State school merger lead facilitator finalists announced One educator and a consulting firm will have final interviews next week

By Shawn Cunningham
© 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC

The Vermont Learning Collaborative announced late Tuesday afternoon that it has selected two finalists for the job of lead facilitator for the school merger study group work mandated by Act 170. The law, which bills itself as “transforming Vermont’s education system,” calls for seven regional facilitators who will work to help 20 study committees to examine the possibility of merging school districts. The lead facilitator will be responsible for overseeing the regional facilitators and writing reports on the committees’ progress.

This area is in group No. 7 and includes Ludlow-Mt. Holly, Green Mountain Unified and Springfield school districts.

While it seemed that — as in Act 46 — facilitators would be individuals who had experience in education and in administration, the hiring process has thrown a curveball by selecting an entire business — The Creative Discourse Group — as one of the two finalists. According to its website, The Creative Discourse Group (aka TCDG) consists of three leaders and 18 collaborators. Its Linkedin “about us” description is: “We co-create experiences and knowledge that centers marginalized voices to achieve equity, justice, and an inclusive community.”

In 2025, the School District Redistricting Task Force (created by Act 73 to recommend mandatory redistricting maps) hired Burlington-based TCDG “to explore strategies for creating a more coherent, equitable and affordable statewide education system. TCDG was engaged to provide meeting facilitation, public engagement and analysis, and report development throughout this complex and time-sensitive process.”

TCDG’s website also says, “Our facilitation helped the group incorporate public input, interrogate assumptions, and move collaboratively through to the completion of its report — even without unanimous agreement on recommendations.” In the end of the process, the Task Force responded to public outcry and declined to put forward redistricting maps in favor of a voluntary approach.

Younce speaks to a public meeting on a possible Ludlow – Mt. Holly merger with Mill River in 2017. Telegraph file photo

The other finalist is David Younce, who was the principal of Mill River High School during the Act 46 process, which included the Ludlow and Mt. Holly schools. Younce and the Mill River board courted the two communities’ elementary schools, but said that they would not be interested in keeping Black River High School open. In May 2017, voters in Ludlow nixed a merger proposal by a wide margin while Mt. Holly voters voted in favor also by a wide margin. Black River High was closed in 2020.

In a press release issued Tuesday afternoon, the Vermont Learning Collaborative said that Younce, who has served as a principal, superintendent and education consultant, has experience working with school boards, communities, educational organizations, and state-level stakeholders to address governance challenges, organizational change, and long-term strategic priorities.

In 2020, Younce was named Vermont Superintendent of the Year.

Learning Collaborative Executive Director Jill Graham was not available for comment on Tuesday evening as this story was being written. The Vermont Learning Collaborative was tapped by the legislature to choose and hire the facilitators for the Act 170 merger study committees.

Finalist interviews will be conducted the first week of August. Each candidate will submit an evidence portfolio demonstrating their experience and will participate in a committee interview.

The Lead Facilitator Interview Committee is composed of: Kim Gleason, Jill Graham, Elaine Pinckney, Meagan Roy and Jacquelyne Wilson.