Vermont’s leaders are continuing to work toward a deal on education reform.
The Vermont Legislature had targeted adjourning its session last Friday. But with consensus on a wide-ranging education reform bill elusive, leaders will be spending more time in Montpelier the capitol. Members of the legislature and the state’s Republican Governor Phil Scott are still searching for agreement on changes to the formula that disperses state funding to local school districts as well as on the timeline for implementing the reform.
During his regular Wednesday briefing, Governor Scott admitted there hasn’t been substantive negotiations since last Friday, but he and his team have participated in conversations with leaders and some individual legislators about the education bill.
Scott expressed disappointment that House and Senate conferees will reportedly wait until June 12th to return to Montpelier to work on the reform bill ahead of a veto session scheduled for June 16th and 17th when legislators are slated to formally work on the reform.
“I think it really does need some work on an on-going basis right up until the end. I just don’t want to see us get into a position where we ended up last Friday where we were just at a standstill in some respects and getting sloppy at others. I’m just trying to get a bill across the finish line. And we have some time now. I think we should take that time to get it right,” Scott said.
Among Scott’s concerns about the bill is a four-year transition timeline proposed by legislators.
“We’ll have to look at the whole package. But as I said before I can’t live with four years. It has to be something under that,” the Governor maintained,
Scott also says any proposed foundation funding formula must not punish lower-spending school districts.
“We have to prevent the punishment of those communities that out of necessity spend less. And we certainly don’t want to see their taxes go out of control, rise,” Scott said.
House Speaker Jill Krowinski, a Democrat, told the rank-and-file late Friday night that the session would not close out as originally planned. She said work was ongoing.
“We have decided that we will finish the work, continue the work, of the Committee of Conference, but finish the work during the veto session. And so we will not be adjourning tonight. We will be holding token sessions until we get to the veto session, which is not that far away,” Krowinski told legislators.
During his Wednesday briefing, Scott reviewed a number of the issues that have been debated over the session, noting there has been some progress toward his goal to make the state more affordable. Last year, Vermonters faced double-digit property-tax increases.
“Though the legislative session isn’t over as yet, we’ve made some progress and ever so slowly are moving the state in the right direction. And while there’s still much more work to be done, we found common ground on making Vermont safer. I’m also appreciative in a few other areas where we were able to work with the legislature like our tax relief package, which I’m hopeful the Senate will give approval on very soon,” Scott noted. “And while we’ve seen some success, we haven’t gone far enough in areas like housing. You can expect me to continue pushing for common sense regulatory reform in the second half of the legislative session, not just in housing, but in energy affordability as well.”
While Scott cautioned that even if education reform is passed, Vermonters should not expect “instantaneous relief” on property taxes, the governor did express optimism that leaders can reach a deal on education.
“I believe there’s a path forward for education transformation that most agree is needed this session. And I appreciate the Speaker and Pro-Tem’s commitment to finding a bipartisan compromise for both the House and Senate. My team will continue to work with legislative leadership to get a bill across the finish line so our kids get a better education at a rate taxpayers can afford,” stated Scott.
