Saint Johnsbury is getting ready for Green Up Day this Saturday.
Dozens of folks showed up at the St. J Distillery’s release party this past Sunday.
St.Johnsbury businesses continue to suffer from the flooding this past summer, Planned Parenthood being one of them.
Read more: Summer Flooding Continues to be an Issue for Local Businesses
The St.Johnsbury Distillery shared how this local brewery and restaurant is about to gain celebrity publicity.
Due to many operational challenges, St.Johnsbury's Planned Parenthood is closing July of 2025
St.Johnsbury is replacing the vintage welcome signs within the next few months, but there’s more too it than this.
Read more: St. Johnsbury Discusses Proposed Changes to Local Bylaws
Read more: St. Johnsbury Receives Positive Report in Latest Audit
Umbrella is hosting their first ever ribbon cutting event in celebration of the money raised towards their Capital Campaign, “Root, Nurture, Grow”.
Read more: St. Johnsbury Fiscal Year Finances Revealed at Select Board
St. Johnsbury- As the snow is melting, the town is working diligently to repair the roads.
Danville school is hosting this year's Minor and Major League tryouts for the 2025 baseball season.
ST. JOHNSBURY - Major School Budget Passed in St. Johnsbury Election
This week, residents of St. Johnsbury voted on several different budget proposals, one of the most important being a $30 million school budget that provided a 13% increase in salaries for educators and also decreased the tax rate by 3 cents.
The Saint Johnsbury School District held their annual budget meeting Monday alongside the St. Johnsbury informational town meeting. A handful of local residents, along with several reliant organizations, attended to make their case on budget proposals.
The school’s proposed budget saw a 3.19% increase from this year’s expenditure, down from an original 3.5% proposed budget, which was rejected by the Select Board. The decrease meant cuts in certain areas, which could affect the quality of education.
Karen Konroy, Superintendent of the St. Johnsbury School District, explained: “There were a number of proposed staffing changes with reductions to support students around paraprofessionals. There were a number of unfilled positions that we were trying to hire over multiple years. We just haven’t been able to hire them, but they’ve been in our budget.”
As part of the new budget, several paraprofessionals were removed, along with reductions in student field trips and professional development opportunities.
Even with the budget increase, the tax rate will decrease by three cents due to Vermont’s “weighted pupils” system, which allows for more state funding for students who incur higher costs.
The increased budget also includes plans to raise salaries, health benefits, and transportation for students who require third-party quality care outside of town.
There was no open disagreement with the proposal.
Carl Johnson, a teacher in the district, shared his perspective: “Let’s talk about why education is so expensive. Let’s have that debate. And that’s what we’re here for, right? Health care, that’s the number one! Do you think I like paying more than anyone else in any other industrial country and not getting better results?”
Today, St. Johnsbury residents have the chance to vote on several different budget proposals at the Welcome Center from 8 AM to 7 PM. Along with voting on a variety of town positions, many of which are expected to remain filled by incumbents, residents will also decide on several budgets supported by the town’s taxes.
Many of the proposed budgets for local organizations that are funded locally have maintained the status quo, with many opening statements noting that the budgeted amounts have remained unchanged for years, and in some cases, decades.
The most important budgetary decision on everyone’s mind appears to be the school’s budget increase, which is set to decrease the current tax rate compared to the previous year due to the district having more “weighted pupils” enrolled.
Many residents, including teachers, are advocating for the new school budget proposal, as it overall increases the benefits for educators while lowering the cost of schooling for taxpayers.
Karen Konroy, Superintendent of the St. Johnsbury School District, explained: “[One of] the items that’s used in calculating the tax rate is actually your weighted student. So whereas a lot of schools in the state have seen a decline in weighted pupils… we actually had 4 additional students. So that denominator that we used to divide into our cost per pupil actually decreased our tax rate.”
In addition to the school budget proposal, depending on how today’s vote turns out, St. Johnsbury residents can expect improvements to the city’s water supply through the financing of a more effective pipeline in the Bay Street area. Much of the funding for this project has already been secured, and there is grant money available if the town agrees to it. More importantly, it won’t impact taxes.
ST JOHNSBURY - Saint Johsbury was rewarded a $30,000 recreation from the state. It is one of twelve towns to receive this grant.
SAINT JOHNSBURY- The Fairbanks Museum is almost finishing their new Science Annex. This is the biggest project the museum has been making since the 1800s.
St. Johnsbury- Dan' Barbershop & Shove Parlor is now moving to 36 Eastern Ave. in Saint Johnsbury
ST. JOHNSBURY - Due to a lack of available space, the town has chosen to remodel the armory to house the neighborhood's fire and police departments, as well as the dispatch center. In 1975, the state of Vermont deeded the property over to the town of Saint Johnsbury which used the armory for many years as a recreational facility primarily but also over the years it served many other purposes including the police many years ago and the restorative justice center. In 2009, the building was shuttered because of the expense of operations and so the armory went approximately 10 years with absolutely no activity.
ST. JOHNSBURY - Saint Johnsbury will make $50 thousand in ARPA money to issue micro-grants of $1000 to $5000, assisting in building small projects that benefit the town. They are now accepting applications thru May 30. Town Manager, Chad Whitehead, said, "the whole concept this first round, we want people thinking about a project that might benefit the community to be able to take that first step." The micro-grants are available for businesses, non-profits, and citizens.
Read more: St. Johnsbury Uses $50 Thousand in ARPA Money for Micro-Grants
St Johnsbury - A kidnapping case is no laughing matter. Mack Varnum was in court again March 29th for an evidence hearing in regards to alleged kidnapping and attempted murder charges.
St Johsbury- Frederick (Rick) Schwag, a landlord in Lyndon , was once again a no show in court Monday. Schwag, along with the town of Lyndon, is being sued by tenant Jeremy Hannan.
ST. JOHNSBURY - St. Johnsbury once again is getting festive for its annual St. J Sparkles celebration! Lights and decorations have been strung up downtown and various storefronts have added to the displays. Discover St. Johnsbury's Director, Gillian Sewake, says it's time for "St. Johnsbury's signature celebration of everything holidays."
St.Johnsbury- This past Friday the climate action and advocacy campaign made their third stop in St. Johnsbury for their tour of Vermont.