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School leaders warn Senate that House map threatens choice, supervisory unions and rural services
Summary
School board chairs and superintendents told the Senate Education Committee that the House’s proposed redistricting map (H.454/Act 73 implementation) could dismantle supervisory unions, eliminate tuition‑based high‑school choice and impose long bus rides; witnesses urged voluntary consolidation, BOCES-style supports and time to develop operational plans.
Multiple school board chairs and superintendents told the Vermont Senate Education Committee on Feb. 13 that proposed maps tied to Act 73 and a House map (referred to in testimony as H.454) risk undermining local governance, school‑choice arrangements and services for small, rural communities.
Eric Montbrien, chair of the Wells Springs Unified Union School District, said H.454 “isn’t workable for our district” because it would threaten a long‑standing tuition model and the supervisory‑union structure that lets small preK–6 districts operate while tuitioning grades 7–12. Montbrien said the supervisory‑union shared services—special education coordination, transportation and curriculum support—deliver efficiencies that would be lost under forced mergers.
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