“Legislators do not have the right to steal the budget process….stop spending like there is no end”
by Guy Page
Social Media response to a video of a Colchester representative supporting taking the school budget vote away from the voters after repeated budget rejections at the polls has been strong.
Sunday morning, VDC Social Media Director Paul Bean posted on the Chronicle Facebook page his excerpt of Rep. Curt Taylor’s comments at Friday’s joint Ways and Means/Education committee meeting, posted via YouTube on the Legislature’s website. Taylor was commenting on a Ways & Means committee draft plan to allow school boards to impose a budget after voters reject a budget for a third time.
“Whichever method we choose, I think it’s important that there needs to be a real end point where you say at this point the voters are no longer involved….where the voters have had as much chance as they can, and the school board needs to take over. Otherwise it keeps going on forever,” Taylor said. Colchester approved its budget at Town Meeting.
Cutting out voters, even after three failed budgets, didn’t go over well with VDC Facebook readers.
Some invoked the Revolutionary War slogan of ‘No Taxation Without Representation.’ Others compared the move to communist authoritarian governments. One attempted to explain to lawmakers why 33 school budgets have been voted down once, and 13 have been voted down a second time.
“Sadly, the legislature is failing all of us. Here is the message from voters. Stop spending like there is no end. As TAXPAYERS, we have a right to say no to all the spending. If the legislature refuses to fix their ridiculous education funding system, then Vermonters have the right to vote down a budget. The legislators do not have the right to steal the budget process from the people,” one commenter said.
At the Vermont Values Under ATAX rally Thursday, a Williamstown resident shared similar concerns about affordability and the statewide property tax.
A ‘Super Tuesday’ of second budget voters will take place tomorrow, Tuesday April 30, in 11 school districts (see table below).
Taylor and other members of the two committees were discussing a draft plan to allow voters only three bites at the school budget apple, before allowing school boards to impose a budget based on a formula provided by the Legislature.
The committees didn’t make a firm decision on the plan, but Ways and Means Chair Emilie Kornheiser (D-Brattleboro) said she would float the imposed budget idea past “the field,” legislative shorthand for the professional education groups like the Vermont School Board Association, and organizations representing superintendents and teachers. If it’s deemed to have merit, it will be inserted into one of several current ‘miscellaneous education’ bills.
After the committees reviewed the draft, Kornheiser conceded upfront it might not be well-received by school budget voters. And if so, the axe could fall on the school boards.
“There is something, sort of, you know, that might tend towards anti-democratic about this, I can see that, there’s also the fact that voters voted this school board in and can vote this school board out, so there is still sort of that accountability there,” Kornheiser said.
Rep. Julia Andrews (D-Westford) of Ways and Means expressed concern about losing voter trust if imposed budgets come in higher than the budgets rejected by voters – something the legislative counsel at the meeting agreed could happen.
“So I think potentially, we run the risk if we’re imposing a higher budget that was voted down, of further eroding the trust in the communities,” Andrews said. She suggested offering a choice between the newly computed default budget and the last rejected budget, “whichever is lower.”
Tomorrow, the House is scheduled to take up H.887, a bill that would pay for the coming year’s school spending by raising the property tax 15-18% (homestead/non-homestead), and tax internet services and short-term rentals, without committing to any short-term or long-term cost containment.
11 school districts to hold revote Tuesday, April 30
| Alburgh | No | May 7 | Grand Isle SU |
| Fairfax | No | No | Franklin West SU |
| Georgia | No | No | Franklin West SU |
| Holland | No | April 30 | North Country SU |
| Milton | No | No | Milton SD |
| Rutland Town | No | April 30 | Greater Rutland County SU |
| St. Johnsbury | No | No | St. Johnsbury SD |
| South Burlington | No | No | South Burlington SD |
| South Hero | No | May 14 | Grand Isle SU |
| Springfield | No | No | Springfield SD |
| Barstow UUSD (Chittenden, Mendon) | No | April 30 | Rutland Northeast SU |
| Otter Valley UUSD (Brandon, others) | No | April 30 | Rutland Northeast SU |
| Addison Northwest USD (Vergennes, others) | No | April 30 | Addison Northwest SD |
| Champlain Valley USD (Williston, Shelburne, others) | No | Yes | Champlain Valley SD |
| Lamoille North MUSD A (Cambridge, Johnson, others) | No | No | Lamoille North SU |
| Harwood UUSD (Waitsfield, Duxbury others) | No | April 30 | Harwood UUSD |
| Mt. Abraham USD (Bristol, others) | No | No | Mt. Abraham USD |
| Kingdom East USD (Lyndonville, Burke, others) | No | No | Kingdom East SD |
| Paine Mountain (Northfield/Williamstown) SD | No | Yes | Central Vermont SU |
| Montpelier Roxbury School District | No | April 30 | Montpelier Roxbury SD |
| Green Mountain USD (Andover, Chester, others) | No | No | Two Rivers SU |
| Ludlow – Mt. Holly UUSD | No | No | Two Rivers SU |
| Champlain Islands UUSD (Most Grand Isle towns) | No | April 30 | Grand Isle SU |
| Slate Valley UUSD (Castleton, Fair Haven, Poultney) | No | No | Slate Valley UUSD |
| Enosburgh-Richford UUSD | No | April 30 | Franklin Northeast SU |
| Washington Central USD (Berlin, Middlesex, others) | No | May 7 | |
| Missisquoi Valley School Distrist | No | April 30 | Missisquoi Valley SD |
| Elmore-Morristown UUSD | No | No | Lamoille South SU |
| Barre UUSD | No | May 14 | Barre UUSD |
| Northern Mountain Valley UUSD (Richford, others) | No | April 30 | Franklin Northeast SU |
| Caledonia Cooperative School District (Barnet, Walden, Waterford | No | May 7 | |
| Rivendell Interstate School District (RISD) | No | May 18 | |
| Essex-Westford school district | No | May 7 |