Category Archives for "School"

PUBLIC ED: H454 – An Open Letter to the Committee | May 29, 2025

Public Education - OPEN LETTER

to the H454 Conference Committee

OPEN LETTER

May 29, 2025

Estimated Reading Time: 3 minutes

This letter is addressed individually and collectively to the members of the H454 conference committee.

Seth Bongartz, Democrat, Bennington, Sbongartz@leg.state.vt.us
Emilie Kornheiser, Democrat, Windham-7, EKornheiser@leg.state.vt.us
Peter Conlon, Democrat, Addison-2, PConlon@leg.state.vt.us
Curt Taylor, Democrat, Chittenden-20, Ctaylor@leg.state.vt.us
Scott Beck, Republican, Caledonia-Essex, SBeck@leg.state.vt.us
Ann Cummings, Democrat, Washington, acummings@leg.state.vt.us

We’ve been watching you and your compatriots and education matters for some years.

You and others have created a bill (H454) that effectively is a state power grab. The taking of education control from all the communities around the state. All of those communities are full of Vermonters.

That term, “power grab”. It’s so 1960’s. Let’s just say you’re seizing control from the public. That’s the same public – the citizens of Vermont - who have done a tremendous job at education cost control over the decades. The data shows that. It’s quite clear. [1]

If it matters to you, your reputation could well be in tatters. Vermonters – all of them, will know what you’ve done – for good or bad. It’s hard to hide closed schools.

And the little “make believe” stories you tell the public. Like the one saying, “you’ll save money”. The research doesn’t agree. [2] [3]

If anything, it’ll cost more. We ALL know that.

And the people who really know. Who know all the details. Groups like the Rural School Community Alliance, Public Assets Institute, and others.

Talk to them. That is, if you really want the truth instead of “spin” from the numerous vested interest groups.

Listen, you have an opportunity here. Dump the bill. Cite irreconcilable differences or some such thing. Then come back next year with something better. And for you, personally... You’ll look stronger in the process. You’re choice.

Now, there is one other point of view. You could try to fix this bad bill. There are some important suggestions about that below. And by now, you have received quite a few emails with similar recommendations.

Here’s an interesting note...

The state is trying to encourage people to move to Vermont. And at the same time, it’s trying to crush the school system that many of those possible new residents care about.

A special note, to the political contingent from Chittenden county. You may not realize this; a great proportion of those thinking about coming to Vermont come here for the rural countryside and the small schools. And you want to crush all that? That makes no sense. Unless of course, you’re trying to raid the newcomers from the rural areas and drive them into Burlington. But that would mean doing that on the backs (and wallets) of the Vermonters in the rural areas. You’re not trying to do that. Right?

Whatever a person does to earn their way through life will always be done better with a better education. Trades people, healthcare workers, foresters and loggers, engineers, restaurant owners, even politicians. WE are all better with better education.

Now, back to the idea of new people moving into Vermont. I have 1st hand evidence of people who are doing the opposite. They are moving out of Vermont due in large part to your actions in education over the past several years.

These are smart people, experienced, high income earners, and business owners. They have friends. The friends come to visit. This sounds like a positive thing. These outcomes and actions are the same thing the state says it’s trying to do. Do you really want to push them out?

Let’s think. Who would want to do that? Some sadistic person(s) trying to make a society of “compliant dumbed-down people”? Would you hope for a future of Vermont citizens who willingly accept whatever is told to them without critical thinking? You’re not trying to do that. Right?

I only ask the question because the plans in various versions of the H454 bill discussed over the past couple of weeks could well lead to exactly that sort of outcome.

The aforementioned is for your consideration. Be sure to give it a good think. We will stay focused.

Bill H454 is a bad bill and Vermonters are much better-off if it’s dead. 

If that’s not feasible; then at least improve it by making the following 7 adjustments.

  1. The Education bill MUST provide that A VOTE OF THE TOWN MUST BE HELD PRIOR TO THE CLOSURE OF ANY SCHOOL.
  2. The Education Bill MUST NOT include any requirements for MINIMUM number of students in a class.
  3. The Education Bill MUST maintain SUPERVISORY UNIONS (which share administrative services and costs among districts),
  4. The Education Bill MUST include a LEGISLATIVE BOUNDARY TASK FORCE that is
    a. REGIONALLY REPRESENTATIVE OF THE STATE
    b. ACCOUNTABLE TO THE ELECTORATE
    c. TAKES INPUT FROM STAKEHOLDERS in developing 3 educational district maps to present to the legislature for approval.
    d. The Task Force will consult with educational experts and leadership in drafting its district maps.
  5. Should the proposed district maps be found unacceptable to the legislature, the Education Bill MUST
    a. provide for an alternative process that requires the formation of Boards of Cooperative Education Services (BOCES) and incentivizes voluntary mergers.
    b. BOCES allow multiple school districts to join together to provide educational services that individual districts might not be able to afford individually.
  6. The Education Bill MUST provide communities with a statement of the TAX IMPACT before committing to using a foundation funding formula for education.
  7. The Education Bill MUST PROVIDE TAX RELIEF, by fixing tax cliffs at certain income levels and by providing FAIRNESS IN THE TAX SYSTEM

Bill H454 is a bad bill and Vermonters are much better-off if it’s dead. 

W. R. Vaughn

Author Info

long-time Barnard resident | 30 year business owner | entrepreneur | international technology consultant | supporter of small farms & big dreams


Are you NEW to this important Public Education matter - Get Caught Up

Your Turn: The Time to Act is NOW...
Your Politicians Need to Hear From You TODAY!

If you have a point of view on this matter or an opinion; this is the time to get your local politicians attention. If you're in Windsor county, here are the email addresses for your Senators.

  • Senator Alison Clarkson, AClarkson@leg.state.vt.us 
  • Senator Joe Major, jmajor@leg.state.vt.us 
  • Senator Becca White, rwhite@leg.state.vt.us

You can easily find the address for your representative below.

If you're in other parts of Vermont, you can easily get the email addresses for the your state senators and representatives below.

Keep this in mind. Particularly for rural schools, towns, and villages (that's most of Vermont) -- where go the schools, so go the towns. In other words; If the schools close, the towns are going to struggle for their existence. Think about it. What conclusion do you come to?

If you're looking for a deeper understanding of all this...
And if you're good at "reading between the lines"

The whole movement to take education control away from local towns and put it in the hands of the governor is usually credited to Governor Phil Scott and his newly appointed and controversial Secretary of Education, Zoie Saunders (formerly of Florida). So you may want to look in that direction. 

You can look here (and other sources)  for more on Saunders.

WATCH: Your Politicians in Action, TODAY

Here is a link to the live stream of the Vermont Senate today. Click on the "Live" tab to get to the live stream. 

Don't Sit in Silence
Contact Info Below

You can find the email addresses for your state senators and representatives by going to this link and searching by your town name.  https://legislature.vermont.gov/people/search/2026

New to this Important Issue?
Get Caught Up...

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PUBLIC ED: ACTION ALERT – Asking for Your Help | May 23, 2025

TODAY: Public Education - ACTION ALERT

Asking for Your Help; details below...

May 23, 2025

Today, Friday May 23rd. It’s been several weeks since the last update. Since then much has happened about the future of Vermont’s public education system that you, your family, and neighbors have depended on for generations.

You may have seen articles in other media or notifications from your local school administrators. Let’s just say this....

The action in the political “sausage factory” that we know as Montpelier has been nothing short of a "leaf in a windstorm".

  • At the end of this update, you will be asked to take action.
  • At the end of this update, you will understand why.
  • At the end of this update, you will… (only you can fill in this blank).

If you’re new to this issue and you don’t know what’s going on. Here’s is a link to a previous article(s) that will quickly get you up to speed. Yep, it’s important. You’ll see why.

If you'd like a little motivational music video while you're reading, click on the video.  

To quickly get you caught up with the last few weeks. I’ll hit the highlights in the “cards” below. Each one has a short description and you can dive into the topic if it captures your attention or just go on to the next card.

It Took Generations to get the Vermont Education System Right -- Weeks for Politicians to Destroy It! click for more...

It’s true that it took generations to get the Vermont Public School system to the high level of achievement that the data and test scores demonstrate. And starting around 2016 or so, the state started their sneaky little project to start tearing down the school system. It was called Act 46. There was a lot of resistance from people who were paying attention and understood what was about to happen.

Unfortunately, not enough people realized in time what was happening. And so, some schools were merged into bigger schools. Some schools closed. Of course, lots of promises were made that were really a lot of hot air.

And numerous reports that were supposed to be conducted to show how “good for the state” Act46 was NEVER HAPPENED. Are you surprised?

Yes, there was Covid 19 that came along and interrupted things. But that was several years ago. Still no reports.

So this action to take your power of local school control away from you and put it in the hands of the state. That’s really just the sequel to Act46.

But now, it’s Bigger & Badder. Time to smell what’s in the air. And that’s not from cows...

Don’t let the good work that previous generations created for us go down the tubes.




 

Big City School System in Vermont? – NO THANKS
click for more...

Think about your local school system, your supervisory union right now. How many students in the system? Perhaps hundreds of kid?

Have you or a neighbor asked for something from the school system. You wanted to talk with someone in-charge? You needed something or your child needed something from the school system.

Okay, how easy or difficult was that? You remembering now?

Well how difficult do you think it would be if the school system had over 4000 students (yes, that’s FOUR THOUSAND STUDENTS) to deal with.

Do you expect they’ll pay much attention to you? Uh-huh, that’s right.

And where are those schools going to be? And that’s how far from where you live?
Your local school is close, right? After they finish shutting down the schools it’ll probably be a lot further away.

So  then, what happens to the little kids, the elementary students? Bouncing around on a bus for a couple of hours each day? Some people might consider that a form of torture.

There are more effects of having a Big City school system in Vermont. Give it some thought, you’ll see the other “not so good” things that would happen.

Oh, and what about the money savings? Look at the next card...

 

Public says, “Taxes too high”.
Politicians say, “Don’t Let a Good Crisis Go To Waste”  click for more...

Taxes too high? Yep, but why? They say it’s education but when looking at the Big Picture that does not seem to make sense. Let’s look.

This information was compiled by researchers and came from multiple cross-checked sources and the education numbers were from the National Association of State Budget Officers. https://www.nasbo.org/mainsite/resources/proposed-enacted-budgets/vermont-budget

Let’s look back at the numbers for 1995 (30 years ago) and 2025.

The total 1995 Vermont budget was $2.1 billion.
This year in 2025 it’s $8.6 billion. A 310% increase.

What about your home value?
The average 1995 home value was $95,600.
This year in 2025 the average home value is $414,000. A 370% increase.

How about statewide healthcare costs?
The 1995 healthcare costs was $1.2 billion.
This year in 2025 the healthcare costs are $6.6 billion. A 450% increase. 

What about the education costs we hear so much about? What are the numbers?
The 1995 K-12 Education spending was $1.3 billion.
This year in 2025 the Education spending was $2.4 billion. A 90% increase.

That means while all those other things had 300% and 400% increases the education cost increase was LESS THAN 100%. Sounds like the schools have been running a pretty tight ship.

Maybe the witch-hunt needs to move elsewhere and let the teachers teach our kids.

Hey Politician, “HOPE” is NOT a plan.
click for more...

On May 10th at a community forum in Addison county a senior senator was heard saying, “…the need to consolidate and remove superintendencies which will "hopefully save money".  

To you, does that sound like significant savings are on the way?  Of course that statement is out of context. But to those who heard it. There was a real message of uncertainty.

And so this uncertainty of saving money would come at a price of what? Destroying Vermont’s education system that your families and friends and neighbors families depend on?
 
Another gem from this senior senator was, “(the new plan) is a lot like Act 46 but with more state involvement”.

That's good to know. The state created Act 46 and that was bad enough. It seems they’re saying; Look out Vermont, we’ll give you the heavy duty version now.  

This, is “Leadership”? Looks like a bunch of 16 year olds waited til the night before to do a term paper. EXCEPT...  click for more...

There’s a reason that lawmaking is referred to as a sausage factory. It’s a messy affair at the best of times. But it can be made worse.
 
The problem is that it comes at your expense. Deal making, favors owed, favors asked, the “back room”. You’ve heard it all before.

Those who are long time legislature watchers have remarked on the particular ugliness in dealing with this so called, education reform.

And maybe that’s all a good thing. The bill (H454) is not just sliding through at midnight.
But there are quite a few new faces in Montpelier. After the last election cycle, there were quite a few new lawmakers who are “new to scene” and may not have the background on the issues to make proper assessments of what’s going on.
 
They’ll learn. Hopefully sooner than later.

And maybe you can help them learn by voicing your opinion on this matter. Click to find the email address of your senator and representative.

 

Hey Politician, Gasoline and a Match is NOT a PLAN!
click for more...

Do politicians wonder how they get such a bad or distrustful reputation? Maybe it’s when they tear down a good thing while telling everyone it’s bad thing and it had to go.

You know what? The ever-trusting public buys into that a lot of the time. Isn’t it amazing that anything works?

But there are somethings that are just sooo bad. And this is one of them.

Your politicians are standing by, ready to hear from you.

 

“Readers are Leaders” & “Learners are Earners”. Read and Understand the unbiased research and come back next year with a real plan.  click for more...

Dear legislator. Take yourself to school. Get valid, unbiased information on this important matter from a source that does NOT have a dog in the fight. Not the superintendents organization or teachers groups, etc.

I think you’ll have good luck as some of your colleagues already have at the Rural Schools Community Alliance. The only dog they have are the citizens of Vermont. And we are NOT dogs!

 

Politician goes into a bar and says, “We came up with 2 options; BAD and WORSE. Which shall we pick?”
click for more...

Some jokes don’t even need a punchline. This says it all, doesn’t it?

Republican vs. Democrat? But wait! There’s more. How about, City (Burlington?) vs. Rural (that’s all the rest of us)? click for more...

We all know about the very common Democrat and Republican split. Although, in state politics there can be less of a split than national politics. But here’s something you don’t often see in Vermont.

Now there’s a city vs. rural split. The city in question usually means Burlington and the neighboring towns.

Here’s a way to look at a split or division between 2 or more groups. Don’t do it. Don’t fall for that old trick. It’s the favorite tactic of those who want to exploit the 2 groups. So don’t fall for it.
Instead, come up with solutions that satisfy both groups. Caution: it may require a little extra thinking.  

 

Your Turn: The Time to Act is NOW...
They Need to Hear From You BEFORE Today's Vote!

If you have a point of view on this matter or an opinion; this is the time to get your local politicians attention. If you're in Windsor county, here are the email addresses for your Senators.

  • Senator Alison Clarkson, AClarkson@leg.state.vt.us 
  • Senator Joe Major, jmajor@leg.state.vt.us 
  • Senator Becca White, rwhite@leg.state.vt.us

You can easily find the address for your representative below.

If you're in other parts of Vermont, you can easily get the email addresses for the your state senators and representatives below.

Keep this in mind. Particularly for rural schools, towns, and villages (that's most of Vermont) -- where go the schools, so go the towns. In other words; If the schools close, the towns are going to struggle for their existence. Think about it. What conclusion do you come to?

If you're looking for a deeper understanding of all this...
And if you're good at "reading between the lines"

The whole movement to take education control away from local towns and put it in the hands of the governor is usually credited to Governor Phil Scott and his newly appointed and controversial Secretary of Education, Zoie Saunders (formerly of Florida). So you may want to look in that direction. 

You can look here (and other sources)  for more on Saunders.

WATCH: Your Politicians in Action, TODAY

Here is a link to the live stream of the Vermont Senate today. Click on the "Live" tab to get to the live stream. 

Don't Sit in Silence
Contact Info Below

You can find the email addresses for your state senators and representatives by going to this link and searching by your town name.  https://legislature.vermont.gov/people/search/2026

New to this Important Issue?
Get Caught Up...

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PUBLIC ED: Montpelier, House Ways & Means – Testimony Backed by 78 Towns | April 3, 2025

TODAY: Public Education; Clear Statements & Testimony - Backed by 78 towns Across VT

WATCH as 2 Veteran Public Ed Leaders Explain...

April 3, 2025

Midday today, Thursday April 3rd. Testimony was given to the House Ways & Means Committee (they deal with all types of financial matters for the state) by 2 “on the ground” experienced leaders in public education.

Tons of attention has been drawn to education matters due to the proposal from Governor Scott and his controversial Secretary of Education, Zoie Saunders. For more on Saunders and this matter.

There were a number of people offering testimony today. Among them were Jeanne Albert and Ryan Heraty.

Jeanne Albert is the Chair of the Lincoln School District Board and a retired Professor of Mathematics from Middlebury College. Lincoln is located about 15 miles from Middlebury, VT. Click here to jump directly to her testimony.

Testifying next was Ryan Heraty who is the Superintendent of Lamoille South Supervisory Union (located about 10 miles north of Stowe, VT). Click here to jump directly to his testimony.

If You Want to be Heard...
There's No Time like the Present

If you have a point of view on this matter or an opinion; this is a tremendous opportunity to say your piece.  The email addresses for the your state senators and representatives are below.

Keep this in mind. Particularly for rural schools, towns, and villages (that's most of Vermont) -- where go the schools, so go the towns. In other words; If the schools close, the towns are going to struggle for their existence. Think about it. What conclusion do you come to?

If you're looking for a deeper understanding of all this...
And if you're good at "reading between the lines"

The whole movement to take education control away from local towns and put it in the hands of the governor is usually credited to Governor Phil Scott and his newly appointed and controversial Secretary of Education, Zoie Saunders (formerly of Florida). So you may want to look in that direction. 

You can look here (and other sources)  for more on Saunders.

WATCH: The House Ways & Means Committee 
Testimony on Opposition to the
Governor's Public Education Proposal

The video below is the Vermont House Ways & Means Committee in a meeting today (4/3/2025).

The video starts at the point where the indicated person begins speaking. If you want to watch the entire meeting you can start the video at the beginning if you like. Recordings of this committee can be found at the following link House Ways & Means Live-stream and Recordings.

Testimony from Jeanne Albert, Chair Lincoln School District Board

Testimony from Ryan Heraty, Superintendent of Lamoille South Supervisory Union

Don't Sit in Silence
Contact Info Below

You can find the email addresses for your state senators and representatives by going to this link and searching by your town name.  https://legislature.vermont.gov/people/search/2026

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Montpelier, House Ed Cmte: Make an Agreement. Break an Agreement. March 27, 2025

TODAY: Montpelier House Education Cmte: 
Make an Agreement. Break an Agreement

Breaking News: WATCH as Date Set to Break Agreement

March 27, 2025

As of noon today, Thursday March 27th. The house education committee set the date when the state of Vermont will break their agreement made with towns around the state. The agreement is known as the Articles of Agreement. At the risk of over-simplifying; it has to do with your local schools and keeping them open or closing them. That's obviously a very big deal to most towns and villages within Vermont. 

The video of today's action in Montpelier is below, but keep reading a bit more...

Today's action follows from yesterday's surprise news of a new section added to draft bill H.454 (designed to severely overhaul Vermont's education system) authorizing the state to cancel their previous agreement with towns.

As it's currently understood, the new language would void the current "articles of agreement". Those agreements were developed a few years ago under the state's Act 46 school consolidation effort. 

The new language would give authority to school boards to close schools at their sole discretion. In practical terms that means: (a) No public input; (b) No voting. To be clear: that means the agreements reached a few years ago (around 2018 or so) would be thrown out!

To give you a little bit of context, the proposed school system restructuring plan wants to have ONLY 5 school districts. There's a little debate on the exact number but it's far FEWER than we currently have. To put a fine point on it...

Your voice, your influence in the schools under this proposed new system would have FAR LESS IMPACT than you have right now. Your voice has already been watered-down due to the state's Act 46 consolidation of a few years ago. So this new plan would reduce your thoughts and input about the schools to...   what; essentially ZERO?

And with the new language put into the draft bill this morning (if it's eventually passed), you will have about 1 1/2 years before the state can essentially close down your school if they want to. And what will you be able to do about it, if you don't like that? NOTHIN'. Absolutely nothing! 

If You Want to be Heard...
There's No Time like the Present
(maybe your only time)

If you have a point of view on this matter or an opinion; this is a tremendous opportunity to say your piece.  The email addresses for the committee members (that you'll see in the video) are below.

Keep this in mind. Particularly for rural schools, towns, and villages (that's most of Vermont) -- where go the schools, so go the towns. In other words; If the schools close, the towns are going to struggle for their existence. Think about it. What conclusion do you come to?

If you're looking for a deeper understanding of all this...
And if you're good at "reading between the lines"

The whole movement to take education control away from local towns and put it in the hands of the governor is usually credited to Governor Phil Scott and his newly appointed and controversial Secretary of Education, Zoie Saunders (formerly of Florida). So you may want to look in that direction. 

You can look here (and other sources)  for more on Saunders.

WATCH: The House Education Committee 
Agreeing When to Cancel the Agreement

The video below is the Vermont House Education Committee in a meeting today (3/27/2025) in a discussion of when to cancel the agreement made with towns just a few years ago on the future of their schools. 

The video starts at the point where this topic begins. If you want to watch the entire meeting you can start the video at the beginning if you like. Recordings of this committee can be found at the following link House Education Live-stream and Recordings.

Don't Sit in Silence
Contact Info Below

You can find the email addresses for your state senators and representatives by going to this link and searching by your town name.  https://legislature.vermont.gov/people/search/2026

You can also email your letter to the House Education Committee. Their email addresses are below.  

House Education Contact Information:
Rep. Peter Conlon, Chair - pconlon@leg.state.vt.us
Rep. Chris Taylor, Vice-Chair - cataylor@leg.state.vt.us
Rep. Erin Brady, Ranking Member - ebrady@leg.state.vt.us
Rep. Jana Brown, Clerk - jbrown@leg.state.vt.us
Rep. Joshua Dobrovich - jdobrovich@leg.state.vt.us
Rep. Leanne Harple - lharple@leg.state.vt.us
Rep. Robert Hunter - rhunter@leg.state.vt.us
Rep. Emily Long - elong@leg.state.vt.us
Rep. Kate McCann - kmccann@leg.state.vt.us
Rep. Beth Quimby - bquimby@leg.state.vt.us
Rep. Casey Toof - ctoof@leg.state.vt.us
Annie Gianni, Committee Staff - agianni@leg.state.vt.us

Related Posts

School Board Authority to Close Your School March 26, 2025

School Board Authority to Close Your School

Breaking News: Last Minute Language Added - Would Void Current Articles of Agreement...

March 26, 2025

As of noon today. New language has been added at the last minute to draft bill H.454 (designed to severely overhaul Vermont's education system) and is under discussion at the time of this writing. 

This is a day of testimony in Montpelier by a number of grass-roots organizations about the sweeping education overhaul plan proposed by Governor Scott and his newly appointed and controversial Secretary of Education, Zoie Saunders (formerly of Florida). For more on Saunders. 

As it's currently understood, the new language would void the current "articles of agreement". Those agreements were developed a few years ago under the state's Act 46 school consolidation effort. 

The new language would give authority to school boards to close schools. That means the agreements reached a few years ago around 2018 or so) would be thrown out!

To give you a little bit of context, the proposed school system restructuring plan wants to have ONLY 5 school districts. There's a little debate on the exact number but it's far FEWER than we currently have. To put a fine point on it...

Your voice, your influence in the schools under this proposed new system would have FAR LESS IMPACT than you have right now. Your voice has already been watered-down due to the state's Act 46 consolidation of a few years ago. So this new plan would reduce your thoughts and input about the schools to...   what; essentially ZERO?

And with the new language put into the draft bill this morning, it's easy to get the idea that closing of schools (maybe lots of them) is high on the list for the folks who are driving this bill. 

Keep this in mind. Particularly for rural schools, towns, and villages (that's most of Vermont) -- where go the schools, so go the towns. In other words; If the schools close, the towns are going to struggle for their existence. Think about it. What conclusion do you come to?  

School Closure Section Added to Latest Version of House Ed Bill
Committee Discussing Now

A link to the bill will be provided here as soon as available.

ALSO, you can watch government in action and local grass-roots organizations by going to YouTube and watching the live-streams or the recordings of them from earlier today (or previous days).  Here's the link for the House Education Live-stream and Recordings. 

Don't Sit in Silence
Contact Info Below

You can find the email addresses for your state senators and representatives by going to this link and searching by your town name.  https://legislature.vermont.gov/people/search/2026

You can also email your letter to the House Education Committee. Their email addresses are below.  

House Education Contact Information:
Rep. Peter Conlon, Chair - pconlon@leg.state.vt.us
Rep. Chris Taylor, Vice-Chair - cataylor@leg.state.vt.us
Rep. Erin Brady, Ranking Member - ebrady@leg.state.vt.us
Rep. Jana Brown, Clerk - jbrown@leg.state.vt.us
Rep. Joshua Dobrovich - jdobrovich@leg.state.vt.us
Rep. Leanne Harple - lharple@leg.state.vt.us
Rep. Robert Hunter - rhunter@leg.state.vt.us
Rep. Emily Long - elong@leg.state.vt.us
Rep. Kate McCann - kmccann@leg.state.vt.us
Rep. Beth Quimby - bquimby@leg.state.vt.us
Rep. Casey Toof - ctoof@leg.state.vt.us
Annie Gianni, Committee Staff - agianni@leg.state.vt.us

Related Posts

Why Can’t Johnny Read | Governor to Trash Public Ed March 19, 2025

Will You be Saying, "Why Can't Johnny Read?"

Will it be Because Gov. Scott is Trashing Public Education?

March 19, 2025

Don't you hate alarmist headlines? Agreed. But this isn't one of them. 

If you haven't noticed all the reporting about the governor's proposed plan to make incredibly sweeping changes to public education in all of Vermont - let's get you up to speed.

I'll provide you with a couple of sources so you can hear about this from different voices.

Barnard's own Carin Park (school board representative and Mountain Views School Board Director) last week published in the Barnard Listserv a very action oriented article. Click here for Carin's Article.

From that article, I think you'll understand there's a very real sense of urgency. Urgency; that's means the USS Vermont is taking on water. All Hands on Deck! (fyi, that statement is not about the submarine called the USS Vermont)

[Thinking out loud for a minute... If I didn't know better, I'd think the guv is taking a page from the Washington DC crowd and just blowing up the whole system and creating havoc. Huh, that would be bad! Kid's have to read, write, think, know some history, do a little math - right? Experimenting on kids' future is just wrong. I want to say, "for shame". But too late for that. Don't get angry - take action. - Ed.]

And here's the 2nd source...

This one is a video. It's kind of, "home-spun". If you get past that and just listen and understand what's being said, I'm sure you'll find some value there too.

Below is the video. If you want to jump to the part where he really picks up steam. Scroll along to 3 minutes 20 seconds. 

Article from Carin Park
Mountain Views School Board Director

Hello Barnard,
In a follow up from town meeting day I thought it would be helpful to send along some further information related to education reform efforts here in Vermont, and what you can do to help support our local schools.

In February, the Mountain Views School District, and the Barnard Selectboard, voted to join Rural School Community Alliance (RSCA). I have sent some information over the past weeks regarding this Alliance. As of this week 51 boards from across Vermont , school boards, select boards and other entities like parent teachers groups have voted to join the alliance. An additional 24 boards have votes scheduled in March. That so many boards have stepped up so quickly is significant. It is an indication of the urgency and concern related to our community public schools and their future.

The work of the Alliance is to advocate in the statehouse in support of rural schools and local school boards. We feel schools and their boards are essential elements in a strong public education system. We feel public education will be diminished when school boards are eliminated and schools are closed.

We all care about affordability and know that change needs to happen. However, RSCA does not think closing thriving public schools and eradicating local control is the answer, and we detail other suggestions regarding moderating spending and adjusting the system as a whole to be more cost effective. We understand that unsustainable schools with severe declining enrollment may need to close but feel communities faced with such circumstances need support rather than to be abandoned.

RSCA has retained a lobbyist to help navigate the statehouse so our voices can be heard and our views can be represented in legislation being passed. This is a difficult task. For Barnard Academy and Woodstock MS/HS and other schools to survive we will need to thread a needle with a tiny hole and a fine thread. The targets being discussed in relation to the Governor's proposal, called “ efficiency thresholds,” are modelled after centralized elementary schools of 450 students, and high schools of 600+, and are governed by only 5 state-wide school district boards.

How can you help? RSCA is a grassroots organization built from scratch since January powered by many volunteers.

1. Check out the RSCA website: https://vtruralschools.org/ . On the website you can read more about the Alliance and the policy proposals we support. You can also join as an individual and get updates on what is going on. Additionally you can donate to support this work. While we are volunteers, the professional support of a lobbyist comes at a price. We are working to raise $40,000 to support this work. Any donation you make will be appreciated and put to good use. You can donate directly from the website or send a check by mail.

2. Make your voice heard: The legislature is asking Vermonters to complete a survey called "Your Voice on Vermont's Public Education Future," to help shape the policies and decisions they make in the State House. Complete the survey at this link, due Friday, March 14.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSekaIn7kWtYfaQcY-3cOXzrhfn19A6LqeSfuw4oBElabPtVdQ/viewform

3. Write to legislators. Consider using the template pasted below and/or revise to reflect your views on education reform. The more we speak up about our values and priorities, the more they may be reflected in legislation.

Many thanks for your support of the school budget on town meeting day and for your support of our school in the future as a key ingredient to a thriving community.

Best,
Carin Park
Mountain Views School Board Director

LETTER TEMPLATE:
Dear

Governor Scott has presented a radical plan to reduce the costs of Vermont’s public schools. Components of the proposed plan will completely overhaul our public education system without due consideration for Vermont’s unique rural landscape and the role our schools play in our communities. Any reform must consider the adverse impacts on rural children, elementary schools and communities, and must ensure actual savings for taxpayers.

Our public schools are under terrific pressure. They have endured years of change and upheaval. Students are struggling and teachers are leaving the profession. Is now the time for unproven reforms and a major overhaul of our schools? We understand the need to address the rising cost of education while avoiding adverse impacts on our children and communities. And we must ensure actual savings for taxpayers.

I believe Vermont needs thoughtful, community-driven reforms that strengthen rather than dismantle our public education system. Instead of pursuing a one-size-fits-all approach, please come up with alternative solutions that support Vermont’s diverse educational landscape:
• Keep elementary school students close to home. Support elementary schools as community hubs that enhance both early learning and economic development.
•Encourage regional collaboration for secondary schools by streamlining upper grade education delivery, including tech schools, while maintaining flexibility for local needs. Regional conversations allow schools to complement each other in terms of offerings.
•Remove costs from the Education Fund that are the result of political rather than educational needs. Skyrocketing health care, student mental health services, and teacher pension costs should not be paid from the property tax.
•Support local school boards working in collaboration as supervisory unions.
•Act now to smooth funding cliffs in the property tax system.
•Vermont needs balanced, research-backed solutions that truly benefit Vermont students, families, taxpayers and communities. Closing community elementary schools and dismantling local governance is not the answer.

Thank you for considering these ideas

Sincerely

For your email subject line, a good choice would be: School Governance

You can find the email addresses for your state senators and representatives by going to this link and searching by your town name.  https://legislature.vermont.gov/people/search/2026

You can also email your letter to the House Education Committee. Their email addresses are below.  

House Education Contact Information:
Rep. Peter Conlon, Chair - pconlon@leg.state.vt.us
Rep. Chris Taylor, Vice-Chair - cataylor@leg.state.vt.us
Rep. Erin Brady, Ranking Member - ebrady@leg.state.vt.us
Rep. Jana Brown, Clerk - jbrown@leg.state.vt.us
Rep. Joshua Dobrovich - jdobrovich@leg.state.vt.us
Rep. Leanne Harple - lharple@leg.state.vt.us
Rep. Robert Hunter - rhunter@leg.state.vt.us
Rep. Emily Long - elong@leg.state.vt.us
Rep. Kate McCann - kmccann@leg.state.vt.us
Rep. Beth Quimby - bquimby@leg.state.vt.us
Rep. Casey Toof - ctoof@leg.state.vt.us
Annie Gianni, Committee Staff - agianni@leg.state.vt.us

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H.S. Building – New Options from District – June 18, 2024

High School Building -  
New Options from District

June 18, 2024

The school district presented on June 3rd a few options for the  renovation or replacement of the existing middle and high school buildings. Below is a brief summary of the costs of the options. 

Details of the various plans were described during the school board meeting and can be seen on the video provided by the school district. Also the meeting was reported in the June 6th edition of the Vermont Standard (online link to article not available at time of publication).

Summary of Options

Original Plan. The original plan to replace both the middle and high school buildings was priced at ($99 million in March 2024). That proposal was voted down by the public. Today that proposal has a cost of $105 million (5% more due to 1 year change of start date – if that plan were to be selected).

Modified Original Plan. The original plan was adjusted by reducing  the size or some of the features of portions of the building. That version of the plan resulted in a price tag of $100 million.

Renovate Plan. Another plan based on renovating the existing middle and high school is quoted at $101 million - $105 million (depending on options).

Hybrid Plan. A hybrid plan based on replacing the high school portion and renovating only the interior space of the middle school comes in at $92 million.

Graph of Building Cost Options

Below is a simple graph showing the  costs of the various options.

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School Buildings – A Conversation with the Inner Skeptic – June 14, 2024

School Buildings -  
A Conversation with the Inner Skeptic

June 14, 2024

With all the discussion and questions a few months ago about the high school building and again a week or two ago; a bit of curiosity developed.

What’s happening with school buildings in other places? Not just in the next county but elsewhere in the US and other countries. It seems like an interesting question. It also seems like a big job to find out about that, doesn’t it?

Being short on time, this investigation had to be a small job. In fact, this is not so much an investigation. It's just a small effort. The point is to get a sense of what it’s like to develop a school building in other places.

There is one thing that could be said, even before starting this. Whatever is learned, will certainly have many parts that do not apply to our local set of circumstances. There is NO doubt of that. And on the other hand…

The schools built by others, whether located here, there, or elsewhere do have quite a few similarities. They have the environmental amenities (AC, heating, ventilation, sanitation, lighting). They are built to last a reasonable time and to accommodate a student population appropriate to the local needs, but not absurdly small nor overly large.

With those thoughts in mind. Would it be reasonable to say that the schools' circumstances though not perfectly aligned would be similar enough that we may learn a few significant things?

Overhearing the thoughts of the Inner Skeptic (everyone has one, right?) - “well, maybe, you might possibly learn something, argh”. Okay Inner Skeptic, that’s close enough, let’s run with it.

Digging In

Online articles and data show a fair amount of information on school construction costs. After 30 minutes of weeding through the material, a couple of nuggets were discovered.

The Good Ol’ Days - 3 years ago

One reference (linked below) shows the average school building cost in 2021 (3 years ago). The costs are given for various cities (not rural locations) around the world. The chart (below) shows the cost per square meter. Not square foot as commonly discussed. We can easily correct for that by dividing by 10 to turn that number into dollars per square foot.

 https://www.statista.com/statistics/758120/global-school-building-costs-in-cities/

Taking the example of a school in New York in 2021. The average cost is $485 per square foot.

For comparison, the cost mentioned by the school district’s finance director during the meeting in February of this year is approximately $627 per square foot - Barnard high school info meeting Feb '24 - See VIDEO at 1 hour 59 min.

 A Hockey Stick?

The graph below has nothing to do with hockey. But the shape of the graph unfortunately does looks similar to a hockey stick. The jagged line indicates the rising cost of constructing school buildings. It rises slowly from 2005 to about 2021 then rockets upward after that.

 https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/PCU236222236222

The graph is called the Producer Price Index. It’s maintained by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. As the label at the top indicates, it shows the average for school construction costs from 2005 to 2024. The sharp increase started in 2021. The cause of the increase is generally given to the effects of COVID-19. Labor shortages and material shortages.

Hope on the Horizon?

After 1 hour of online digging, 2 ideas came to the surface. Have a look below, come to your own conclusions about the 2 particular ideas. But there’s more to this exercise than just that.

The bigger point is there may be more worthwhile ideas waiting to be found. But for the moment, have a look at the findings so far.

Saving Good Money

Modular home construction has been around for years. NOW, there’s modular school construction. Savings of 25% - 35% are claimed in the article referenced below. In cases where a fully modular building is not the right answer, there is a combination approach of modular and conventional construction. The article referenced was produced by a manufacturer of modular school buildings. But it shows projects that have actually been constructed. This idea may have some concepts worth considering. https://www.americanmodular.com/modular-school-construction-costs/

Saving Really BIG Money

Bundle multiple school construction projects and save money based on “volume” pricing. The article referred to a Maryland school system. For Vermont, this may be an idea appropriate at the state level. https://www.governing.com/finance/prince-georges-county-saves-big-by-bundling-school-construction

Conclusion: Take-away Message

This short article shows 2 things. One known. One (or maybe a few) that are new.

  1. Construction costs are much higher than just 3 years ago.  
  2. One hour of online research with an open mind resulted in the discovery of 2 cost-saving ideas that are perhaps worth consideration.

Imagine what might happen with a few more motivated folks and a bit of time.

Final words from the Inner Skeptic

“Alright, alright. You made your point. Those ideas; they were okay. I’ll dig around a little more. If some smart ideas do the job AND save me bucks - I’m in…”

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