SPRINGFIELD — The state Senate Education Committee has hit the road to hear testimony on a proposed House bill that would encourage school district consolidation.

Twenty-five people packed into the library Tuesday at Springfield High School for a hearing to discuss H-782, a bill that would give a variety of tax credits, grants and debt assistance to school districts who voluntarily enter into a union school district.

"We had a very large hearing that was really well-attended, with people from one border to the other," said Sen. Alice Nitka, a Windsor County Democrat, of a March 10 hearing in Montpelier that drew more than 200 people who wished to testify. "But it was hard for some people to stay and even harder for others to be heard so we thought it would be a good idea to travel and to give people an opportunity to discuss consolidation."

Nitka is one of five senators on the committee, which took testimony from 14 people, including administrators, school board members and parents, during the nearly two-hour hearing.

The first person to testify was Nelson Richter, executive director of the Compass School in Westminster, who neither spoke for nor against consolidation, but simply urged caution.

"We get more focused on the system and the adults and the administrators and we sometimes forget about the students," Richter said. "The one-size-fits-all approach doesn't always work, and the bottom line is, we need to look at what's best for the students."

Stephen Major, a member of the Bellows Falls Union High School Board, said the call for consolidation is driven by a desire to save money, but it might not be the answer.

"It's perceived that consolidation will save money, but there's no proof of that," Major said, noting that school boards across the state did a good job this year keeping budgets down. "There is no need to change course."

Just as it did in Montpelier, the issue of school choice became a central topic of discussion among small-town residents, who feared being swept into a large school district.

"As a parent, I highly value the ability to make what I believe to be the best choice for where my children go to school," said Mill Moore of Hartland, a school-choice town. "I worry that a town like Hartland, if gathered into a larger district like Hartford, will lose its voice and there will be less local oversight and less local accountability."

Springfield Superintendent Frank Perotti and Business Manager Steve Hier both spoke in favor of the bill, with Hier saying the move would save money and Perotti noting that larger schools are able to offer a greater variety of course offerings and graduation paths, such as dual enrollment with a technical center or a community college, than a small school can offer.

However, West Windsor School Board Chairwoman Susan D'Anna said small schools benefit the state.

"Small schools are the life's blood of small towns," D'Anna said. "Consolidation would be the death of small towns."

Future meetings will be held Monday, April 5, at Rutland High School and Tuesday, April 6, at Mount Anthony Middle School in Bennington, with both meetings starting at 5:30 p.m.

josh.ogorman@rutlandherald.com