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How the SU central office compares

Executive Summary

How the SU central office compares

The central office takes a smaller share of spending than Vermont's, and employs fewer people than the Legislature's own study calls for. It does the shared work of Hartland, Mt. Ascutney and Weathersfield: the superintendent's office, payroll, the books, technology, human resources and SPED administration. This page measures it three ways, counting the SU's budget and the three districts' budgets together.

The first two compare its share of spending with the other SUs and SDs in Windsor County and with Vermont as a whole. Both use the U.S. Census's FY24 figures and the State's Statbook, so every SU/SD is counted the same way. The third compares its staff with a 2016 adequacy study done for the Legislature.

Windsor County

Central administration, technology and SPED administration as a share of current spending, FY24, counted the same way for every SU/SD. Supervisory unions counted with their districts.

Hartford
6.3%
Windsor Southeast SU
6.4%
White River Valley SU
6.5%
Mountain Views SU
6.9%
Two Rivers SU
7.9%
Springfield
8.4%
Vermont
8.4%

Second lowest in Windsor County, and 24% below Vermont, with every SU/SD counted the same way.

Share of spending

Central administration and technology (solid) plus SPED administration (hatched), as a share of current spending, the same for Vermont.

  • Central administration and technology, for every SU/SD
  • SPED administration, for every SU/SD
  • Vermont’s total, drawn through our bars
Windsor Southeast SU, FY24
6.4%
Windsor Southeast SU, FY28 budget
6.7%
Vermont, FY24
8.4%

Below Vermont in FY24 and in the FY28 budget, with technology and SPED administration counted for both.

The share year by year

Central administration, technology and SPED administration: What was spent in FY24 through FY26, and the budget for FY27 and FY28 using our actuals and budget figures (not the Census).

Central administration, technology and SPED administration as a share of current spending, FY24 to FY28, budget sheet basis Line chart of Windsor Southeast SU central administration, technology and SPED administration as a share of current spending on the budget-sheet basis: FY24 6.9%, FY25 7.0%, FY26 7.0%, FY27 6.7%, FY28 6.7%. 0% 2% 4% 6% 8% FY24 actual FY25 actual FY26 actual FY27 budget FY28 budget Share of current spending 6.9%7.0%7.0%6.7%6.7% Windsor Southeast SU, FY24 actual: 6.9% Windsor Southeast SU, FY25 actual: 7.0% Windsor Southeast SU, FY26 actual: 7.0% Windsor Southeast SU, FY27 budget: 6.7% Windsor Southeast SU, FY28 budget: 6.7% Windsor Southeast SU Central administration, technology and SPED administration as a share of current spending, FY24 to FY28, budget sheet basis Line chart of Windsor Southeast SU central administration, technology and SPED administration as a share of current spending on the budget-sheet basis: FY24 6.9%, FY25 7.0%, FY26 7.0%, FY27 6.7%, FY28 6.7%. 0% 2% 4% 6% 8% FY24 actual FY26 actual FY28 budget Share of current spending 6.9%7.0%7.0%6.7%6.7% Windsor Southeast SU, FY24 actual: 6.9% Windsor Southeast SU, FY25 actual: 7.0% Windsor Southeast SU, FY26 actual: 7.0% Windsor Southeast SU, FY27 budget: 6.7% Windsor Southeast SU, FY28 budget: 6.7% Windsor Southeast SU

On the budget book's basis, 6.7% in the FY28 budget, against 6.9% in FY24.

Central office staff

FY28 planned positions against the 2016 adequacy study done for the Legislature (Picus Odden), which sets central office staffing at 17.75 positions for 1,000 students and 30.25 for 2,000. Our 1,191 to 1,350 students fall between, at 20.1 to 22.1.

Windsor Southeast SU, FY28 planned
16.9
2016 study for the Legislature
20.1–22.1
  • Business office and HR5.0
  • IT services (incl. communications)4.0
  • Special education administration3.0
  • Superintendent’s office2.0
  • Curriculum services & coordination1.9
  • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion services1.0

About 3 to 5 positions under the study's model, counting two roles it leaves out.

Download this table (CSV)

FY28 central office positions
Role Positions
Business office and HR5.0
IT services (incl. communications)4.0
Special education administration3.0
Superintendent’s office2.0
Curriculum services & coordination1.9
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion services1.0
Total, FY28 planned16.9
2016 study at 1,191 students in our schools20.1
2016 study at 1,350 resident students22.1

Notes and sources

Why technology and SPED are added. The Census counts administrative technology (2580) as central administration, but instruction-related technology (2230) as instructional support and SPED administration (2490/2495) as school administration. We and Hartford book technology to 2230; the other four book most of theirs to 2580. On the Census's central administration alone we looked lowest (4.0%) and Springfield highest (6.4%), largely because of that coding. So every figure adds each SU/SD's 2230 and 2490/2495 from the State's Statbook. The Statbook is the Agency of Education's validation report, not a final publication, and may not carry every later correction from districts; it holds the same district reports as the Census and agrees with it line by line for all six. The U.S. is not shown: the Census publishes no function detail for the nation.

Windsor County. Each supervisory union is counted with its member districts; White River Valley includes Strafford, and Mountain Views is filed under its former name, Windsor Central. Norwich (in the interstate Dresden district) and River Valley Technical Center are left out. Hartford includes its career and technical center, which the Census does not list separately. Without it Hartford would be lower still, so we are second lowest either way. No statewide rank: it would be our own grouping of the Census file.

FY28 is this budget book (general funds, Early Childhood and Food Service, without federal grants), not a Census figure.

Sources. U.S. Census Bureau, FY2024 school finance survey (summary tables, district file); Vermont Agency of Education, 2024 Statbook data review report (Power BI); National Center for Education Statistics district directory, 2023-24, for SU membership. FY28: the FY28 Budgets sheet, read October 26, 2026. Positions: the Staffing Levels card. Staffing benchmark: Picus Odden & Associates for the Legislative Joint Fiscal Office, January 2016.

How the central office came to be: From Four Superintendents to One. How its staffing has changed: SU Staffing Trends.