By Guy Page
Despite a larger-than-usual number of absent legislators, the Vermont House yesterday gave preliminary approval to H.887, the proposed public education funding ‘fix’ that would reduce the coming fiscal year’s proposed statewide homestead property tax from 20% to 15%.
H.887 emerged last week from the House Ways & Means Committee, where it was deemed necessary because 30 school districts rejected their budgets at Town Meeting and 13 have since rejected revised budgets. The bill is scheduled for a final House vote today, and then will proceed to the Senate. It is unknown whether it will clear the Senate before next week’s April 30 Super Tuesday of 11 school districts voting for a revised budget.
The tsunami of No votes happened after voters realized they were being asked to approve an unprecedented statewide property tax increase caused by inflation, increases in staff pay and health benefits, the loss of one-time federal pandemic-era funding, and a funding formula that critics say rewards school districts for loading up on spending.
One veteran lawmaker last week called voters’ response a “tax revolt.”
“Taxpayer revolt. An old fashioned revolt,” Rep. Carolyn Branagan (R-Georgia/Fairfax, both Double No towns) said last Thursday after voting against H.887 in the Ways & Means committee. “And we’re due for it. I mean, this has gone on for a long time. The property taxes have been too high.”
Today, Gov. Phil Scott was asked if we’re in the midst of a tax revolt. “Yeah, I don’t think we’ve seen anything like this in some time,” he said. “It was too big a pill to swallow. People can relate to an increase in their property taxes when they’re just be scraping now. This was foreseeable in some respects, this cliff. It hasn’t fixed itself. The taxpayers are voicing their displeasure.”
Vermont has no specific advocacy group opposing taxation. However, on Thursday, a diverse coalition of Vermonters opposed to tax increases and other legislative initiatives plans to gather in the State House.
“Vermont Values Under ATAX” event will be a “non-partisan show of opposition to a variety of bills that are taxing to all Vermonters.” The organizers, the Vermont Traditions Coalition, promised “a protest/rally that cannot be ignored by politicians and media.”
The group urged all interested Vermonters to gather in the State House cafeteria and throughout the State House from 9-3 Thursday April 25 to “voice our displeasure with the direction of political leadership forsaking Vermont’s marginalized voices–working Vermonters and our children, those living with the land, our natural communities, and those seeking independence from the taxing and controlling interests currently dominating Vermont politics.”
In addition to the 15% property tax, H887 finds the revenue needed for the estimated $200 million education spending increase by creating two new categories of taxes: a ‘Cloud’ tax on internet services, and a tax on short-term rentals. It also increases the non-homestead (second home, business, apartment house) property tax to 18%.
The four Republicans on Ways & Means at first backed H887, because it promised mid-term and long-term spending reductions. However, those provisions were stripped out of the final draft, and they all voted against it. On the floor, not a single Republican voted Yes. Three Republicans were absent.
The bill proposes a 21-person panel to study education funding reform, but does not recommend or propose spending reductions.
16 legislators were absent from the H.887 roll-call vote, which passed 94-38. The roll call appears below:
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Categories: Education
Sorry…..not paying it. Please pay attention Brian Cina!
Going from 20% to 15% is not an answer. Time to cut fat. To a school system that teacher / student ratio is the highest in the country. Feeding programs that feed all students. The massive school administration we have state wide. The money tree in taxpayers back yard is empty.
Party line or die – let it be so. The sixteen no-shows wouldn’t make a difference and doesn’t shelter them from the storm either way. Operation Tincup appears to have no bottom, but it does have an ending after inflicting a whole lot of damage upon our State and communities. We all ready see it and feel it.
As in yesterday’s article showing us the Return on Investment that VPIRG enjoys with it’s campaign contributions- so too does the VNEA Teachers and a cabal of tax-exempt NGO corporations lobbying on behalf of Education Spending. There are millions of dollars at stake in this battle for dollars, at the expense of actual education of students.
I would remind all that $30,000,000.00 of the $200,000,000.00 is for “free school lunch” for all, regardless of ability to pay. That “free school lunch” program is yet another gimmick to appease certain voting groups- much like joe biden has done with student loan forgiveness. There is a substantial block of voters that are easily influenced, using emotion- not facts and logic to support these bloated budgets and the graft surrounding education spending in Vermont.
Fact are facts- and ignore these facts or not, Vermont spends the most tax dollars per student with a mediocre or poor education outcome for students.
In the same way as the Climate Change™ groups have a chokehold on Vermont’s people and economy- Education Spending and the groups behind it have an equal chokehold.
By the way – Weren’t these the very folks who decades ago coined the term “No means NO!”
So, Montpelier – in BOTH instances – NO means unequivocally NO!
now i wonder who will be on the twenty one person panel to study education reform/// the queen of franklin county vermont calls for a tax revolt//// how is she connected to the education cartel//// sorry, you screwed up on the covid kill shot with no objection/// all house members and senators in franklin county should be fired at the ballot box///////////
“ promised mid-term and long-term spending reductions“, even if that had remained in the bill does anyone really think that would happen? They would weasel out of it somehow.
“increases the non-homestead (second home, business, apartment house) property tax to 18%“. So they’ll stick it to the renters this time around, as if rent wasn’t high enough already. All those renters who don’t pay attention to the fact that property taxes effect them and that think it’s just the evil landlord sticking it to them better wake up. As for the homesteaders, they’ll be back for you next year.
Paul, yes all those renters SHOULD pay attention and stop thinking that schools are free just because they don’t own a home. Then, maybe then they’ll start helping to vote down school budgets.
“The tsunami of No votes happened after voters realized they were being asked to approve an unprecedented statewide property tax increase caused by inflation, increases in staff pay and health benefits, the loss of one-time federal pandemic-era funding, and a funding formula that critics say rewards school districts for loading up on spending.”
Increases in staff pay: if the districts wouldn’t allow themselves to be held hostage by the NEA, teachers could be told, sorry you won’t be getting pay increases, there is no money in the budget for that now. Fact: I went for eight years with only two raises as did everyone else at the company, the reason…no money in the budget.
Increases in health benefits: healthcare premiums go up, employees eat the cost, not the employer (taxpayers). Fact: when healthcare insurance premiums went up at my company the employees insurance premium went up. Also we didn’t have golden policies, we as the insured shouldered a large portion not only in premiums but also deductibles.
Loss of one time federal pandemic-era funding: ONE TIME! For those legislators who flunked English (apparently most) one time means, wait for it…ONE TIME. That means that you don’t create spending that will need to be sustained, get it??? Are we supposed to jump for joy because they got it from 20% to 15%??? Sorry Montpelier, it’s too little too late. Throw the bums out November.
the lock down//// the currency reset//// the federal reserve///// more inflation/// the covid scam demic/// population control//// any questions//// there are a lot of answers//// you have to have an inquiring mind/// their is life outside vermont