Part 2 of a 3-part commentary
by Gerry Silverstein
I live in a South Burlington home whose assessed value is 13% LESS than the average single family (non-Condo) home in SB.
This year (FY25) I have a property tax bill of ~$7,500, of which ~$5,500 is my education tax assessment.
My gross property tax bill is ~313% greater than the average property tax bill in all 50 States (as of 2022).
The 2-year (FY25 and FY26) education tax rate increase in the SB School District (SBSD) is about 16%, compared to my social security (senior citizen) 2-year increase of 5.7%.
Students in the SB school system who actually reside in SB comprise ~10.7% of all SB residents, while senior citizens in SB comprise about ~17.5% of residents.
Another real-world example of how “equity” in Vermont is a word, not a societal reality.
I also have the privilege of paying state income taxes on my social security income, as Vermont is only one of 9 states that taxes social security income (although low and low moderate-income Vermonters may pay no or little tax).
My state income taxes become part of the General Fund, and this year AND next year (AND for many years thereafter) $200 million dollars will move from the General Fund to the Vermont pension fund for teachers (VSTRS) because the fund is insufficiently capitalized (funded ratio of 61; below 60 is “red zone”) to cover all legally required payouts to retired teachers.
I not only pay the salary and benefits of current teachers with my education taxes but I also pay retired teachers with my state income taxes.
Spending in the SBSD will increase by 5% in FY26 compared to the voter-approved budget this year (FY25).
Compared to neighboring FY26 school district budgets: Burlington SD spending down by 7%, Champlain Valley SD spending up by 0.9%; Essex-Westford SD level funded—no year-over-year increase in spending.
The cost per SB pupil in FY26, based upon current enrollment (2,444) will be $29,259 (calculation based upon dividing total spending by actual current student number where one student is counted as one student which, believe it or not, is not how the Vermont AOE calculates spending per student. If interested a short opinion piece profiles a unique approach to public school pupil counting in Vermont).
If enrollment in the SBSD was static and spending increased 5% per year for the full 16 years of public-school education a student is eligible for (3 years pre-K and 13 years K-12) the cost to educate one student in the SB school system would be $712,000!
The high per pupil cost of education in SB is driven in large part by the fact that currently almost 30% of all SBSD personnel earn in salary alone $100,000 and more for 180 days of student contact.
The Superintendent, who has been on the job about 2 years, has a compensation package of about $250,000. Her compensation package rivals that of the Governor even though she oversees a budget of ~$71 million dollars compared to the Governor who oversees a budget of ~$8 billion dollars.
My education tax is driven in part by spending in SB public schools and in part by all spending by the State Education Fund (the Ed Fund).
What is my return on investment (ROI) in terms of student academic proficiency at both local and statewide levels?
The author, a South Burlington resident, is a virologist who taught courses related to human health and disease at UVM for 22 years.