By Guy Page
As Vermont school district voters face (on average) 18% tax hikes due to higher staff salary/benefits costs, loss of Covid-era funding, and the ‘common level of appraisal’ state education tax formula, another huge expense is looming: replacing aging school buildings.
61% of Vermont school buildings are nearing the end of their useful life, a Jan. 3 State Dept. of Education report said. The estimated cost of upgrading buildings statewide is $6.3 billion over 20 years – and that number may be too optimistic, officials say.
The report shows that like the state’s housing stock, Vermont’s school buildings are old and worn down – and in some cases worn out. Many did not escape flood damage. And despite declining enrollment, school buildings are being used more as Vermont adopts a ‘community school’ approach in which the public school offers more and more community services.
No state aid for construction since 2007
In 2007, The Vermont General Assembly suspended state aid for school construction. Since then, a growing backlog of deferred maintenance and renovation projects has resulted. Act 72, passed in 2021, mandated a study to review the scope of the problem.
The resulting assessment covered 384 buildings. It found that 61% have been “subjected to hard and long-term wear and are nearing the end of their useful life.” Another 5% have already reached the end of the road and “renewal is now necessary,” the study concluded. About a third are in serviceable-to-excellent condition.
The $6.3 billion estimated pricetag is just for in-kind replacement of existing buildings. It does not include:
- Additional costs that will be incurred, such as permitting, and any engineering assessments required, waste disposal, materials testing, contingency adder, etc.
- Modernization initiatives in equipment or educational programming spaces.
- Overcrowding concerns that may exist, nor do they consider enrollment projections
“All this to say, that there could be additional costs incurred to address other facilities goals,” the report authors said. Furthermore the report doesn’t specifically address the growing problem of replacement/remediation due to banned PCB chemicals found in dozens of schools.
The report projects an estimated cost timeline:
•Immediate: $228,613,264
•Short Term (1-2 years): $341,424,888
•Near Term (3-5 years): $904,680,288
•Medium Term (6-10 years): $1,426,800,696
•Long Term (10-20 years): $3,450,805,816
•Total: $6,352,324,952
Anticipating that lawmakers may wish to kick the can down the road to future legislatures, the report warns that delay will only boost the cost. “If the level of spending to address identified facilities needs is less than what is required, the cost for unaddressed needs carry over into the next fiscal year. This “snowball” effect will lead to an annual project need that escalates annually.”
What to do and how to do it?
Advising a specific plan to replace aging school buildings is the purview of another advisory board. Act 78 of 2023 created the School Construction Aid Taskforce to examine, evaluate, and
report on issues relating to school construction aid. It has been tasked to develop a specific plan, including funding, setting criteria, and governance.