WOODSTOCK — The board of Mountain Views Supervisory Union, which encompasses schools in Woodstock, Barnard, Pomfret and five other Vermont towns, is calling on the state Legislature to convene a special session this fall to pass “emergency” legislation to make it easier for school districts to approve and pay for construction projects.
“Without immediate action by the Legislature, the current school funding system requires any district that must borrow to repair, renovate, or rebuild facilities to have its construction debt counted in its ‘education spending’ allotment,” a letter sent by MVSU to lawmakers calling for the special session and released late Tuesday says.
The letter, noting that the state has not chipped in to help pay for school capital expenses since 2007, also urges lawmakers to acknowledge that school infrastructure needs “are a statewide responsibility, not a burden that can be left to local districts alone.”
Inclusion of debt in the formula “artificially inflates” the district’s per-pupil spending and “places schools at risk of hitting the excess spending threshold,” MVSU argued.
Debt incurred for capital expenditures was made part of the formula that determines per-pupil spending in 2024 and triggered tax penalties if districts exceeded their threshold.
But the measure was meant to be temporary, and assurances by lawmakers that the issue would be addressed in subsequent education legislation never materialized, according to Mountain Views Superintendent Sherry Sousa. Tax penalties that kick in when districts exceed their spending thresholds amount to “double taxation,” she said.
“We’re not receiving the funding that is in statute and we cannot raise funds within our communities without impacting the programming of our students,” Sousa said.
If the threshold is crossed, taxpayers are penalized by paying two dollars for every dollar over the limit, which “discourages critical capital investment and forces districts with aging, unsafe buildings into an impossible position: either neglect facilities further or burden taxpayers with punitive double taxation,” the letter says.
Mountain Views is now seeking to enlist the state’s 55 other supervisory unions and districts to co-sign the letter, which was unanimously approved by the MVSU board at its Monday meeting, the supervisory union said in a news release.
Sousa acknowledged that taxpayers must ultimately bear the costs for any school capital expenditures. But by including a district’s capital debt in the formula that determines per-pupil spending, the state exacts higher taxes if the debt pushes spending beyond the state’s threshold. The tax penalty disincentivizes district voters from supporting the underlying construction project, she said.
“I want the taxpayers of our eight towns to make that decision. So the taxpayers are making the decision to assume the financial responsibility. It should not be Montpelier restricting our towns the opportunity to vote on that decision. If our taxpayers absolutely feel that we’re exceeding our expectations in terms of what they can afford, they will give us that message very clearly,” Sousa said.
Last year voters rejected a $99 million bond proposal to build a new Woodstock Union High School and Middle School by 340 votes — a margin of 55% to 45% — following an acrimonious public debate between proponents citing the need and opponents worried about tax ramifications.
Keri Bristow, chair of Mountain Views Supervisory Union, said that it’s urgent lawmakers meet before the annual session opens in January because schools are already getting to work on the next fiscal year’s budget and need to set spending plans accordingly.
“We need to do it in October or November because by December most boards will have formed their budget and it has to be pretty much done by early January,” Bristow said.
MVSU, which since the pandemic serves around 1,000 students pre-K through 12th grade, currently spends about $17,000 per student. Although Woodstock — and to a lesser extent Killington — are considered some of the wealthiest towns in Vermont with the ability to spend on schools accordingly, Bristow said the reputation is dated.
“We’ve heard that criticism. But the fact is Woodstock used to be considered to be a rich town, but right now all of our communities have a lot of second homes in them. The people who live in these towns are not rich by and large … it’s really a legacy that no longer fits the description of our communities,” according to Bristow.
MVSU officials, echoing the reasons for the new Woodstock high school bond that failed, cited a failing drainage system that’s threatening the cafeteria, chemical contamination mitigation, fire-safety compliance and the need for a new septic system — “that’s a $5 million project,” Sousa noted — which are leaving teachers and students in conditions that compromise learning and safety.
“All this has a significant impact on our overall budget,” Sousa said.