Members of the Scott Administration presented the governor’s Education Transformation proposal to the Vermont House on Wednesday.
Vermont Agency of Education Commissioner Zoie Saunders says the plan is a unique opportunity to come together to address the complex challenges facing the state’s education system.
"There are long standing issues within our system that need to be addressed in order to deliver on the education that Vermont students deserve. This plan is bold in its focus on rebuilding public education to better serve students,” Saunders asserted. “This plan ensures that a student living in a rural community gets the same opportunities as a student living in a bigger town, that a student from a less advantaged community gets the same opportunities as a student from a wealthy community. Our current system does not deliver on that promise despite the increased investments and good intentions. There is an urgency to act.
Commissioner Saunders said Republican Governor Phil Scott’s comprehensive reform proposal centers on three primary policy areas that address Vermonters’ desire for a system that provides equitable access, fair funding and spending controls.
“Fundamentally, this proposal is about education quality and ensuring that we can provide high academic rigor, enrichment, and whole child support. And when we think about our funding system, we need to design our funding system in order to achieve that educational quality and do that in a way that's fair, predictable, and transparent. We also need to consider the scale of our system,” Saunders said. “And so part of this proposal will be recommending a simplified school governance system, considering optimum school size.”
Saunders reported that the governor’s proposal would convert to a foundation formula that allots a guaranteed amount to each district. It also proposes reducing to five school districts from the 52 supervisory unions across the state. Commissioner of Taxes Craig Bolio said the current school funding system is too complex.
“We have a system that relies on local control as cost containment, has little to no guardrails for the state to set reasonable limits and gives districts few tools or incentives to find ways to save. We got a problem. This plan helps reform that,” Bolio said. “If we implement this plan, there are a number of advantages that we would realize. It's more equitable and fair than our current system. The system will be more transparent and this proposal could allow for voters and school boards to have more certainty about tax impacts earlier in the process. That's one of the biggest challenges in our current system. And this plan will provide guardrails for the state to more easily and clearly understand and oversee the education budget for the state.”
Following the presentation, House Speaker Jill Krowinski and Senate Pro Tem Phil Baruth, both Democrats, issued a joint statement saying they are “aligned in the belief that we must take on the serious task of transforming our education system so all Vermont kids have the opportunity to thrive.” The Vermont NEA calls the proposal risky, big on rhetoric and short on details.
