Poll worker Shari Murawski talks with voter Jeff Hood, after he dropped his ballot into the box during a vote in Tunbridge, Vt., over whether to withdraw from the First Branch Unified School District at the Town Hall Saturday, Jan. 9, 2021. Town Clerk Mariah Cilley is at right. Cilley said about 20 absentee ballots were requested by residents. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.
Poll worker Shari Murawski talks with voter Jeff Hood, after he dropped his ballot into the box during a vote in Tunbridge, Vt., over whether to withdraw from the First Branch Unified School District at the Town Hall Saturday, Jan. 9, 2021. Town Clerk Mariah Cilley is at right. Cilley said about 20 absentee ballots were requested by residents. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com. Credit: James M. Patterson

TUNBRIDGE – Voters in Tunbridge on Saturday narrowly defeated a proposal to withdraw from the First Branch Unified School District.

The petition article to pull out of the two-town school district and re-establish the Tunbridge School District was rejected, 144-135, in all-day Australian ballot voting, with some residents also voting by mail.

Had the measure passed, Chelsea would have had to schedule a similar vote of its own, then the State Board of Education would have had to sign off.

Both First Branch towns are home to preK-8 schools.

First Branch School Board members are highlighting a restructuring plan that would see Chelsea host a middle school for grades 5 to 8 and Tunbridge host grades preK-4. They say it would provide better opportunities for students and also save some costs.