As an organic farmer, I’ve dedicated my life to advocating for Vermont’s working landscape and the families who rely on it. My passion extends to supporting public schools and championing the opportunities that quality education provides to children from all backgrounds. I do not say what follows lightly.
Act 181 was passed as a well-intentioned update to Act 250. It was designed to maintain healthy forests and farmland, protect sensitive habitat, and encourage more concentrated housing development by reducing some regulatory burdens. Those are goals I support. But two provisions will have a devastating negative impact on rural working-class Vermonters: the road rule and the tier 3 designations.
Act 73 was proposed as a property tax saving idea that would also improve academic opportunities for Vermont’s school-age youth. It was in response to years of massive property tax increases, declining student enrollment, and declining test scores. While the goals are noble, the facts have not supported Act 73, and it will likely lead to the closure of many smaller rural schools without tax savings nor improved academic options for many kids.
As each of these laws has begun to take effect, Vermonters, particularly rural working-class Vermonters, are seeing the fallacies in each. They see the combination of higher taxes, the closing of their schools, and the taking of their property rights as the final straws of their ability to live in Vermont.
We are at a crossroads, and it is time for the Governor and Legislative leadership to seek solutions that protect rural Vermont through non-partisan compromise.
The Governor is dead set on totally revamping our school system. The legislature is determined to redefine land use. Both can give, and better outcomes can be the result.
The backlash against the road rule and Tier 3 provisions has been swift and widespread. Vermonters from all walks of life are uniting in opposition. These are the voices of farmers, loggers, teachers, and nurses—people who embody Vermont’s spirit and resilience. Their message is clear: the current paths are unsustainable. These will devastate the lives of the 100,000+ Vermonters who live on or near the 27,000 parcels that will be severely impacted. You can’t protect a working landscape by making it impossible for working people to live on it.
Similarly, the push for school consolidation reflects real concerns but offers the wrong solutions. Vermont has lost 20% of its student population over the past two decades. This decline, coupled with rising healthcare and other costs, has strained our education system. Property taxes are burdening families, and something must change.
However, forced consolidation won’t deliver the cost savings proponents claim. Vermont’s experience with Act 46 demonstrated that any savings from mergers were quickly offset by higher salaries, increased transportation costs, and other expenses. The School District Redistricting Task Force reached the same conclusion. There are no real savings from forced consolidation.
What consolidation does is close schools, create community battles and discord, hollow out towns, and further erode rural Vermont. All without the promised economic savings. Across the country, evidence shows that when a rural school closes, that town never bounces back.
The House just passed an education proposal built on evidence. It will produce savings through cooperative purchasing and collaborative special educational services. It will incentivize mergers where they can work and it will still keep communities whole. The Governor says he can’t support it and has threatened to veto the state budget if he doesn’t get his way.
Act 181, while reducing regulatory barriers in Tier 1 growth areas, imposes stringent environmental oversight on much of the rest of the state through the new Tier 3 and road rule provisions. This includes many 10-acre lots along roadways that could support modest development without fragmenting larger ecosystems.
The solution to these two attacks on rural Vermont lies in compromise. Repealing the Tier 3 provision and the road rule would alleviate the pressure on rural landowners. Simultaneously, passing cooperative services for schools would create property tax savings through collaboration rather than closures.
Both outcomes are achievable if we muster the political will to reach across the aisle. Setting aside egos and partisanship is essential. If the Governor compromises on education policy and the legislature on land use, we can offer rural Vermonters a much-needed lifeline.
Vermont has always been more than just a picturesque landscape. It’s a place where people live, work, and build communities. Farmers, loggers, nurses, teachers—we are Vermont. We’re not just an amenity; we’re the heart of the state.
David Zuckerman served as Vermont’s 81st and 83rd Lieutenant Governor and is an organic farmer in Hinesburg.