Legislative leaders say they will stick to the schedule for continuing the Act 46 school district consolidation process.The chairs of the Senate and House education committees sent out a memo Wednesday saying they expect to have the first draft of a statewide school district merger plan by June 1.
The abrupt resignation of former education secretary Rebecca Holcombe, who was supposed to write the plan, put the timeline in doubt.
But lawmakers say they are committed to continuing the process.
Gov. Phil Scott, State Board of Education Chairwoman Krista Huling, Senate Pro Tem Tim Ashe and House Speaker Mitzi Johnson also signed off on the memo.
“We appreciate the hard work of communities, school boards and school staff – and to all those that have successfully moved through the process,” the group wrote. “We look forward to continuing this good work in accordance with the existing timeline and statutory requirements.
Gov. Scott this week named Deputy Education Secretary Heather Bouchey as the acting secretary education until an interim secretary is named.
The State Board of Education met Monday to begin its process of gathering a list of candidates for Gov. Scott to consider for the full-time secretary position.
