State board votes to force school merger for 3 towns

WESTMINSTER, Vt. (AP) — The Vermont Board of Education has voted to force a school merger between three boards, rejecting a recommendation from the secretary of education to leave the towns alone.

Westminster School Board Chair David Major said Tuesday he attended the board meeting and was present for the vote. Major tells the Brattleboro Reformer that the vote flies in the face of local votes in Westminster, Grafton and Athens.

All three towns voted overwhelmingly against merging schools in 2017.

Major says the Westminster School Board would be meeting in special session Tuesday to decide its path in the coming months, and that it is possible Grafton and Athens boards will be on hand.