Voters have rejected two of the three Act 46 school district consolidation plans up for consideration Tuesday.Windham Southeast Superintendent Lyle Holiday said turnout was strong in Brattleboro, Guilford, Dummerston and Putney, where the plan was turned down by a wide margin.
"Everybody working on this, including the study committee and the alternative groups care about kids," said Holiday. "And that's great for all of our students and families."
A plan to merge four school districts in the Southwestern Vermont Supervisory Union around Bennington failed by just a handful of votes.
Three of the four towns had to approve the consolidation, and in Woodford the plan was defeated by only two votes, while Pownal rejected the proposal by just four.
Bennington and Shatsbury approved the merger.
And in the Upper Valley, Chelsea and Tunbridge approved their merger.
Districts that held their votes Tuesday were trying to get their plans approved before the Nov. 30 deadline to take advantage of tax incentives.
Lawmakers this year extended that deadline from July 1 to give districts more time to work on their consolidation plans.
