Vermont bill to encourage school consolidation will become law

From The Barre-Montpelier Times-Argus: Vermont Gov. James Douglas has allowed a school consolidation bill to become law without signing it, underscoring his dissatisfaction with the legislation. The bill provides incentives for school districts to merge. The hope is that will lead to greater efficiency and less cost for educating Vermont's students. But the bill does not go as far as Douglas and some others would have liked. Those who proposed tougher measures pushed for involuntary consolidation of supervisory unions and districts, mandated higher teacher-to-pupil ratios and reduced state aid for small schools.