Vermont’s most ambitious school governance review in over a decade is about to get underway; a Vermont Agency of Education official has been named to help lead Northeast Kingdom districts through a yearlong examination of merger possibilities culminating in potential Town Meeting Day votes in 2028.

Former Vermont Deputy Secretary of Education and former Acting Secretary of Education Heather Bouchey has been selected to guide local school districts through the merger study process required under Act 170.

Before joining AOE in 2015, Bouchey served at Director at the Leahy Center for Rural Students at Lyndon State College.

The Vermont Learning Collaborative announced Bouchey’s appointment Friday; it is overseeing the statewide merger study process and was charged with hiring a lead facilitator and seven regional facilitators to guide it.