Vermont Education Commission Questions Its Own Effectiveness

Last year, the legislature created the Commission on the Future of Public Education in Vermont and gave it an ambitious task: to develop a more sustainable, affordable and equitable vision for public education. But five months in, and as the legislature prepares to convene this week, commission members are wrestling with how its work fits into larger policy conversations around education funding. The topic is expected to be hotly debated during the upcoming session.

At a meeting on Monday, commission chair Meagan Roy signaled that lawmakers may change or refine the charge of the 13-member group.

“We shouldn’t be working at cross-purposes” with the legislature, Roy said. “We were convened to serve a purpose. We need to make sure that that is still the [work] the legislature needs us to do.”

Last month, the commission issued a preliminary report to the legislature that outlined, in broad strokes, several policy considerations for reforming the education system — including revising the education funding formula, pooling resources so that students have more equitable learning opportunities and better aligning staffing to enrollment. (Vermont has the most teachers and staff per 100 students in the country, according to the Vermont Agency of Education.) The report also linked to a menu of options for policy change that require further study.

But the report stopped short of giving policy recommendations, noting that there is “no silver bullet solution” to solving the state’s education funding problems. More time and data analysis are necessary to come up with more concrete fixes, it said.

The commission is slated to meet for 10 more months and issue another report in October with final recommendations. But one committee member on Monday questioned whether that timeline was realistic, given that the full commission meets just once a month.

Oliver Olsen, who represents the Vermont Independent Schools Association on the commission, said members may need to “radically reshape” how they operate to meet the deadline.

“There needs to be more division of responsibility and probably some more committee time to really dive into these things,” said Olsen, a former lawmaker and State Board of Education chair.

Commission member John Castle, who is executive director of the Vermont Rural Education Collaborative, stressed the importance of the group remaining independent and “not an extension of the administration.”

Castle expressed reservations about the meeting’s agenda, which included a lengthy presentation from APA Consulting, a firm hired by the Agency of Education. The company’s co-CEO Justin Silverstein gave an overview of what’s known as a foundation formula to pay for education. Used in 36 other states, the mechanism, which Silverstein referred to as a “student-centered formula,”gives school districts a base sum per pupil. Additional money is provided for students who cost more to educate, such as those learning English. Local districts can then choose to spend more money with voter approval. Last March, Rep. Scott Beck (R-St. Johnsbury), floated the model, but his plan didn’t gain traction at the time. (Beck is poised to be sworn in as a senator this week and will serve as the chamber’s minority leader.)

There are questions about whether a foundation formula, and its provision allowing districts to spend more than the base amount provided by the state, would flout the Vermont Supreme Court’s 1997 Brigham decision. That ruling found that all children in Vermont are entitled to equal educational opportunity under the state’s constitution.

Education Secretary Zoie Saunders said the foundation formula could be a way to “ensure consistent quality and equity across the state.”

But in public comment at the end of the meeting, Allen Gilbert, a former executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Vermont, challenged that assertion.

“Equal opportunity … does not allow a system in which educational opportunity is necessarily a function of district wealth,” Allen said, quoting the Brigham decision.

As wrangling happens at the state level, school districts are already developing their budgets — and bracing for another challenging year.

In Essex Westford, for example, the school board is looking to cut $5 to $6 million from its budget to keep tax rate increases in the single digits. In the coming weeks, the board will need to discuss ways to make such dramatic reductions, chair Robert Carpenter told Seven Days during an interview before the meeting.

Carpenter said health insurance for school staff, which has been negotiated at a state level since 2021, is a specific area where major reform is necessary and something that’s totally outside of school districts’ control. Since 2020, health insurance costs for Essex Westford employees have risen by $6.5 million — even with reductions in staff.

Carpenter said he understands why the commission wasn’t able to come up with sweeping solutions to Vermont’s education funding woes in such a short time frame. But he thinks the status quo is untenable for school districts and is hoping that some entity — whether it’s the commission, legislature or Gov. Phil Scott’s administration — will take the reins.

“Someone has to step up in leadership and make a plan,” Carpenter said. “We need clear guidance from the state level as to where we’re going with public education.”
Correction, January 7, 2025: A previous version of this story misreported specific cuts to be made in theEssex Westford district.