(WTIC-AM) -- At the state Capitol, residents of Wilton and other small towns today expressed opposition to three school consolidation bills.
Wilton High School student Lilly Casiraghi says being in a small district brings administrators closer to the young people they are educating.
We are able to form closer bonds with our teachers and administrators, and if we have any concerns of initiatives we want to start, we can go directly to our administrators," Casiraghi said.
But State Education Commissioner Diana Wentzell says the governor's consolidation proposal would NOT force school districts to merge.
"Really I would characterize the bill as full of carrots and almost no sticks," Wentzell said.
Wentzell says some small towns with just one elementary school lack the resources to prepare students for the rest of their education.