School Consolidation

Vermont, like many states, has recently proposed merging school districts to cope with falling enrollment. Research on whether the strategy saves money or helps students is mixed.

The school board said the voters cannot force the board to close the school, and that residents are voting without much clarity about how statewide reforms could affect their high school in the future.

Most of the provisions of Act 73 won't go into effect for another few years, but school districts are still making decisions now based on the sweeping education law.

The group was tasked with redrawing school district lines for the state. Its members delivered something else.

The Taconic and Green Regional School District will close Sunderland Elementary School and Currier Memorial School in Danby on June 30.

The smallest district in Vermont has fewer than 200 students, and the largest just over 4,000. Act 73 envisions radical change: districts with between 4,000 to 8,000 students, although the law allows some flexibility.

Like most school districts across Vermont, Essex Westford is facing dwindling enrollment and intense inflationary pressure, mostly notably in health care. Insurance costs are projected to reach approximately $16 million next year — about 14% of the district’s total budget.

Money. School choice. Local control. The governor's plan wades into treacherous political waters.

The decision came at the conclusion of an emotional four-hour meeting, in which even some proponents of consolidation said the board and administrators had failed to make a convincing case for closure.

The state Board of Education is considering asking lawmakers to approve funding for three new positions it says are needed to administer Act 46, the…