School districts plan to appeal after losing merger fight

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) - A group of 33 Vermont school districts is taking their fight over forced mergers to the state Supreme Court.

WCAX-TV reports that a Franklin Country judge this week ruled against the districts.

The districts’ lawyers had argued that forcing towns in Washington County with no school debt to take on the bonded debt of others schools in the newly created unified district violated the state Constitution.

Superior Court Judge Robert Mello said the districts’ argument was flawed. He wrote that “school district mergers do not result in the direct imposition of one municipality’s debts on another municipality; existing debt is transferred to the newly created trustee school district.”

The districts plan to appeal.

A 2015 school district consolidation law is aimed at saving costs and expanding student opportunities.

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Information from: WCAX-TV, http://www.wcax.com