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2022 Op. Vt. Att'y Gen. 1 (2022)

handle is hein.sag/sagvt2022 and id is 1 raw text is: THOMAS J. DONOVAN, JR. TEL: (802) 828-3171 ATTORNEY GENERAL JOSHUA R. DIAMOND DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL SARAH E.B. LONDON CHIEF ASST. ATTORNEY GENERAL STATE OF VERMONT OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL 109 STATE STREET MONTPELIER, VT 05609-1001 February 24, 2022 Via email: Oliver Olsen Chair, State Board of Education Dear Board Chair Olsen, I write regarding your request for an Attorney General Opinion related to the Town of Stowe's vote to withdraw from the Lamoille South Unified Union School District (the Unified District).' The Unified District was involuntarily formed pursuant to Act 46 (2015) by order of the State Board of Education. You have asked whether the proposed withdrawal is permissible under Vermont law, and if so, whether the Board's jurisdiction and role specified in 16 V.S.A. § 724(c) applies. I have reviewed the following materials related to this request: 1. Statutes and legislative materials: a. Acts 46 (2015) and 49 (2017); b. Chapters 3 and 11 of Title 16; c. Pending bills and proposals related to withdrawal from school districts; 2. The Board's November 2018 order pursuant to Act 46; 3. Caselaw related to Acts 46 and 49; 4. Materials provided to the Board and Attorney General's Office, including the following letters: a. Attorney Dina Atwood, Esq., to Town Manager Charles Safford, March 4, 2021; b. Agency of Education General Counsel Emily Simmons to Stowe Selectboard Chair William Adams, April 9, 2021; c. Representative Heidi Scheuermann to General Donovan, January 20, 2022; d. Legislative Delegation to the Board of Education, February 2, 2022; e. Selectboard Chair William Adams to Chair Olsen, February 7, 2022. 5. Memorandum of Agency of Education Staff Attorney Donna Russo-Savage to Board of Education, April 15, 2021, regarding analysis of certain withdrawal requests. Correspondence related to Stowe's withdrawal request has come from different sources. The Selectboard, through its Chair, wrote to the Board as community leaders describing how the Town of Stowe voted overwhelmingly to approve the withdrawal and both of the other communities ratified it by substantive margins. Selectboard Chair Adams to Chair Olsen, February 7, 2022. It urged the Board to take up and grant the request. Legal arguments described herein regarding withdrawal following the local voting process have been presented by members of the General Assembly and others. These arguments are identified as those of interested citizens as opposed to those of the Town.