MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – Vermont Gov. Phil Scott on Wednesday unveiled a sweeping education finance reform plan aimed at right-sizing the state’s school system and making it more affordable.
Vermont’s rising education costs and talk of reform have been kicking around Montpelier for years, but a double-digit spike in property taxes last year, a statewide rejection of school budgets, and November’s GOP gains at the Statehouse have accelerated those affordability discussions.
The administration’s 16-page proposal calls for revising the funding formula, ensuring students with similar needs receive the same funding regardless of where they live. It calls for a single statewide education property tax rate, allowing districts to choose if they want to raise more.
School consolidation is also on the table. Those schools that don’t meet financial viability and educational quality standards might have to merge or share resources. The plan also calls for eliminating supervisory unions and establishing five regional school districts, each with an elected, part-time school board.
The plan also calls for stronger oversight of education and setting a definition for the average school and class size minimums and maximums.
It didn’t take long for the administration’s proposal to get pushback from the Vermont-NEA. The 13,000-member teachers’ union says the plan lacks detail. “It doesn’t explain how these changes would be better for students. It doesn’t simplify an overly complex school funding system. And it doesn’t provide immediate and ongoing property tax relief for middle-class Vermonters,” Vermont-NEA officials said in a statement.
If enacted, the governor’s plan would come in phases, starting next year, and with full implementation in the 2028-29 school year.
Vermont Democratic leaders have said they are confident they will find common ground with the governor on education finance reform but it could still be some time before anything concrete passes the finish line.