MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – Vermont lawmakers continue to work on an 11th-hour plan to avert an anticipated massive hike in property taxes.
School spending is up this year for a myriad of reasons including education funding reforms passed two years ago aimed at achieving equity. Lawmakers say part of that bill allowed some districts to pack their budgets because their tax rate would be capped at 5%.
Now, a measure being fast-tracked would allow school districts to push back their budget votes and re-draft spending plans in an effort to find cuts. Many districts have been working on their budgets since the fall and this new measure would give them just weeks to re-write and announce it to taxpayers.
“The rules are changing late in the game here and so some of them will likely be going back and taking a look at their budgets depending on their individual circumstances,” said Sue Ceglowski with the Vermont School Board Association.
Some towns already have Town Meeting Day ballots in hand or have mailed them out while others are crossing out school budget items. Vermont Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas says each town is different and voters should check in with their clerk. “There is a lot of complexity. I like to think of it as a curveball — sometimes we get those. We are pushing for school districts to be as proactive as possible in getting that information out to voters,” she said.
Lawmakers have yet to make clear to what degree, if any, the changes would bring down a forecasted 20% increase in property taxes.
A pair of bills also in the works would impose a new tax on the state’s top earners in hopes of raising more revenue.
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