Danville residents cast their votes on whether to shutter high school grades at a local school during a referendum on Dec. 6, 2025. Photo by Corey McDonald/VTDigger. Danville residents voted overwhelmingly on Saturday against shuttering high school grades at the Danville School. Well over 500 residents cast paper ballot votes during a townwide referendum at Danville School, with 480 votes against a measure to close high school grades versus 75 in favor, according to Danville’s moderator Toby Balivet. “I’m proud of the town for turning out, I’m ecstatic for the turnout,” Danville school board Chair Clayton Cargill said after the results were announced. The results sent a loud and clear message to the Caledonia Central Supervisory Union and Danville school board officials to keep high school grades open. After the results were announced, Cargill said it’s “pretty obvious that this town wants to be a town that operates a high school.” “The town is proud of the high school,” he said, adding that the school board would “take that advice to heart.” The referendum was first spurred by a citizen’s petition to close high school grades by June 30 and instead pay tuition for those high school students to attend other public or private schools. Peter Mantius, a Danville resident and St. Johnsbury Academy teacher, submitted the petition, signed by more than 100 residents, in October. A Danville resident speaks during a townwide referendum on Dec. 6, 2025, on whether to shutter high school grades at a local school. Photo by Corey McDonald/VTDigger. The effort was partly motivated by anxiety around the future of school choice. State Sen. Scott Beck, R-Caledonia — a St. Johnsbury teacher — cautioned Cargill that legislation this upcoming session could limit school choice options in the future, and suggested the district should consider whether to shutter high school grades to maintain school-choice options in the future. Cargill has since filed an ethics complaint against Beck, alleging he pushed for grade closures that would benefit the private school where he works. School employees and officials, the community and students feared that closure would otherwise leave the region a public high school desert. But the vote was complicated this week, when attorneys contracted by the district said the petition could not compel the Danville school board to move forward with closure — making Saturday’s referendum nonbinding. School board officials previously said they would decide whether to go forward with closure based on the results of the referendum. Read the story on VTDigger here: Danville residents vote overwhelmingly against shuttering high school grades at town school. ...read more read less