Vermont pays more per student than 47 other states, but ranks below average in national SAT scores. Although I am willing to pay more for exceptional goods and services, I expect to pay less for mediocre results. So, first prove to us that you can spend our dollars wisely and effectively; then, ask us for more. Speaking the language our Department of Education can understand, it scores a C-minus on its report card
While we appreciate the Harwood Unified Union School District’s 2.75% budget increase and the governor’s proposed 3% cap on increases in education spending, that is nothing to write home about, because it limits Vermont’s increase to at least $66,000,000! Remember, fellow readers, that’s on top of an already bloated, inefficient, wasteful and double-digit tax increase. It’s insulting that they seem to consider us clueless puppets who can be placated by “only” 2.75%? What nerve. How appreciative would you have been when the oil companies were tapping our jugulars at $4 per gallon of gasoline then increased it by “only” 11₵?
In May 2024, the approved budget for the HUUSD was $14,250 per pupil, which is higher than the state average of $13,396. In a U.S. News and World Report, Harwood Union High School was ranked 12th in Vermont.” HUUSD’s grade: D-minus.
So, I understand property owners in all district towns will see their property taxes decrease by different percentages, while Fayston’s will increase substantially. That does not sound like a “Common Level” of Anything. Except for (ear)rings and teeth, I’ve not seen any precious metal in this “Gold Town”. And, I’ll bet neither has any one of its thousand-plus residents. There is no gold in ‘them thar hills.’
Additional appropriate quotations and facts:
“Don Tinney, president of the Vermont-National Education Association, has said ‘the education fund is a beast,’ as Vermonters continue to have to feed it monetarily without looking at true, structural reform to the education system. If the state were delivering not only topnotch education to students but good test scores that rivaled other states, then am I all in. Our state, however, continues to show an annual decline in both student populations and student outcomes while the cost to educate these students increases each year.”
“...simply increasing Education spending does not appear to improve American students' academic achievement to improve learning” per Google AI.
“. . . simply increasing spending is unlikely to improve educational performance. The high and increasing percentage of funding that is allocated to non-classroom expenditures is evidence of the need to improve resource allocation in the nation's public schools. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, only 52% of public education expenditures are spent on instruction. This percentage has been slowly decreasing over recent decades. Federal and state policymakers should resist proposals to increase funding for public education. Historical trends and other evidence suggest that simply increasing funding for public elementary and secondary education has not led to corresponding improvement in academic achievement. . . ever-increasing funding of education has not led to similarly improved student performance,” per www.heritage.org
“A new report issued Tuesday by third-party consultants, written by Picus Odden & Associates and commissioned by the Vermont Legislature, says that as of last year, Vermont was spending $400 million to $460 million more on its schools (26% of its budget) than what it calls “adequate expenditure,” reports VTDigger.
The education funding calculations are unnecessarily complex. If they were trying to impress us with their mathematical skills by calculating distortion of the space-time continuum with exponentially increasing velocity toward infinite mass, according to Einstein, well then, we would be impressed. However, this should be math 101. Note: Vermont Electric Co-op is increasing rates “equally applied to all members through a flat increase across all rate classes.” Simple, easy, and very fair. What must we do to force our representatives to represent us? Remind them to “KISS”? Because they have been kicking this can down the road for decades, and have not addressed that egregiously inequitable formula, our Legislature gets a big fat double “F” on its report card.
Zonies lives in Fayston.
