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Senate Education panel reviews draft that would steer district mergers, set protections and grants
Summary
Senate Education Committee reviewed draft 7.1, which preserves protections for tuition-paying and operating districts, directs the Agency and State Board on merger reviews to avoid geographic isolation, and proposes transition and merger support grants (SU grants of $250,000, study reimbursements, capped merger support tied to ADM).
Legislative counsel and committee members on April 2 walked through draft 7.1, a proposed set of changes to Vermont school-district governance that would preserve certain operating and tuition-paying district rights while creating a framework for voluntary mergers and a secretary-led plan to reduce districts within supervisory unions.
The draft reads that "nothing in this act shall be construed to restrict" a district's ability to operate a school or pay tuition for resident students, language the presenter said is taken largely from Act 46. That protection is paired with a requirement that governance transitions "preserve the ability" of districts to continue existing programs if they choose and not be forced to pay tuition if they realign into a supervisory or union district.
Why it matters: The proposal aims to shrink the number of school districts in targeted supervisory unions while limiting involuntary disruption.…
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