The redistricting task force completed its work in early December. It did not recommend massive consolidation of school districts. The governor became upset and claimed the task force didn’t do its job. The Secretary of Education penned an op-ed claiming that our kids deserved better. The stark reality is that it’s the governor who didn’t do his job, and his Agency of Education is failing students, schools and taxpayers.
Gov. Phil Scott’s outrage was predictable — but I believe it was only partially for the reasons he gave. For years, Scott has pursued two consistent goals in education:
- Expanding school choice and our state’s voucher system
- Assuming greater administrative control over public education
As far back as 2014, Scott has repeatedly pushed for decreased funding for our public school system, sought to eliminate or reduce local control, promoted statewide school choice while favoring diminished standards for private schools, and has generally been very unsupportive of public education.
Where we are today is as much a function and result of Scott’s repeated attacks on our public education system as it is a question of how much we spend and how we fund public education. Despite evidence and studies that suggest otherwise, the current mantra is that consolidation is the path to lower property taxes.
Studies and the real world results of our own Act 46 show that consolidation does not save Vermont money on education. So why are Phil Scott and, oddly, Democratic leadership so convinced that it will?
It’s because redistricting is the precursor to a foundation formula.
What is a foundation formula? This is where the real change happens. Instead of local communities voting to determine how much they want to spend on their schools, the Governor and legislators will be telling school boards how much money they’ll be getting. No more local voting on school budgets. Each school district will be given an amount of money and will need to figure out how to make it work. The cost containment comes when the experts in Montpelier ratchet down the allotment year after year after year. Don’t take my word for it—this was the exact plan that Scott put on the table last January and is also included in Act 73 (see page 3 of the bill).
How will this work when health care and salaries continue to rise? It will work by laying off staff and cutting programs at all of our schools as we respond to decreased funding. The result will be larger class sizes and fewer opportunities for students.
Communities that are unhappy with this (or pressured by a legislator) will consider closing the doors of their public school so they can become tuitioning towns. The allure of the glossy brochure, new endowment-funded facilities, and perception of how well kids are doing at these private schools will be a huge draw.
The problem is that this data is purely anecdotal. The general public is provided no evidence that these private schools are performing well. Test scores and student achievement are not published. No school board meets monthly to share information with the public. No private school budget is put before voters for approval. These schools are not required to follow the same Educational Quality Standards as all of Vermont’s public schools. While federal law prohibits private schools from discriminating in enrollment, there is no law that prevents a private school from telling a student they are just “not the right fit.”
Our state’s voucher system is the elephant in the room of education reform. We now have a two-tiered system of education in this state: one set of rules, regulations, and standards for our public schools and a relaxed set for private schools. It makes no sense to divert public education dollars to schools like the Stratton Mountain School and the Maple Street School.
These schools are receiving Vermont tax dollars to satisfy the state’s requirement to provide a public education, but unlike public schools, both practice selective enrollment (students are required to submit academic records or meet minimum standards of student achievement), serve no children on IEPs (according to data provided by the Agency of Education), and don’t provide transportation.
In the case of Stratton Mountain School, families are on the hook for an additional $30,000 or more in tuition even after the voucher. This is what our Governor and our Secretary of Education claim is equity. We have strayed so far from the common benefit of public education.
Implicit in the Governor’s push for massive consolidation is greater gubernatorial and legislative oversight of public education. This move is especially alarming given the Agency of Education’s inability to satisfy its current responsibilities.
For many board members, myself included, the Agency of Education’s promise of efficiency and improved student outcomes—and their ability to shepherd this massive education transformation—rings hollow. For the past five years, the Agency has been unable to provide my district, and many others, with accurate data crucial to the budgeting process.
Vermont property taxes are based on education spending per weighted student. That weighted student number can have a significant impact on your local tax rate. In 2020, the Agency of Education provided me with no fewer than six different counts for weighted students between December 13 and February 14.
This resulted in estimated tax rates ranging from $1.84 to $2.00. This has continued every year since.
Last year, the challenges were so extreme that the Agency pressured us to sign off on numbers that we knew—and we told them—were wrong. This year, our numbers are still not correct.
Without this number, I am not able to project a tax rate for my community. One routine, annual task that the Agency of Education has been unable to get right for the past five years. If this portends how they will handle consolidation, we should all be very concerned.
Vermonters have two choices.
You can pull up a chair and watch as our governor, the Secretary of Education and Democratic leadership gut our state’s public schools. You can watch as staff are let go, class sizes increase, and programs disappear. You can watch as public schools close with the false hope that students will be better off tuitioned to a private school that isn’t transparent about how the money is being spent or how the students are doing. You can watch as healthcare costs continue to rise and our buildings continue to decline in disrepair.
Or you can fight like hell to maintain Vermont’s public education system — the only governmental service required by our constitution. My colleagues and I at Friends of Vermont Public Education, and all of our supporters, will be fighting. We hope you’ll join us.