Most school budgets put before voters on Town Meeting Day have passed.
The majority, but not all, school budgets in Vermont go before voters on Town Meeting Day. The Vermont School Boards Association and the Vermont Superintendents Association gathered unofficial statewide results and found that 82 percent of school budgets have passed so far. Of the 112 budgets considered on or before Town Meeting Day, 85 were approved and 19 defeated.
School Boards Association Executive Director Sue Ceglowski says the overwhelming support shows Vermonters value education.
“Town Meeting Day is one of the clearest ways that Vermonters show what they value and that even in these times when there are economic pressures, communities are continuing to show their commitment to supporting our public schools in Vermont.”
The associations say education spending increases were about 4.2 percent statewide. Health care costs have increased nearly 35 percent over the past three years and Ceglowski notes there are other pressures that drive school budget increases.
“The rapid rise in the cost of school employees’ health benefits are an important cost driver. Some of the other major cost drivers are inflation and the school facilities themselves, maintaining and updating school facilities.”
Vermont Superintendents Association Executive Director Chelsea Myers adds that the state legislature also has a major impact on district budgets.
“Year after year the legislature is passing new laws that may be laudable in intent, but each year adds considerable costs. And that cumulative effect over time, when nothing is removed from their plates, has impacts on budgets.”
Myers noted that in 2024 there was a spike in budget rejections.
“So we’re starting to kind of equalize out again towards the normal trend of passage of school budgets each year. And the fact that the same communities often struggle to pass budgets year after year points to deeper structural challenges in the system. If Vermont is going to move forward with education reform these results suggest we might need a more precise tool rather than a sledgehammer.”
The state is in the midst of statewide education reform efforts hoped to bring the cost of education down while assuring equity in student opportunity across all districts. Myer clarified what she meant by her sledgehammer analogy.
“If we are going to reform the system, it might not require sweeping, broad changes as are being considered right now.”
Ceglowski believes Vermonters are, and will continue to be, engaged in the education transformation debate.
“The preliminary results of these school budget votes indicate that Vermont taxpayers support Vermont’s public schools.”
The Burlington School District, one of the largest in the state, issued a thank you to voters on its social media pages for approving its $140.8 million budget. Superintendent Tom Flanagan writes that “This budget will allow us to continue to ensure that all learners are challenged, empowered, and engaged, while remaining responsive to the pressures faced by taxpayers.”
During his weekly briefing just before Town Meeting Day, Governor Phil Scott, a Republican, held up a flyer from the school district he lives in and said he would vote against the school budget.
“They have the estimates of what it would cost per hundred-thousand of property value. Because of the whole county increase, my town not so bad but the other counties are significant. Some it’s like $250 per hundred thousand of increase. So, I will be voting no.”
Nineteen school budget proposals failed on Town Meeting Day. Ceglowski says those districts have several options
“The school boards may decide to put forward the same budget. They may decide to put forward a modified budget for the community to consider.”
There are still about a dozen school budgets to be decided by voters between now and May.
