Royalton — The Royalton School Board has set a date of June 13 for a townwide revote on a plan to merge the Royalton School District with the school districts of Bethel and Rochester.

“It was the quickest date we could do on a Tuesday,” School Board member Geo Honigford said.

The consolidation plan failed on a 460-203 vote on April 11, but supporters of the merger submitted a petition to trigger the revote.

If Royalton voters approve the measure, it would create the White River Unified School District, which would operate under a single budget, with a single school board for the three towns.

Students in sixth through eighth grades would attend a middle school in Bethel and high schoolers would come to Royalton.

But if voters reaffirm their opposition to the plan, the state Board of Education could mandate a merger to bring the school district into compliance with Act 46, the 2015 school consolidation law that establishes more rigorous standards for districts across the state.

Because districts that receive voter support for their mergers by July will receive state incentives to help fund their transition, supporters have pushed for the revote to happen before that deadline.

The outcome of the vote will impact other communities in the White River Supervisory Union, which were relying on a unanimous vote in seven towns to move forward with a their consolidation plans.

Royalton’s no vote in April has, at least temporarily, prevented Chelsea and Tunbridge from forming the pre-K through eighth grade First Branch Unified School District, and also stops Granville and Hancock from forming the non-operating Granville-Hancock Unified School District.