Senate proposes deep dive study on staff-student ratio, school consolidation
By Guy Page
Five school districts approved revised school budgets Tuesday, May 7. One school district voted down a revised budget.
South Burlington, Essex-Westford, St. Johnsbury, Caledonia Cooperative (Barnet, Walden, and Waterford), and Washington Central Supervisory Union (Berlin, Middlesex, Calais, East Montpelier, and Worcester) all approved their revised budgets.
For South Burlington (2246-1706) and St. Johnsbury (673-475), it was the third vote. Essex-Westford (2404-1905), Washington Central (1222-1023), and Caledonia Cooperative (321-311) were voting for a second time.
Alburgh, the lone No (100-136), was voting a second time.
The South Burlington budget has been cut $3.2 million since Town Meeting. The likely property tax rate increase will likely be just under 10%. The Essex-Westford school district cut $4.5 million to get spending down to $76 million, with a likely 12.9% property tax increase. The St. Johnsbury school district lopped off $1 million from its Town Meeting budget of $30.3 million.
The final property tax rate will depend on the details of the final version of H.887, the Legislature’s attempt to at least temporarily fix the school funding formula that resulted in many school districts ‘loading up’ on added spending because of a built-in cap on self-imposed property tax increases. So many districts took advantage of this feature that – along with lost pandemic funding, increased health care and salary costs, and general inflation – the statewide property tax ballooned to about 20%.
H.887 would cut the property tax to about 13%, but would create new taxes on short term rentals and computer software and deposit some existing energy generation taxes into the Education Fund. Even if H.887 passes, it faces a likely veto from Gov. Phil Scott, who tweeted (X’d?) yesterday he won’t accept double digit property tax increases.
What next for funding education? House, Senate disagree
With Gov. Scott warning that without a significant shift in education funding, voters will face a similar double-digit property tax increase next year and the year after, the House included a Commission on the Future of Education to H.887.
Yesterday, the Senate Finance Committee introduced an amendment that scraps the House commission in favor of an Education Finance Committee to recommend class and facility size requirements, including:
- Recommendations regarding staff-to-student ratios;
- Alternative funding models, including consideration of a base amount of per pupil education spending and whether school districts should be allowed to spend above the base amount;
- Whether to encourage or mandate further school district and facility consolidation.
Of the 33 school districts that voted NO on the first try, 11 voted Yes on the second or third try.
| School District | Town Meeting/First vote | Second vote | Third vote |
| Holland | No | Yes | |
| Rutland Town | No | No | |
| Barstow UUSD (Chittenden, Mendon) | No | No | |
| Otter Valley UUSD (Brandon, others) | No | No | |
| Addison Northwest USD (Vergennes, others) | No | No | Yes |
| Harwood UUSD (Waitsfield, Duxbury others) | No | No | |
| Montpelier Roxbury School District | No | Yes | |
| Champlain Islands UUSD (Most Grand Isle towns) | No | No | |
| Enosburgh-Richford UUSD | No | No | |
| Missisquoi Valley School District (Swanton, Highgate, etc.) | No | No | |
| Northern Mountain Valley UUSD (Richford, others) | No | Yes | |
| Alburgh | No | No | |
| Washington Central USD (Berlin, Middlesex, others) | No | Yes | |
| Caledonia Cooperative School District (Barnet, Walden, Waterford | No | Yes | |
| Essex-Westford school district | No | Yes | |
| South Hero | No | May 14 | |
| Barre UUSD | No | May 14 | |
| Rivendell Interstate School District (RISD) | No | May 18 | |
| Fairfax | No | No | |
| Georgia | No | No | |
| Milton | No | No | |
| St. Johnsbury | No | no | yes |
| South Burlington | No | No | Yes |
| Springfield | No | No | |
| Lamoille North MUSD A (Cambridge, Johnson, others) | No | No | |
| Mt. Abraham USD (Bristol, others) | No | No | |
| Kingdom East USD (Lyndonville, Burke, others) | No | No | |
| Green Mountain USD (Andover, Chester, others) | No | No | |
| Ludlow – Mt. Holly UUSD | No | No | |
| Slate Valley UUSD (Castleton, Fair Haven, Poultney) | No | No | |
| Elmore-Morristown UUSD | No | No |
| Champlain Valley USD (Williston, Shelburne, others) | No | Yes | |
| Paine Mountain (Northfield/Williamstown) SD | No | Yes |