MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) - The state House, after more than four hours of spirited debate Tuesday evening, gave preliminary approval to a bill to reduce the number of local school districts in the state from more than 270 to around 50.
The voice vote left the bill up for likely final approval in the House on Wednesday. The bill’s prospects in the Senate appeared uncertain to dubious.
The bill would set up a six-year process in which local districts would have an opportunity to voluntarily merge with neighbors, so long as the merged district is made up of at least four smaller districts or more than 1,000 students. Local districts that balked would later be ordered to merge.
Backers call Vermont’s system of school governance top-heavy, with too many school boards and superintendents overseeing fewer than 90,000 students, a vestige of the 18th century, when every rural crossroads hamlet had its own schoolhouse.
“Redundancy exists around our system, wasting both human capital and precious dollars, and does not enhance the learning of our kids,” said Rep. Johannah Leddy Donovan, D-Burlington and chairwoman of the Education Committee, as she helped introduce the measure to her colleagues.
But after an afternoon of separate hearings, the chairman of the Senate Education Committee continued to express doubt that any major reform of Vermont’s education system would pass by the time lawmakers adjourn for the year at the end of next week.
Sen. Richard McCormack, D-Windsor, has questioned for weeks whether there would be enough time for the Senate to act when the House finishes work on the bill. On Tuesday, he said his committee does not support mandated mergers, even after local districts are first given an option.
“I think the future mandate is already off the table as far as we’re concerned,” McCormack said.
And there was plenty of opposition in the House, too, with Democratic leaders predicting a close vote despite a nearly two-thirds majority in the chamber.
Opponents said they want most governance over schools within town borders, rather than moving to regional districts.
“The closer we keep our schools and their governance to our communities the better we serve our students,” said Rep. Mike Hebert, R-Vernon.
Vermont’s current system includes dozens of school supervisory unions, in which elementary schools in multiple towns send students to one regional high school, with separate boards for each. That leaves many superintendents reporting to multiple school boards. Under the proposed system, one school board would be responsible for an entire K-12 district.
Backers also say the current system has created inequities in educational opportunities. Rep. Peter Peltz, D-Woodbury and a member of the Education Committee, cited one school that offered upper-level math classes, a range of music and art and 12 English classes, while its neighbor failed to provide the required high school classes for admission to the University of Vermont.
But opponents said many communities love their local schools and don’t want to give up control to a regional board.
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