NORWICH — The Norwich School Board voted Wednesday night to study consolidation options with three other Vermont towns at a meeting at Marion Cross School.
After several meetings together, the towns of Thetford, Sharon and Norwich decided to approve the study. A fourth town, Strafford, has yet to decide. All four towns need to agree for the study to move forward with a grant from the Agency of Education.
Under the new education law, Act 46, school boards can apply for a $5,000 grant to have a consultant study possibilities for merging the districts.
Under Act 46, a conventional merger such as the one being considered would reduce its statewide property tax rate by 8 cents per $100 of assessed property value the first year and would drop by 2 cents per year for four years after that. New districts that are operational by July, 1, 2017, are eligible for a 10-cent decrease in year one under the accelerated merger language in Act 46.
Norwich is going to pursue a parallel study into the possibility of dissolving into the Dresden (N.H.) School District. This may need to happen to make a merger with the three other Vermont towns possible.
