Residents in Danville will cast a vote Saturday on the future of the town’s high school, with a lot of questions still unanswered about the state’s new education law.
A group of residents petitioned to hold the vote, which will take place Saturday at the Danville School.
More: In Danville, a petition seeks to close the local high school
The petition was largely driven by fear that the new education law might limit the town’s school choice options if the state were to force school districts to merge.
A legislative task force was supposed to propose new school district maps, but instead recommended voluntary consolidation.
Gov. Phil Scott and top legislative leaders are still pushing for mandatory consolidation, meaning the debate will continue when the Legislature returns in January.
Residents in Danville will have to cast their votes without much clarity about how statewide reforms could affect their high school.
“We have a warned meeting that was based on a petition that was presented in good faith,” said Clayton Cargill, Danville School Board chair, during an informational meeting Wednesday night. “And it was based on a petition that was, in a lot of ways, brought on out of the complete uncertainty coming out of Montpelier.”
More: Act 73 is already changing Vermont's education system
Cargill also shared a key clarification with residents at the Wednesday meeting: Their vote won’t be binding, and the final decision rests with the school board itself.
That legal opinion, provided to the board this week, counters what the school board has been telling people, adding further uncertainty to the situation.
Whatever the outcome of the vote, Cargill said, “we would probably have about a year to try to figure out whether or not we need to stage a close. But the urgency to close, to the best of my reckoning, is off the table.”
The vote on Saturday will be held from the floor, though voters can ask for a ballot vote from among those attending the meeting.
