Career Center seeks 10.7% budget hike

MIDDLEBURY — Most Addison County residents on March 5 will be asked to support a fiscal year 2025 Patricia Hannaford Career Center (PHCC) spending plan of $5,345,539, reflecting a 10.7% increase compared to the current (FY'24) budget.

Career center officials attributed the proposed increase, in part, to an expected 16% hike in employee health insurance premiums, growing salaries & benefits, a 9% bump in Vermont School Boards Insurance Trust premiums, and ongoing debt service on an $8.1 million bond that voters OK'd back in 2022 to finance significant renovations to the PHCC's Charles Avenue and North Campus buildings in Middlebury.

The PHCC delivers career and technical education to high school and adult students in 17 Addison County towns, with the majority of its enrollees coming from Middlebury, Vergennes and Mount Abraham union high schools. The center also accepts homeschooled students, as well as those enrolled in private schools and other high schools in our region — such as Otter Valley.

Bond payback for the center's renovation project — the first major overhaul in 52 years for the PHCC — accounts for 15% of the center's proposed FY'25 budget, according to documents supplied by PHCC Superintendent Nicole MacTavish.

"It was the right thing to do, and we very much appreciate the voters' support, but it does really impact our budget," she said of the debt service, which — when added to contracted salary and benefits increases — makes up 86% of the total FY'25 budget ask.

It should also be noted that PHCC and Addison Central School District educators continue to negotiate a new contract; the current one expires this summer.

"When almost all of your budget is salary and benefits, the dramatic increase of 16% in your health care premium throws everything out of whack," MacTavish added, noting several career center staffers recently elected to join the PHCC's healthcare rolls.

"So only 14% of our budget is what you could sort of call 'discretionary' spending, though I'm not sure 'heating and lights' is that discretionary," MacTavish said.

Another contributor to the double-digit budget increase: The absence of a year-end fund balance to offset the property tax impact of the FY'25 budget.

"One-time money used for ongoing expenses ends up with a funding cliff the year after that," she lamented.

Career center officials have been pursuing grants to take pressure off education taxes, according to MacTavish. She cited recent efforts to secure $650,000 in federal money for high-tech manufacturing programs, including a partnership with Collins Aerospace in Vergennes.

Federal funding for Vermont's career centers has declined each year since 2000, MacTavish noted.

PHCC students now have a choice of 22 CTE (career and technical education) courses, including automotive technology, culinary arts, diesel power technology, industrial design & fabrication, and medical professions. And MacTavish announced last week the addition of two more courses for next school year: One is welding and the other is electrical & plumbing.

She said the new offerings reflect student demand, as well as demographic and market research.

"We think these (new courses) are going to be very popular with the students, and there's also a huge need in Addison County," MacTavish said. "If you've had any effects from the floods, you know how hard it is to find these kinds of professionals to come and help you when you need the help."

The PHCC's current tuition rate is $26,909; that's what towns pay to send students there. MacTavish said it's difficult to pinpoint next year's tuition rate, as officials are unsure about the FY'25 enrollment and other potential revenue variables. But assuming a flat enrollment and a successful resolution on a teachers' contract, MacTavish pointed to a potential FY'25 career center tuition of $31,259, which would mean a 16.16% ($4,350) increase compared to this year.

"The costs for running (CTE) is pretty fixed; it's the number of students that's variable. The more enrollment, the cheaper the tuition," MacTavish explained.

Currently, 29% (152 students) of MUHS enrollees are taking at least one PHCC class. Vergennes Union has 96 students (33% of its overall population) taking PHCC classes, while 20% of MAUSD students (88) are benefitting from career center programming right now, according to MacTavish.

"Our enrollment is actually doing well. Our students are continuing to see value in the program and are seeking out our programs," she said. "My hope … is that every student at all of our high schools has an opportunity to experience CTE at least once."

Reporter John Flowers is at [email protected].

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