Rhodes scholar
‘Footloose’
CVU grad, Harvard senior wins prestigious award
CVU kids tell age-old story of growing up
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Volume 53 Number 48
CVSD sets budget target
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shelburnenews.com
Nov. 27, 2024
Winter lights
LIBERTY DARR STAFF WRITER
As preliminary budget conversations begin, the Champlain Valley School District has set a budget target of $103 million for fiscal year 2026. A first pass at the budget last week showed exactly what that path could entail. “At this point we know that, through a lot of really uncomfortable, difficult collaborative work, we have a path to $103 million on the expense side, but that is not without impact,” Gary Marckres, chief operations officer, said at a board meeting last week. CVSD experienced significant repercussions during last year’s budget cycle when the state introduced unprecedented changes in the education funding system. That shift, meant to equalize education across the state, led to significant tax hikes — upwards of 14 percent — in the five towns that make up the school district. The number, while not final, See BUDGET on page 13
PHOTO BY LEE KROHN
Winter Lights at Shelburne Museum is ongoing through the month of December. See more photos on page 10.
Shelburne couple loses home in fire, community rallies support PATRICK BILOW STAFF WRITER
Rick Poirier and Sheila Hendee have begun rebuilding their life after a fire last week took their home of nearly 30 years on
Palmer Court in Shelburne. The fire started around 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 19 with three loud explosions, and a burst of flames from the Poirier’s side porch. Poirier and Hendee were in the
backyard at the time. They rushed past the flames, which Poirier said were immediately hot, to safety in front of the house, which was destroyed. Poirier and Hendee were uninjured and are currently staying
with friends on Palmer Court, a short road off Route 7 with tightknit relationships among neighbors. The couple’s cat likely died in the fire. “We’re starting over,” Poirier
said. “Thank God for the people around us.” The Shelburne Fire Department upgraded the response en See FIRE on page 4
Handmade Pasta Dinner Starts at 4:00 Nightly on the Church Street Marketplace
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