Vermont’s Act 170 of 2026 also requires districts to participate in merger study committees.

These committees are groups of school board members from districts that have been placed together for the purpose of asking:

“Would it make sense for these districts to become one unified union school district?”

The primary purpose of the mandated merger committees is to study whether participating school districts should consolidate into larger unified union school districts and develop a recommendation based on educational, financial, operational, and governance considerations, submitting a final report to the Vermont State Board of Education by September 1, 2027. The committee does not itself merge the districts. The question of whether to form a unified union school district ultimately goes to voters under the applicable process.