The state board tasked with setting education standards for Vermont’s schools elected a new chair: Tammy Kolbe, a researcher and national expert in education funding.
Kolbe has served as acting chair of the State Board of Education since former chair Jennifer Samuelson suddenly resigned during a meeting last month, citing a host of personal reasons. Board members Wednesday unanimously elected Kolbe to carry out the rest of Samuelson’s term, which runs through the end of February.
“It’s really an honor to be able to serve the state in this capacity,” Kolbe said in an interview.
The state board is tasked with regulating education standards and approving independent schools, among other responsibilities. The leadership transition comes as the board is working under tight deadlines to create standards to evaluate school merger proposals in the coming months. The board must also develop statewide graduation requirements for high schools by January.
Rep. Emilie Kornheiser, D-Brattleboro, chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, which handles education finance policy, said she’s excited to have Kolbe serve as the board’s new chair. She considers Kolbe to be data-driven and realistic about what’s possible, she said.
“She has an incredibly broad view of what’s happening nationally, both in terms of best practice but also in terms of just how education institutions are functioning all over the country,” Kornheiser said in an interview.
Kolbe said she works as a researcher advising the federal government and states on education policy. She was previously a professor of education leadership and policy at the University of Vermont.
“Pretty much all I do is think about education policy and finance,” Kolbe said.
Members of school boards around the state have begun meeting this fall to consider district mergers, as directed by this year’s education reform law, Act 170.
The state education board is positioned to play an important role in the merger process. The board is tasked with evaluating the proposals of merger study committees and deciding if they benefit the state when pieced together, Kolbe said.
Throughout the next couple months, Kolbe said, a panel of board members will be drafting a framework to evaluate whether proposed mergers are beneficial to the state. She said the board is trying to be proactive and transparent about its standards so that merger study committees know what to expect.
During the Wednesday meeting, board members also elected Cynthia Stuart, a consultant with a background in fiscal regulation, to serve as vice chair.
Eight of the board’s 10 members are appointed by the governor, while two members are appointed by the speaker of the House and the Senate Committee on Committees, respectively. Board chairs are elected by fellow members. Kolbe could be reelected chair at the end of her term.
This story was first published by VTDigger and is republished with permission as part of the Vermont Journalism Trust’s Community News Sharing Project.