On Saturday, Danville residents will vote on whether to close the town’s small high school at the end of the school year. Initially, school officials believed the results would be binding. But a new legal opinion, received on Tuesday, has convinced the school board that the vote can only be advis ory. The school board will have the ultimate say on whether to close the school, but board chair Clayton Cargill said he hopes people will still show up so members know the will of voters. The vote was set into motion in early October after Peter Mantius, a Danville parent and St. Johnsbury Academy teacher, submitted a petition signed by more than 100 residents calling for a public referendum on whether to close the high school — which currently serves around 90 students — and pay for Danville students to attend a public or approved independent school of their choice. The petition was submitted weeks after state Sen. Scott Beck (R-St. Johnsbury), a St. Johnsbury Academy teacher, reached out to Cargill to advise him that the board should consider closing the high school if it wanted to maintain full school choice options in the future. Cargill has since filed an ethics complaint against Beck based on the interaction. After the board received Mantius’ petition, it consulted with one of its lawyers, Mark McDermott of Lynn, Lynn, Blackman Toohey, who told them that the petition, signed by more than 5 percent of the electorate, compelled the school district to hold a binding vote on whether to close the school. The school board set a special town meeting for Saturday, December 6. But several community members later spoke up at school board meetings, saying they did not believe that town residents had the authority to close a school. One of the most outspoken was Eric Hutchins, a parent of a Danville high school student. Hutchins, who teaches social studies at Lamoille Union High School, told Seven Days that he dug into state statute and came away with the impression that only school boards have the authority to close a school. That led Cargill and Caledonia Central superintendent Matt Foster to seek a second legal opinion from McNeil, Leddy Sheahan, another law firm the school district uses. It took several weeks for the firm to provide guidance, but it ultimately contradicted what McDermott, the first lawyer, had told the board. In a December 2 letter, lawyers Joseph McNeil and Christopher Leopold wrote that they believed giving voters the power to decide whether the high school should stay open or close “exceeds the authority of the electorate under Vermont law.” Citing Skiff v. South Burlington School District — a ruling that established South Burlington residents did not have the authority to force a town vote on restoring the Rebel mascot — McNeil and Leopold wrote that “Vermont courts have long held that a board has discretion to refuse to include a petitioned article in a town-meeting vote if the subject matter of the article concerns a matter outside of the voters’ authority.” Under state statute, “voters may authorize the closure of a high [school] and the subsequent payment of tuition for its students, but the electorate may not direct, compel, or otherwise require a school board to close the high school,” the lawyers’ four-page letter went on to say. “The decision to act upon that authorization by the electorate rests with the school board.” McDermott ultimately said he was persuaded by McNeil and Leopold’s argument. That left the school board in a tricky position, Cargill said. Since the town vote had been warned, canceling it was not an option. So they’re proceeding as planned, even though the results won’t be binding. At an informational meeting on Wednesday night, Cargill read the lawyers’ letter to a packed room, fielded questions about its implications and reviewed logistical details for Saturday’s vote. He said he wasn’t sure how many people would show up but was expecting hundreds. At the meeting, Cargill challenged an attendee’s assertion that the new legal advice meant that the vote no longer mattered. “It matters very, very much because even if it’s just advisory, I need to know the opinion of the town,” Cargill said. He said the board would take the results into consideration when deciding the fate of the school. Meeting attendees on Wednesday, by and large, expressed support for keeping Danville’s high school open. Many described feeling anxious over the uncertainty. “Danville High School is more than just a building,” said Ari Moragues, a student at the school. “It’s a gathering place, a source of pride and the anchor that keeps our community connected.” Hutchins, the social studies teacher, noted at the informational meeting that a school-district analysis found that closing Danville’s high school and paying tuition to other schools would not save the district money or reduce property taxes. While the situation has been “destabilizing,” Hutchins said, “it also is an opportunity to bring together a deep voice in strong support [and] to reinvigorate our high school.” Regardless of what happens on Saturday, it’s likely that this will not be the last hurdle Danville will face. Education reform efforts underway in the legislature, and a report released this month by the redistricting task force, both call for larger, regional high schools, which proponents say will give students more opportunities. Read the lawyers’ full legal opinion below: The post Legal Opinion Alters Upcoming Vote on Danville High School’s Future appeared first on Seven Days. ...read more read less