Project FAQ's

The Lamoille North Cricket Hill Project is anchored by six major elements:

Cricket Hill Track & Field Facility

A key element of the Cricket Hill Project is a new varsity-competition-certified track and field facility which will level the playing field for our student-athletes and expand the health and wellness offerings for our schools and communities. The track facility will feature a six-lane, rubberized track; dedicated jumping pits for the high, long, and triple jumps; and space for all throwing events including javelin, discus, and shot put.

Dedicated athletic locker rooms and public restrooms will be located in a new district office space located adjacent to the athletic fields. Similarly, a new equipment storage building will support our student-athletes year-round (track & field, cross-country running, Nordic skiing) as well as our student clubs and extracurricular activities.

These features will act as the new anchor of the Cricket Hill athletic hub which currently includes the Cricket Hill trail system (walking, mountain biking, cross-country running & skiing).

Lamoille Union Performing Arts Space

Space is always a premium for schools and school districts. At Lamoille North, our growing Band, Chorus, and Dance programs compete for performance and practice space; that is why a dedicated Performing Arts Center is another key piece of the Cricket Hill Project.

This space would be built in the alcove between the high school and middle school next to the current auditorium. This space will allow for more flexibility in our 430-seat auditorium, expanding the public's ability to use the main stage.  The Performing Arts Center will reduce the Band, Chorus, and Dance programs competition for the main stage for practice time; and the new space will act as a second venue for smaller-scale student performances.

Auxiliary space will support a dressing room for performers and additional storage for set pieces, props, and instruments.

Lamoille North Early Education Center

There is a deficit of childcare and early education opportunities across Vermont. The Cricket Hill Project includes the creation of a 40-student Early Education Center that would be managed by Green Mountain Technology & Career Center students (guided by a GMTCC teacher) as part of a new early education and teaching program offered by GMTCC.

This space will include dedicated learning, play, and exploration areas, will have food-prep space; and specially-designed bathrooms for Pre-Kindergarten students.

While this Early Education Center would be housed in the same building as a new district administrative space, the Early Education Center will have its own dedicated parking and entrance for parents and families.

The addition of this space to the Cricket Hill Project helps to address a growing lack of child care across the region and helps to make Lamoille North a more competitive employer and workspace.  Child care is an area of concern for our communities, and this project helps to alleviate that challenge in the Lamoille Valley.

Lamoille Union High School Bathroom Renovation

Other than small, surface-level changes, the bathrooms at Lamoille Union High School have not been updated since the building's original construction in 1966.  The updated design of two (2) sets of bathrooms in the high school will increase access to bathroom facilities, will reduce the amount of time students spend congregating in them; will reduce issues like vaping and vandalism; and will lessen the amount of time high school staff needs to spend monitoring these areas.

Lamoille North Administrative Office Space

For years, some of the Lamoille North administrative teams have been housed in a converted single-family home. The 45-year-old building has been through several rounds of mold remediation and 'band-aid' fixes to address air-quality issues. Additionally, because of the building's size, members of the administrative team have needed to be housed in three separate Lamoille North schools.

Bringing all of these team members back under one roof opens up important space in our schools and increases the ability for Lamoille North leadership to collaborate and support the great work across our school community.

Building Enhancements

Rounding out the Cricket Hill Project are equally important enhancements to the Lamoille Union Campus. The project includes resurfacing the crumbling sidewalks and parking lots surrounding the high school, middle school and GMTCC; the build-out of a new classroom in the middle school to support the expansion of the school's health and wellness team; and improvements to GMTCC's roof, which has seen an increase in leaks and has required additional time and resources from the facilities staff.

Lamoille North prides itself on keeping our facilities and resources in good working order thanks again in large part to the thoughtfulness of our facilities team; however, these building enhancements are needed, and the time is now to make them happen.  

While project elements continue to be refined, the current total estimated cost of the Cricket Hill Project is projected to be between $14 million and $16 million. 

If the Cricket Hill Project is approved by voters in September, based on current Vermont Bond Bank rates, a $14 million bond would mean that a home valued at $100,000 would see an estimated annual tax increase of $50.  These rates are according to current education tax calculations.

Whether you are a parent of a student currently attending Lamoille North schools, or not, simply put - we need to do more to keep young, energetic, and thoughtful people in our region.

This project is not just about building the future of Lamoille North, it is about ensuring the future of our communities.  As Lamoille North facilities serve as community centers and the heartbeat of our six towns, when our schools flourish, so do our communities.  Investing in the Cricket Hill Project is a strategy we see to help attract young families to our district and one that can inspire our students to stay in our communities beyond their educational years.

Healthy schools that support and uplift their students and staff equal healthy, vibrant, and sustainable communities. The Cricket Hill Project is about future-proofing Lamoille North schools and the greater Lamoille County community.

Due to historic flooding that impacted communities throughout Vermont, including several Lamoille North towns, the Lamoille North Supervisory Union & School District school board unanimously approved a motion to postpone the official board warning and public vote for the Cricket Hill Project.  Those steps have been postponed for six months and the board will continue to asses recovery efforts and adjust the project timeline as needed.

Bond Vote Date: TBD

The bond vote will take place at the following locations for LNSU voters:

Belvidere: Town Clerk's Office, 3996 VT-109, Belvidere Center, VT 05442 

Cambridge: Town Clerk's Office, 85 Church St, Cambridge, VT 05464 

Eden: Town Clerk's Office, 71 Old Schoolhouse Road, Eden Mills, VT 05653

Hyde Park: Town Clerk's Office, 344 VT 15W, Hyde Park, VT 05655

Johnson: Town Clerk's Office, 293 Lower Main St W, Johnson, VT 05656 

Waterville: Town Clerk's Office, 850 VT-109, Waterville, VT 05492

** Locations are subject to change as the bond vote date approaches.  This list will be updated to reflect those changes and will be communicated through other channels. **