(This story by Matt Hongoltz-Hetling first appeared in the Valley News on May 2, 2017.)
[S]outh Royalton residents have successfully petitioned the town to reconsider a vote that scuttled a plan to consolidate Royalton’s school district with those of Bethel and Rochester.
Laurie Smith, one of the organizers behind the revote effort, said supporters gathered 150 signatures on the petition by signing up friends and neighbors, as well as by leaving copies at area stores.
Town Clerk Karmen Bascom said she had verified the petition contained at least 111 valid signatures, the minimum needed to trigger a townwide revote on the consolidation measure, which failed on a 460-203 vote April 11. Bethel and Rochester residents both voted in favor of the merger, but Royalton’s no vote has left the future of the proposal in doubt.
Bascom said she will formally notify the Royalton School Board of the petition in time for its next meeting, which would allow that body to schedule a new vote.
“It’s up to the board to set a date for the vote, but we are hoping it will be as soon as possible,” Smith said. “We’d like to get through the vote before graduation because we think we’ll have better turnout that way.”
If Royalton voters approve the measure, the three districts would be merged into the White River Unified School District, in which students in sixth through eighth grades would attend a middle school in Bethel and high schoolers would go to Royalton. The new district would operate under a single budget, with a single school board made up of representatives from all three towns.
If voters do not approve the measure on the revote, the State Board of Education is authorized to consider plans that would bring the school district into compliance with Act 46, the 2015 school district consolidation law that requires districts to meet certain standards of equity, education quality, efficiency, accountability, and cost.
Last month’s no vote not only affected Royalton and its merger partners, but also prevented other towns from realizing their merger plans.
Because approval in all seven towns that were voting was needed, the April vote in Royalton stymied a Chelsea and Tunbridge vote to form the pre-K through eighth grade First Branch Unified School District, as well as a Granville and Hancock vote to form the nonoperating Granville-Hancock Unified School District.
Emotions ran high during and immediately after last month’s vote, but Smith said she’s seen a change in tone since then.
“I would say that everyone is being respectful and there is a much higher level of community engagement at this stage than what we saw a month before the first vote,” she said.
Concerned Royalton Citizens, a Facebook group that formed in opposition to the merger plan, is still active and shows that there are still objections to the merger.
But Smith said the proposed merger, the district’s last chance to take advantage of financial incentives offered under Act 46 to merging districts, is the best option of those on offer.
“Their message seems to be that the state will not enforce Act 46,” she said. “The message of the ‘yes’ voters is that, as a community, we need to examine our options under the current law and choose a path forward that is in the best interest of our students and town, while also complying with the law.”
Smith said organizers are planning a pair of community forums later in the month, but dates have not yet been finalized. An informational meeting would also be scheduled before the vote.
