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by Guy Page
A draft released by the Vermont School Redistricting Task Force November 10 recommends a 10-year plan that creates a new layer of educational bureaucracy called Cooperative Education Service Areas and proposes incentivizing voluntary school mergers, and the ‘development of regional comprehensive high schools.’
The task force was created by Act 73 of the 2025 Legislature to envision redistricting to reduce costs and improve educational outcomes. This extensive draft document outlines the proposal for reforming the state’s educational system through Cooperative Education Service Areas (CESAs), strategic voluntary mergers, and the development of regional comprehensive high schools.
The entire 170 page report can be read here. This is a developing story and more details will be provided soon.
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Categories: Education
The fact that the draft alone is ONR HUNDRED and SEVETY pages speaks volumes of the root of the problem . . . bureaucratic overkill.
It sounds like another recipe for disaster. Less number of school boards and town representatives on school boards who will be able to vote on what children should be taught in schools and not what’s currently happening. Less superintendents. There is no explanation of how educational outcomes will be improved?? Do they really think cutting costs on school boards, and superintendents is the answer as to Vermont’s poor reading and math scores??? No Look to Mississippi and adopt what they did for their children.
All children should be motivated to achieve high academic excellence for their future and the future of their community, the state and the country. Be proud of your accomplishments. There should be better educational outcomes K-12 for the whole state but instead the dept of education continues with their socialist agenda to destroy education pushing kids thru schools who cannot read and who find out in college they need remedial math to graduate. When will the state learn?? Will your taxes go down, NO. Never. They will continue with social programs and gaslight parents, grandparents, communities because we were never part of the decision making. We were forced to accept whatever they decided and what they decided were that the social programs as in blm telling you you are a systemic racists, your parents don’t have your best interest at heart but your state government does. Maoism/marxism is better than capitalism and you can be an activist to take guns away, make climate change a priority and change your gender and have the state pick up the bill-to heck with your mental health. Anything to create chaos and according to Bernie-a civil war. Tell your governor you are not socialists and to quit screwing up our children!!!!
Donna, I tend to agree with much of what you stated. However we are not “forced to accept whatever they decided’. We decided “no” years ago and homeschooled our children and, more recently, our grandsons until they reached high school and choose between attending Lyndon Institute or StJ Academy. Did the choice come with sacrifices? Absolutely, but our children and grandsons are far better off.
The main issue that needs to be improved is school choice and non-restrictive homeschooling. An added bonus would be to not burden people with the dual costs of home education in addition to still paying for the AOE bloat.
“forced to accept whatever they decided’? Thought we had no kings! Oh yeah, I forgot, just the Democrat Kings
Ten-year plan??? In other words, the Agency of Education (AOE) has no idea what they’re doing and hope everyone forgets what they say and do over the period.
This is what incompetence looks like. The only reason they persist is because (1) they don’t know what else to do; and (2) they are personally and financially dependent on the existing flawed system for their livelihood.
After all, ten years is a long employment contract. Especially when their product is snake oil and has been poisoning us for the duration. Clearly, the AOE is going to go bankrupt long before the fruition of their 10-year plan is realized. Even with a so-called ‘3% Hard Cap’. Unfortunately, they’ll take our kids and the rest of us down with them.
In a quick scan of the 170 pages, I noticed some assumptions that emphasize the absolute tyranny and deception of the AOE perspective.
“[School] Choice has to be managed so that it is not just a vehicle for upwards distribution of opportunity.”
What can possibly be wrong with the “upwards distribution of opportunity.”???
Re: “…expansion of choice raises costs for taxpayers statewide and is detrimental to nearby public schools.”
False! Period. This is purely false rhetoric.
Re: “Per AOE data, there is no observable cost advantage associated with private schools in VT. Per AOE data, on average statewide in FY24, tuition districts paid more per student tuitioned to a private school ($20,432) than to a public school ($18,476).”
Again … False! Across the board – an absolutely false statement.
Re: “Per AOE FY24 data, On average, tuition districts sent a disproportionate number of their students with disabilities and students who are economically disadvantaged to nearby public schools, while sending a disproportionate number of more advantaged kids to private schools.”
A classic false dichotomy. First, students with disabilities are directed by the LEA (Local Educational Agency – or school district) to attend public schools because the public-school special education departments insist. It’s how the public schools enhance their revenue. Second, in my district, where tuitioning has been successful for decades, ‘economically disadvantaged’ students have as much choice as ‘advantaged kids’. That some may choose a public school instead of a private school has nothing to do with anything except personal choice.
This report is a classic push-poll… a political campaign tactic that pretends to be an opinion survey but is actually designed to influence voters’ views by presenting leading, biased, or in many cases, dishonest information. It is pure propaganda…more of the same…. i.e., ‘snake oil’.
Doing the same thing over and again and expecting a different outcome.
Nonsense!
I read the paper. and with all respect to the folks who crafted it, it is a hard step down
a path to chaos and failure. It is a densely written, complicated 170 page thicket and a testament to entrenched, shopworn ideas and practices.
The proposed plan comes across as expensive, wonkish, control-freakish, bureaucratically rich, educationally worn-out. A warmed over BOCES, 1960s-70s style organizational model. A new (very costly) layer of regulations, rules, administrative procedures, personnel. Comprehensive high schools – as if we haven’t had them. Voluntary mergers – been there, done that – to no benefit except to those inhabit central offices and sit on school boards. Ten years – yes, TEN YEARS – to get it done.
So…..Ten years ago the same (yes essentially, the same – legislators, Education Secretaries, etc.) sold Vermonters a bill of goods called Act 46, promising us top quality schools at a cost Vermonters would support. This “reform” led to ballooning local education bureaucracies – new administrator positions, new “initiatives”, solidifying of the educational status quo, further entrenchment and empowerment of our ossified governance and administrative models and enormous budget increases. The results? Poor learning outcomes, ballooning bureaucracy, failed budget votes. Mediocre education at unaffordable, unsustainable costs. Shameful, really.
SO what is now proposed? Essentially, more of the same. Reheat the leftover meatloaf and mashed potatoes. Douse it with a new bottle of ketchup, and go…….
What if this was done?
Establish a clear statement of what we want for our kids’ educations, and build a system around THAT. Make it a lean and to-the-point statement. Not a blizzard of pages, data, charts, etc. No gobblebygook. Produce something everyday people can read and understand, and feel, “Yes, this makes sense for my/our kids. I am willing to pay my fair share. Let’s do it.”
Make clear: What is the core teaching and learning that every child should be given?
Think out-of-the box when it comes to design and operations. Think 2025 – 2050 and not 1960 – 1980, in terms of administrative models, business practices, governance, and finance.
Stop with all of the commissions, reports, etc. and bring together a group of Vermonters who do not carry the ancient DNA of the status quo and current “system”, to create a vision and a plan.
Identify initiatives, personnel, etc. that are extraneous to the core mission. State what is essential to the mission.
Make it short and sweet. Vest the Governor, Education Secretary and State Board with the authority and means to move forward and implement. Get it done in three years.
They just couldn’t help themselves. They started this effort to reduce cost and streamline services in the DOE, and what do they do? They spend God-knows how much time and money writing a 170-page report and create more bureaucracy the taxpayers have to pay to entice schools to close. And this is just the beginning. Guy, I would like to know how much the implementation alone of Act 73 will cost the taxpayers.