The Valley Reporter - Status quo no longer a viable option

On Thursday, the House should be voting on the major focus of our work this session, the education transformation bill, H.454. With months of expert and public testimony behind us, the House bill builds on what the governor and Agency of Education secretary Saunders have proposed but differs in several areas, including a more cautious timeline and process for determining larger districts and implementing a new funding formula. The Senate also has its own versions in development, so it's anyone's guess where we'll land. What unites all the proposals is a shared recognition that the status quo is no longer a viable option given cost pressures, declining enrollment, and persistent inequities in educational offerings. There is broad agreement among policymakers of all stripes that some level of consolidation lies ahead for us. How we get there, how fast and how we pay for it is laid out in this 157-page bill, the first step in a multi-year modernization process.

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H.454 defines the scale, statewide cohesion, and statewide education governance we would need to realize a broader system of public education in Vermont. These proposed changes are big and would require incremental steps, ongoing data gathering and close engagement with education experts and local communities in the process. I'm only highlighting a few pieces of the bill here; you can find the fiscal note and additional resources on my website (daratorrevt.com). Representative White will likely report out more on this next week.

Taking the time to do it right:

December 1, 2025: a newly-created school district boundary subcommittee of the Commission on the Future of Public Education delivers three districting proposals and a report to the Legislature (process recommended by our superintendents).
2026 session: Legislature creates new, larger school district boundaries.
2027 session: Legislature creates voting wards within each school district for the election of school board members.
November 2028: the first school board member elections within the newly-created school districts.
July 2029: new school districts are operational, foundation formula takes effect, new income-sensitivity mechanism (a homestead exemption that reduces the value of a property in line with income) replaces current property tax credit.

Achieving scale: On school sizes, the bill states an intention that schools operating grades six-12, or some subset of those classes, would have a minimum daily membership of at least 450 students. There are exemptions. Goals for elementary school sizes have not been addressed. The bill defines class size minimums – kindergarten classes: 12 students; grades 1-4: 15 students; grades 5-12 in all required content area classes: 18 students; limits multiage classrooms for K-8 to two grade levels per classroom. Excluded from this requirement are CTE classes, flexible pathways, terminal courses, AP courses, courses requiring specialized equipment (e.g., science labs) and driver’s ed. Small groups for special education, English learner instruction, and specialized intervention are also excluded.

A new funding formula

Starting in FY29, how we fund schools would really change. The foundation formula mechanism that most states use provides much more predictability and is less inflationary than the system we have now. Districts would instead receive a base budget of about $15K/student plus additional funding for students who cost more to educate. The Ways & Means Committee chose a path based on current spending, using an initial "cost factor" approach. An escalator to account for inflation, including in health care costs, is also proposed, to be updated regularly. Eventually, as our education delivery becomes more efficient, we can adjust funding to reflect lowered spending achieved by scale. Districts can raise up to 10% more in additional spending based on a formula using the tax capacity of the district; this extra spending would require a local vote. Some portion of what is raised would be returned to the state for use in school construction or other needs, like our current excess spending penalty works.

To ensure we proceed thoughtfully and carefully, the bill also calls for more guidance to inform each stage of planning, including additional studies and data on how to reduce costs and increase fairness in the education fund, spanning pre-K, career technical education, special education, school construction, and adult education.

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