shall be posted in at least three public places at least ten days before election.

  Appendix C

  § 7.1. City elections

  (d) Checklist. Preceding each annual or special meeting of said City the City Council shall, at least 15 days before the annual or special City meeting, prepare and correct, except as herein otherwise provided, in the manner provided for the preparation and correction of checklists to be used in town meetings, and shall forthwith cause copies of such list to be posted by or under the direction of the City Clerk in two or more public places in such City and a copy to be filed in the City Clerk’s office.

  Appendix D

  § 7.1. City elections

  (b) Qualified voters. The qualifications of voters in the City meetings shall be the same as those prescribed by law for voters in town meetings.

  Appendix E

  § 5.12. Property sales and leases

  (a) The City Council may authorize the sale of real or personal estate belonging to the City when the same shall not exceed in value ten thousand dollars, or may lease the same for a term not exceeding one year and all conveyances, grants and leases of any such real estate shall be executed by the Mayor and sealed with the City seal. The voters, at a duly warned annual or special City meeting, may authorize the sale of real or personal property belonging to the City when the value exceeds ten thousand dollars except for those sales provided for in subsection (c) of this section.

  (b) The City shall have the authority to purchase real estate for the purpose of development. The purchase of such property must be approved by resolution of the City Council.

  (c) The City Council may authorize the sale of real estate, belonging to the City, that exceeds ten thousand dollars in value, provided that such property was acquired for development purposes and that such transfer is made to the Winooski Community Development Corporation. Such transfers shall be executed by the Mayor and sealed with the City seal. (Added 2011, No. M-13 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. May 3, 2012.)