Judge denies delay of Montpelier-Roxbury school budget revote

A Washington County Superior Court judge has ruled that the April 30 revote on the Montpelier Roxbury Public School District budget should proceed as planned, denying an injunction request from the town of Roxbury .

The latest version of the school budget would close down the Roxbury Village School and have the district bus students to Montpelier schools instead, according to the school district’s website . It also reduces the total budget from $32 million to $30.5 million.

Plaintiffs in the injunction case argued that the district failed to hold an informational hearing in advance of the March 5 vote, only hosting that meeting on the day of the vote. The school district itself passed a resolution on Monday that concluded that “any errors, omissions, or defects” stemming from the timing of the informational hearing  “were the result of oversight, inadvertence, or mistake.” The board then voted to validate the initial budget vote.

Noting Monday’s action by the board, Superior Court Judge Timothy Tomasi said in the court’s opinion that the case was “moot, untimely, and fails to meet the exceedingly exacting standards required” to get an injunction. The judge’s ruling was first reported by WCAX .

The Roxbury Selectboard issued a statement on Wednesday in response to the decision, stating that it was “shocking and disappointing” that the school board failed to hold a timely informational meeting.

“We are disappointed our initial efforts are not moving forward, but the community will determine our next steps in the coming days,” the selectboard said in the statement. “At the very least, we will be demanding that the school district not close their budget gap on the backs of the most rural kids.”

Asked about the potential closure of Roxbury Village School on Wednesday, Gov. Phil Scott said the closure of small schools was “a tough pill to swallow,” but a potentially necessary one as class sizes shrink and costs increase.

“Many people think we ought to be closing some of the small schools — they just don’t want it to be theirs, and I think that is the case here,” he said.

Residents in the school district can vote in advance at their town or city clerk’s office, or vote in person at the polls on April 30. The school district is also planning to hold an informational meeting on the revised school budget on April 29.

Read the story on VTDigger here: Judge denies delay of Montpelier-Roxbury school budget revote .