PRELIMINARY RESULTS SHOW 23 TOWNS REJECT RTA

[Henry]

Hi All,
From WCAX:

WILLISTON, Vt. Preliminary results show voters in 23 towns have rejected a new regional technical academy.

Roughly 70-thousand voters cast ballots yesterday. And the heavy turnout took a toll on counters.

Officials worked into the morning counting ballots.

They had trouble with counting machines, and some ballots had to be tallied by hand.

The project -- the most expensive Vermont school construction project ever -- would have merged the Essex and Burlington technical centers into a full-time, two-year academy.

Some voters said the school is needed to provide an alternative to students who wanted technical training.

Other said they were influenced by a large group of teachers who opposed the project.