The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 16 : Education

Chapter 011 : Union School Districts

Subchapter 002 : Exploration, Formation, and Organization

• § 722. Amendments to articles of agreement

  (a) The union school district voters. Only the voters of a union school district may amend a specific condition or agreement in the district’s articles of agreement if the condition or agreement was set forth as a distinct subsection in the warning required by section 712 (warning on vote to establish union school district and elect initial members of the board) of this chapter to form the union school district or in a subsequent warning to amend the articles pursuant to this section, which the voters approved.

  (b) The union school district board. The board of a union school district may amend a specific condition or agreement in the district’s articles of agreement only if the condition or agreement was not set forth as a distinct subsection in a warning required in subsection (a) of this section, but was instead incorporated into the warning by reference pursuant subsection 712(e) of this chapter (warning on vote to establish union school district and elect initial members of the board), or if the original articles of agreement or voter-approved amendments authorize the board to amend a specific condition or agreement.

  (c) Reduction of grades operated. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) (union school district voters) of this section, the voters shall not vote whether to reduce the grades that the union school district operates, and to begin paying tuition for those grades, unless the State Board finds it is in the best interests of the State, the students, and the districts involved and aligns with the policy set forth in section 701 of this title and gives prior approval to the proposed amendment.

  (d) Number of board members. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (a) (union school district voters) and (b) (union school district board) of this section, if membership on a union school district board is proportional to town population as set forth in subdivisions 711(d)(1) (proposed unified union school district) and (e)(1) (proposed union elementary or union high school district) of this chapter, and if the district’s articles of agreement direct the board to adjust board membership when necessary to conform to each new decennial census, then the board shall amend the articles to adjust the apportionment of board seats without presenting the amendment to the voters for approval.

  (e) Districts created by State Board order. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (a) (union school district voters) and (b) (union school district board) of this section, the authority to amend the articles governing any union school district formed by the State Board’s Final Report and Order issued on November 30, 2018 pursuant to 2015 Acts and Resolves No. 46, as amended, vests either with the electorate or the board pursuant to the provisions of Article 14, as that article was issued by the State Board or subsequently amended by the voters of the union school district.

  (f) Process. A vote by the voters of a union school district to amend the articles of agreement shall be by Australian ballot and shall proceed pursuant to sections 737 (warnings of unified union school district meetings) and 739–742 (vote by Australian ballot) of this chapter for unified union school districts and sections 755 (warnings of union elementary and union high school district meetings) and 757–759 (vote by Australian ballot) for union elementary and union high school districts. The warning shall contain each proposed amendment as a distinct question to be determined separately. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to any issue to the extent that a different section of law provides a specific amendment procedure. (Added 2021, No. 176 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. June 7, 2022.)