Media

Must see ‘n share reel: Roper riffs on school funding scheme

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VDC Social Media Director shot, edited and produced the the first episode of VDC TV this week and THEN produced this social-media-friendly reel in which Rob Roper describes that the inexplicable, mind-numbing complexity of Vermont’s education funding isn’t a bug in the system – it’s a feature. Watch and (if you like it) share.

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  1. Revealing as they are, Rob Roper’s numbers are understated. Read this Agency of Education Report (AOE).

    https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2024/WorkGroups/House%20Appropriations/FY%202025%20Budget/6.%20Education/W~Heather%20Bouchey~AOE%20FY25%20Budget%20Book~2-20-2024.pdf

    The enrollment numbers are clearly stated on pages 3 & 4. There are 72,093 K-12 students in the VT public school system.

    There are also 7.843 Pre-K students. They are 3, 4 and 5 year-old kids in what amounts to an AOE subsidized daycare program.

    On page 2: “…The Agency provides critical leadership, support, and oversight to a $2.7 billion education system…”

    On page 19: ” The cost of Agency operations as a percentage of the total amount appropriated for general education for the education system as a whole ($2.7 billion) is only 2.1%.”

    Consider this again. The ‘general education for the education system as a whole…” is $2.7 Billion.

    “My concern rests with the projected total education system spending of $2.7 Billion, indicated on page 2 and 19 of the AOE report. If we take this number and subtract Pre-K costs based on my district’s per student experience (assuming $3884 per student for 7843 students = $30.462 Million – not counting SPED), we are left with $2.666 Billion for K-12 costs. That equals $37,029 per K-12 student spending.

    The question that kicks us in the teeth is, of course, why the huge discrepancy between the AOE’s Total Education funding ($37,029 per K-12 student) and, for example, my Westminster school district’s cost per student ($28,206) submitted to voters for their approval. Where is this money going?”

    FYI – I submitted this commentary to VDC more than a week ago for publication as a stand alone article. Make of that what you will.

    • Jay- got it and we talked about these numbers discrepancies on tonight’s VDC hosted spaces meet on X. Rob attended and gave him the numbers games message as well. Thank you for pulling this together.

    • Libby, et al:

      Consider what’s actually going on here. Are your school budgets increasing by 20%, 30%, or 40%, as is being speculated by our so-called representatives, including Governor Scott. Not in my district. And my district has one of the most expensive per student costs in the State. No. There’s something nefarious driving these increases in property taxes.

      My Westminster school district is spending $28,000 per K-12 student. Even if every school district in the State spent the same amount per student, the total spending would be just north of $2 Billion. So where is this $2.7 Billion number coming from? Clearly, this is why property taxes are increasing as they are. Somewhere in the Agency of Education’s numbers is $600 Million in covert spending.

      Keep this in mind too. The AOE has more than 37,000 full-time equivalent employees. That’s one person for every two K-12 student. And there is this persistent unfunded liability for retirement and healthcare benefits. If I were to guess, I suspect this is the State’s way of paying this bill on the sly.

  2. This short, informative piece with a talking head plus graphics is exact;y what is needed to inform people about complex subjects in a short time.

  3. In Williamstown, the Paine Mountain School District school budget that was asking the taxpayers to expend over 23,000,000 for the ensuing fiscal year, close to 3 Million dollars more than the previous year by Australian ballot. Thankfully it was voted down!!! 752-yes, 882-NO!!!
    It’s unbelievable that teachers think that they don’t get paid enough and deserve raises. Yet when you look at the students—-the majority of children are graduating with lower than average math and reading scores. Their writing is atrocious. There is no homework ever and the grading system doesn’t make sense. Mental health issues dominate with multiple students going off the rails daily. There are no academic excellence awards so why exert yourself. It’s sad to see this because the students deserve better.