JUDGE SIDES WITH STATE IN ACT 46 CASE
By Gregory J. Lamoureux
County Courier
ST. ALBANS: A ruling filed late Tuesday afternoon by Judge Robert Mello in Franklin County Civil Court finds in favor of the Agency of Education, who argued that Act 46 should be upheld and the Plaintiffs will not be awarded anything for their efforts.
Many local schools and Selectboards were involved in the lawsuit, including the Richford, Montgomery, Sheldon, Franklin, Highgate, and Swanton School Boards.
Another portion of the case continues to be litigated at the appellate level through the Vermont Supreme Court.
The case was one of the last-ditch efforts for opponents of Vermont’s forced school consolidation law to block it from taking effect. Mellow’s ruling comes less than two weeks before the forced mergers take effect, July 1, 2019.
Among other arguments, the Plaintiffs’ viewed Act 46’s method for handling small schools grants unconstitutional under Chapter I, Article 7.
You can read the entire 54 page ruling obtained by the County Courier here:
33-1-19-Frcv-Athens-v
© County Courier, 2019
