By Michael Bielawski
The governor’s office has put forth a comprehensive education overhaul plan that would uproot both the economics and governance of public schools in the Green Mountian State. Some top voices in education police have already submitted mixed reviews.
The plan itself is full of critique of the status quo. The 17-page document called Governor Scott’s Education Transformation Proposal states “For a system that relies so heavily on local control for cost containment, its success depends on local decision makers understanding how their decisions will impact their taxes – a task that is, at best, extremely complicated, and, at worst, impossible in the current system.”
The document does not list a specific author but generally presents itself as the Scott Administration’s highly anticipated proposal in response to public outcry over rising costs and dropping performance.
It opens with a reminder that over the past year, Vermonters initially voted down roughly a third of school budgets. The governor’s office says that poor communities suffered for it.
“While budget failures occurred in all areas of the state, districts in economically disadvantaged communities felt the impact most keenly with reductions made to staffing in educational programs that serve the highest needs students,” it states.
Some of the key components of this plan include a block grant funding formula meant to put budgeting before spending, a massive consolidation of school districts from 109 to just five districts, and potentially minimum/maximum student classroom sizes. It would also do away with the state’s 52 supervisory unions.
The document says Vermonters are most concerned with affordability, poor academic performance, and unequal access to opportunities.
“Today, students in different districts receive different funding, even though they have the same needs; in our current funding construct, this is an allowable and expected outcome of local decision-making,” the policy states. “However, we know this funding approach can limit student opportunities, particularly in school districts with less income and property wealth.”
Another section suggests that communities are not properly utilizing the current funding system. In particular, communities with the most needs are choosing not to spend.
“The choice to spend or not spend equitable amounts of education funding per student across the state rests with individual districts, following voter approval,” it states. “Spending patterns demonstrate that many districts do not utilize the tax equalization mechanisms to increase spending, even in the districts with the most demonstrated student need.”
More on the funding formula is that it focuses on an “evidence-based per-student amount”. Students would get different “weights” assigned to account for special needs.
Early mixed reviews
One of the state’s leading education policy analysts, Rob Roper, has already weighed in on the plan. The review is mixed. The new block grant funding proposal receives praise, but on the five-district statewide proposal, Roper is less enthusiastic due to the reduction in local control.
“Governor Scott’s plan for education reform does some things right, and others unnecessarily very wrong,” he wrote.
“What’s right? The move to a foundation-based funding formula and the primary focus on cost savings being the elimination of supervisory union level of bureaucracy. In no way shape or form do we need 52 supervisory unions governing 109 school districts servicing just 80,000 kids. Kudos on that.”
He continued with his concerns about the five districts.
“The plan to eliminate all the supervisory unions and consolidate the 109 school districts into five, and scrapping all the local school boards is… I struggle for the right word and not finding it will go with ‘what and why the [heck]!’ accompanied by the pulling out of clumps of precious hair,” he wrote.
Roper notes that Vermonters “prize their local control,” which means the five district proposal might be too much consolidation of governance. The full commentary by Roper can be read here.
The Vermont NEA has also already responded to the governor’s proposal. They wrote on X, “No matter what the governor calls it, creating a statewide voucher scheme is bad for public schools and the 90 percent of kids who rely on them.”
Although it doesn’t single out the governor’s proposals by name, a look at the Vermont NEA’s “Protect Public Schools” page reveals rhetoric that seems to express irritation with those seeking to overhaul the status quo.
They wrote, “Public education is a cornerstone of our democracy. Unfortunately, some politicians seek to dramatically slash funding that helps reduce class sizes, feed hungry students, provide special education services, and lower the cost of college and vocational schools.”
The author is a writer for the Vermont Daily Chrronicle