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Urgent request seeks to decouple capital construction debt from per-pupil spending formula
By Guy Page
The Mountain Views Supervisory Union (MVSU) in Woodstock on September 12 issued a statewide call for the Vermont Legislature to convene a special session this fall to decouple capital construction debt from the Act 73 per-pupil spending calculation—a move the district argues is essential to protect taxpayers and enable long-overdue investments in school infrastructure.
Like many school districts, MVSU has an aging school building and little to no money to replace it. The district was optimistic after the Agency of Education in 2024 approved a $99 million rebuild of the high school and middle school – provided the Legislature made the funds available.
It didn’t. But it has an advisory group working on the growing problem. Vermont has been without a school capital construction budget since 2007. Rebuilding and repairing substandard schools will cost about $300 million per year for 20 years, a state study estimates.
Gov. Phil Scott said a special session isn’t needed because an advisory board is already tasked with finding solutions. “We will not be having a special session,” he said at his September 10 press conference. “January will be coming soon enough and we’ll address whatever needs to be addressed at that point. I would just say that the school construction aid advisory board has been formed and is meeting and I think that’s the type of consideration that they might review and make recommendations accordingly.”
The State Constitution allows special sessions to be called by the governor “when necessary.” According to the Vermont Secretary of State website, there is no definition of what constitutes “when necessary” and special sessions, also known as extraordinary or extra sessions, have been called for a variety of reasons.
The first special session was called in 1857, in response to the first statehouse fire. As of June 2018 there had been 27 special sessions. The most common reasons for calling special sessions have been fiscal issues, federal legislation, war, and natural disaster.
The MVSU call to action, formalized in a letter unanimously approved by school directors at their September 8 meeting, has been released publicly and offered for co-signature by other supervisory unions and districts across Vermont.
A crisis decades in the making
Currently, when school districts borrow funds to renovate or build facilities, that spending is counted toward their total per-pupil education cost. Once spending exceeds the state’s “excess spending threshold,” taxpayers must pay a punitive double tax—two dollars for every dollar spent over the cap.
MVSU officials say this creates an impossible tradeoff: invest in safe, modern learning environments or risk unfair tax penalties on local communities.
“It’s a 70-year-old building at the end of its lifespan,” said Joe Rigoli, MVSU Director of Buildings and Grounds, referring to the Woodstock Union High School and Middle School (WUHSMS). “It’s really quite simple: it’s the end of the line, folks.”
Rigoli noted that WUHSMS is now more than 90% depreciated, far beyond the state’s 60% threshold for receiving construction aid. As a result, the district is left to shoulder massive capital expenses without state support.
In the letter to legislators, the MVSU Board outlines three key demands:
1. Decouple capital construction debt from the per-pupil spending formula.
2. Shield taxpayers from double taxation caused by unavoidable infrastructure investments.
3. Acknowledge that school facility needs are a shared statewide responsibility—not a local burden.
Board Chair Keri Bristow emphasized that this is not just a local issue. “The injection of capital-debt dollars into our per-pupil spend adversely affects every district in Vermont. Any district forced to take on bonds can trigger penalties that ripple across the entire education finance system,” she said. “Decoupling is the only fair and sustainable path forward.”
New law, old buildings
The Board says its appeal aligns with the goals of Act 73, Vermont’s recently passed education reform law, and the establishment of the State Aid for School Construction Program, which began on July 1. However, despite these steps, the state hasn’t funded any school construction projects since 2007.
Superintendent Sherry Sousa described an infrastructure crisis that’s no longer theoretical. “Some schools are on the brink of closure. Others may have to move students into trailers on athletic fields if one more system fails,” she said. “Right now, we’re dealing with a failed drainage system that’s threatening our cafeteria—and that’s just today’s emergency.”
In one case, a cast iron pipe rusted completely through, leaving no bottom and allowing wastewater to flow directly into the surrounding ground. “This is the kind of problem we can’t ignore—and shouldn’t be punished for trying to fix,” Sousa added.
Call for statewide solidarity
The letter invites other supervisory unions and districts to co-sign the letter. Budgeting for the 2026–2027 school year begins soon, how the legislature addresses (or fails to address) this issue will determine how districts across the state plan for the future, the board claims.
The Vermont State Board of Education is expected to deliver recommendations on the transfer of debt obligations by December 15, but MVSU leaders argue immediate legislative action is necessary to prevent further harm to students and communities.
“This is about fairness, sustainability, and ensuring every child in Vermont has access to safe, functional school buildings,” said Bristow. “We can’t wait any longer.”
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Categories: Education
Why does the smell of more bonding keep coming up and it will be a state problem to fix. Remember, the state of Vermont will not let a bond default and all taxpayers in Vermont must pay back these bonds. When the bonding stops, this ponzi operation will come to an end and the bond holders will take the loss. Comment from Richard Day.
Yes, the smell eminates from the bonded bundled debt yokes, the property appraisal districts, and contractual obligations all tied to the school districts. The giant ponzi scheme unraveling and the giant tin cup thrust forward demanding more taxes, more fees based on inflated property values to cover over-inflating budgets. All is leveraged beyond redemption.
A case in the State of Texas is exposing the property tax/school district fraud, collusion, and corruption. By and large, the reporting indicates school districts across the country are flatlining as are the hospitals, along with other infrastructure and services we pour money into – it is now revealed such things are black holes and hog troughs.
By some estimates, Vermont faces a staggering $6 billion price tag for capital construction in the state school system, whether through new buildings or repairs. For a state with just 662,000 residents and 83,000 students, this is nothing short of mind-boggling. Where did all the COVID relief money go? Into “special programs” with no long-term plan, courtesy of a ruling class that seems incapable of foresight.
The reality is this: pouring billions into bricks and mortar is throwing good money after bad. Public education still runs on a 19th-century hub-and-spoke model, where buses and parents ferry children to centralized campuses. That system is collapsing under its own weight.
Meanwhile, technology has already changed the game. In the very near future, artificial intelligence will give every child access to personalized instruction from a handheld device: delivering better results for less cost and ensuring Vermont students are not handicapped as they enter the world and job market. When that happens, new school buildings will stand as monuments to poor planning.
The better path is clear:
Fund students, not systems. Return the per-pupil cost directly to parents and let them choose the education that works, homeschooling, online learning, co-ops, or private options.
Trust parents. They know what their kids need better than any bureaucracy.
Stop the spending spiral. This $6 billion project translates to an additional $72,000 per student, on top of the roughly $92,000 already spent per student for a high school diploma. For context: many four-year college degrees cost less than that. Even more telling, a student can earn a GED credential for under $150 total, a fraction of the taxpayer burden being proposed.
Vermonters should just say no to this boondoggle. It is unaffordable, unacceptable, and an albatross that Vermont cannot carry. If we want a free and affordable future, this plan must be rejected, not preserved for the comfort of a well-heeled, white, Democrat elite, but reimagined for families, students, and the 21st century.
For a start, how about we remove the enormous layers of useless educrats who dwell in our supervisory unions and who make six figure salaries plus benes and a pension….that should free up some money.