Millington is finalist for Washington Central superintendent’s job TRSU super looks to leave after two years on job, despite new contract

UPDATED WITH STATEMENT FROM LAYNE MILLINGTON 

By Shawn Cunningham
© 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC

Two Rivers school Superintendent Layne Millington is a finalist to take over the Washington Central Unified Union School District in the East Montpelier area as it seeks to replace former Superintendent Steve Dellinger-Pate, who resigned unexpectedly in June. If hired, Millington would be leaving TRSU just as the Act 170 merger study process and the school year begin.

Millington was hired by TRSU in February 2024 and begin working in July of that year.

On Tuesday Aug. 18, Millington and the other finalist, Heather Bouchey, are scheduled to tour that district’s schools followed by meetings with district leadership teams and “meet and greets” with the community. A decision could come after a WCUUSD board meeting scheduled for Wednesday Aug. 26. In its search announcement, that district cited the salary range for the job as $160,000 to $175,000. Millington’s current TRSU salary is $165,485, according to a two-year contract signed in February. The contract runs from July 1, 2026 to June 30, July 2030.

Heather Bouchey is perhaps best known as the interim secretary of education who took over the agency when Dan French exited in April 2023. After the July flood of 2023, Bouchey toured Chester-Andover Elementary and told The Telegraph that a decision on complaints about the district violating its own mascot policies would be made in “weeks rather than months.”  That decision was never made.

The next meeting of a Two Rivers Supervisory Union board will be the Green Mountain board on Thursday, Aug. 20. The TRSU board is scheduled to meet on Sept. 3. At its August meeting, the TRSU board appointed Millington to the new Cooperative Education Services Area board that is set to begin meeting soon. There will be seven CESAs in Vermont designed to help cut costs through cooperative buying and other services.

The optimal timing for hiring a superintendent is in the late winter and early spring when there is a larger pool of qualified candidates seeking jobs. By late spring and early summer, the best candidates seeking jobs have found them. Dellinger-Pate’s June resignation put the Washington Central board in the position of looking for a leader at a difficult time and in a hurry. If Millington is hired, that scenario will be passed on to the GM board.

When Lauren Fierman resigned as superintendent in 2023 over board actions regarding the Chieftain mascot, she offered to stay on until a new superintendent was hired. She left the job as Millington took the reins in July 2024. If Millington resigns, the board will have to decide between finding an interim superintendent or starting a search at a time when the talent pool looking for a job may be shallow.

While the move may only be minimally more attractive to Millington from a monetary perspective, it would cut his commuting time by an hour each way from his Randolph home. Soon after he was hired by TRSU, Millington told The Telegraph that he and his wife would begin looking for a home in the area. “I feel that if we are affecting the community’s taxes, it seems fair we should live there,” he said, adding that he intended to move into the area after his son graduated from high school that June.

About Washington Central

The Washington Central district is not without familiar problems. The district consists of five towns, each with its own elementary school feeding into a regional middle/high school. Its enrollment is dropping rapidly, according to an article in The Bridge a local newspaper serving that area. In 2026, the district graduated 131 students while the incoming kindergarten class will have just 56 students. And earlier this week, those five towns voted to amend the articles of agreement that formed the district with regard to the process of closing schools.

Until now, a town had to vote to close its own elementary school, but the amendment now means every town in the district votes on the closing. While the district was at pains to say there were no immediate plans to close schools, residents of Calais and Worcester may believe their schools are in the crosshairs. And Act 170 — the latest education transformation law — includes a moratorium on towns withdrawing from supervisory unions before 2035.

Reaction to the news

The Telegraph sought a comment from Millington this morning but had not received an answer at publication time. We will update the story when we hear from him.

Shortly after this story was published, Superintendent Millington forwarded a “personal announcement” that he had sent to the TRSU community at 10:07 a.m.  It reads:

I want to share an update directly with you. I have recently been named a finalist for the superintendent position at Washington Central Unified Union School District. Opportunities like this are rare, and when a position aligns closely with my professional interests and experience, I believe it is important to explore it thoughtfully.

I also want to be clear: I am not engaged in a broad job search. I am fully committed to our work here at TRSU, and I remain deeply invested in our students, staff, and communities. When a position of genuine interest arises, I occasionally take the time to learn more, but that does not diminish my focus or dedication to TRSU.

Our district’s goals, challenges, and successes continue to be my priority every day. I value the trust you place in me, and I will keep you informed as appropriate while ensuring that my attention stays centered on serving TRSU with the same energy, care, and leadership you expect.

Green Mountain board chair Lisa Sanders of Cavendish said, “I’m hugely surprised and a little bit confused. Decisions made about our schools and communities have to be made with the short- and long- term in mind. If the person making those decisions doesn’t live in the district and is looking to leave, how invested is he in that long term? Maybe plenty. Maybe not enough.”

In a statement to The Telegraph this morning, GM board member Anne Henshaw wrote, “When I received word last night about Superintendent Millington’s seeking employment with another district, I was surprised to say the least. As the chair of the GMUSD School Board Community Outreach subcommittee, I want to be able to help inform the community about our work as a board and promote transparency and public trust.  I hope to find out more information soon.”