Maple Run superintendent: Act‑46 incentives helped merger, funded $4 million in school renovations

Bill Kimell, superintendent of schools for Maple Run, told the Ways & Means committee on April 1 that tax incentives tied to school‑district mergers helped the district stabilize local tax rates and fund major facility work without bonding. "The year before we merged in fiscal year 2017, we had a tax rate of $1.45," Kimell said. "For the first eight years ... our taxes never rose above that $1.45."

Kimell, who said he has been superintendent in Maple Run for five years and worked in education for three decades, described Maple Run as an early Vermont merger under Act 46. He said the district served St. Albans city, St. Albans town and Fairfield and that, adjusted for inflation, the community has seen what he characterized as roughly a 20‑cent effective tax decrease since the merger. He added that local valuation (CLA) and rapid growth have since pushed tax pressure upward.

Kimell credited community buy‑in and pooled resources after the merger for enabling needed repairs and renovations. "We've put almost over $4 million into that school without having to bond a penny of it," he said, referring to Fairfield Center School. He said those investments came from reallocated district resources that followed consolidation.

Beyond tax impacts, Kimell outlined operational changes after the merger: contracts were equalized ("lifted up and placed down"), business and administrative functions were consolidated and some staff reductions occurred through attrition and limited reductions in force. He said the district’s central administration makes up about 4% of the Maple Run budget and that equalizing multiple association contracts was an early, time‑consuming task.

Kimell also described academic and programmatic gains tied to a comprehensive high school model and an on‑campus technical center, where students take two‑period technical courses and the most highly performing students access programs with waiting lists. He said technical-center teachers teach five of seven periods under the district contract and that program demand — construction trades, health sciences — exceeds current capacity.

Asked whether he had conducted a formal return‑on‑investment study of the merger, Kimell said he did not have a formal analysis to point to; he did note, however, that the district has increased investments in student supports, including mental‑health and special‑education services. He reported a current long‑term weighted average spending figure "just about $15,000 per ... student" this year and said projected spending is expected to fall next year (the exact projected figure was not specified in testimony).

The committee did not take a formal vote on any measure during Kimell’s appearance. Members thanked Kimell for his testimony and moved on to the next witness and a policy presentation on tax incentives and construction funding.

Why this matters: Lawmakers are weighing whether financial incentives should be part of a strategy to encourage mergers, and whether construction aid or tax discounts better enable consolidation while avoiding unintended consequences that could insulate local spending decisions from voter pressure. Kimell’s testimony is evidence that, in at least one district, incentives and pooled resources yielded investments in infrastructure and expanded programmatic opportunities.