A crisis that has been half a century in the making

By Don Keelan

This year’s Legislative members have left Montpelier after having to return for a special vote on H-454. The bill is a multi-page education reform document that will serve as the foundation for unprecedented changes to Vermont’s public-school education, including governance and control, cost, student-teacher ratios, and the closure or merger of schools and districts. 

According to a recent newsletter from our local state rep, “Despite the ferocious debate (and my own misgivings), H-454 represents only the first step in a multi-year legislative process to change the way we govern and fund our schools. At each one of these milestones, the process could move forward or change or stall.”

Of course, we assume that the to-be-created Legislative committees can reach consensus, and their decisions meet with approval from the Legislature, Governor, and maybe the Vermont voters. To this layman, what is about to take place, over the next five years or so, inevitably will result in the following: 

1) Many local school districts will be eliminated 

2) Selected local high schools will close and merge with larger regional schools 3) Selected elementary schools will close and merge with centralized schools 4) Specific independent schools are also in jeopardy of being phased out 5) Professional and nonprofessional staff positions will be terminated 6) The mechanics for funding the per-pupil cost will change dramatically. 7) Real estate taxes for education funding will be reconstituted. 

What brought all the above about is being rationalized as a lower school population since the mid-1980s (approximately 30,000 pupils); double-digit real estate tax increases, along with out-of-control costs to rehabilitate schools’ infrastructure; fewer young families residing in Vermont; lower birthrates; the impact of the COVID pandemic; and exponential health insurance burdens. I do not disagree, but there was also another impactful event. 

The crisis facing Vermont’s education had its genesis, not 30 years ago but 50-plus years ago.

In the early 1970s, Vermont placed the brakes on housing development unless it was done under strict control. Nevertheless, housing continued to be developed for second homeowners, especially in the ski areas. 

The 70s were the time when the country adopted the Clean Water Act legislation. The legislation was sweeping in its requirements, mandating an end to the pollution of the nation’s water resources. Not only in its lakes, rivers, and streams, but also the direct discharge came to an end. 

Along with the mandates came huge government funding to enable localities to eliminate individual residential and commercial wastewater discharge systems and provide the funds to build centralized wastewater treatment plants. The sanitary engineering profession grew exponentially. 

In many locales, building modern infrastructure would mean more people moving into the rural towns and villages. Schools would witness over-crowding, and the much-held New Jersey syndrome blocked any development. Fundamentally, the drawbridge was raised. Now it needs to be lowered at an awful cost. 

Today’s government officials and legislators are addressing the education crisis through the prism of cost containment and providing stronger education advantages through the adoption of H-454. 

For many rural and not-so-rural towns and villages, the local school is more than just an education center. It is a social, athletic, recreational, cultural, and public meeting location, among other things. In essence, the local school has been the heart and soul of the community for generations. With H-454 establishing multiple study committees, how will the above non-quantifiable be factored into the committee’s decisions? 

What should be done is to reverse the mindset of the 1970s and create residential development in our rural areas by building infrastructure for water and wastewater facilities. By doing this, we will be able to build homes to attract the 100,000 future residents who will need to come here to serve our state’s businesses, nonprofits, government agencies, healthcare, and individual sectors. 

All one needs to do is to check in with their local hospital, state police station, daycare center, mental health agency, grocery store, or just try to call a plumber or electrician to ascertain just how critical Vermont is in 2025. We just don’t have young people and families able to reside here.

There is a great deal more to evaluate when it comes to closing a local school(s) than just cost and the benefits of centralized education. Especially so in a state like Vermont. Its rural character is what makes it what it is.

The author is a U.S. Marine (retired), CPA, and columnist living in Arlington, VT.