The vote to withdraw from the merged district was 1,068-464 in favor.
The question remains: If thereâs a will, is there a way? Lawyers for the town and for the state have offered differing opinions on whether Act 46, the stateâs school district consolidation law, allows towns that were forced into mergers to leave them â the townâs lawyer thinks they can; the Agency of Educationâs lawyer does not.
In the lead-up to the vote, there were also questions of what Stowe schools have lost or gained from the merger.
In the end, it might not matter, because in voter turnout rarely seen outside a presidential election, 70 percent of those who cast a ballot chose to leave and go back to being a standalone school district.
Stowe, Morristown and Elmore were forced by the state to merge into one school district two years ago, but that doesnât mean Stowe residents canât vote to leave.
At least thatâs the opinion of Stoweâs legal counsel, who said the decision is in votersâ hands.
Attorney Nina Atwood â of the firm Stitzel Page & Fletcher â last week wrote in a legal opinion that the Vermont Agency of Education has not taken a formal position on whether towns in forced mergers can vote to leave them. But, she said, the governing bylaws of the Lamoille South district permit any of the three towns to seek a withdrawal after two years of merger.