News

Vermont Senate approves Act 46 extension alternative

By DAVID DELCORE
Times Argus
MONTPELIER, Vt. — Fear there could be fireworks proved unfounded Wednesday afternoon as the Senate easily approved legislation that could open the door to delaying some state-ordered school district mergers.

Though there was some grumbling Tuesday about a potential amendment that could have made things interesting, the only change proposed on Wednesday was a technical correction designed to fix an inadvertent mistake.

That amendment was easily approved, as was the proposal crafted by Sen. Phil Baruth, D/P-Chittenden, in response to a House-passed alternative that addressed the same issue in a different way.

The House bill would automatically grant a one-year extension to some school districts that were ordered to merge by July 1, while requiring others to meet that deadline. Districts where a merger plan was never presented to voters would be entitled to the delay, under the House bill, while those where votes were unsuccessful would not.

Troubled by that methodology from the start, Baruth, who serves as chairman of the Senate Education Committee, proposed an alternative that would offer a final one-year extension to districts that aren’t yet ready to merge, provided they take a couple of cognizable steps toward consolidation before July 1.

To leverage the proposed extension, districts ordered to merge must elect the school boards that will eventually govern them. That board — and only that board — can opt to push the operational date of the merger to July 1, 2020.

Proponents of Baruth’s plan view it as a way to raise the stakes with school districts that have thus far resisted mergers by adjourning organizational meetings that would lead to the election of new school boards.

Critics say it passes the buck and postpones the inevitable, turning school board races into referendums on delay and fueling friction.

It isn’t the “clean delay” sought by many who recently testified before Baruth’s committee, and it does open the door wider than some feel comfortable with and others believe is necessary.

However, the proposal, which cleared second reading on the strength of a 26-3 roll call vote Tuesday, encountered little opposition during third reading Wednesday.

There was no request for a roll call vote Wednesday and no amendment that might have forced several senators in counties where residents are divided to cast politically difficult votes.

The only reservation voiced during the less-than-five-minute discussion came from Sen. Michael Sirotkin, D-Chittenden.

“What’s to prevent this same thing from happening again next year?” Sirotkin asked. He added, “I’m wondering when the word of the Legislature becomes … taken as certain?”

Baruth expressed the same concern when first presenting his proposal to members of the education committee and assured Sirotkin the proposal was drafted “in service of Act 46.”

“Everyone understands that this is a final delay to move the process to its logical conclusion,” he said.

The ensuing voice vote included a smattering of audible dissents.

Sen. Brian Collamore, R-Rutland; Sen. Cheryl Hooker, D/P-Rutland; and Sen. James McNeil, R-Rutland, voted against the proposal on Tuesday. McNeil cast the lone dissent when the proposal was voted out of the education committee with a favorable recommendation. He predicted at the time any delay would be exploited by those resisting mergers, and the issue would resurface next session.

Wednesday’s vote sets the stage for a conversation between House and Senate leaders over whether to support the Senate version of the extension legislation or to appoint a conference committee to come up with a compromise.

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