Five more districts face revote by Australian ballot today

Senate tweak on House Ed funding reform bill rakes in renewable power revenue, creates second study group

By Guy Page

Both the Oxbow Unified Union and the Waits River Valley school budgets were approved at annual meetings last night, Monday, May 6, the Journal-Opinion reports. 

At Oxbow, residents from Bradford and Newbury voted 110-58 for the $20,936,038 budget.

At Waits River Valley, residents from Corinth and Topsham voted 64-30 for the $8,004,930 budget. 

Both votes were carried out on the floor, in traditional Town Meeting style, rather than by Australian ballot. It was the first school budget vote held this year for either district. Today, voters in four school districts go to the polls to revote budgets rejected at Town Meeting.

South Burlington, Essex, Westford, Alburgh, Berlin, Calais, East Montpelier, Middlesex & Worcester, Walden, Barnet, Waterford, South Hero to revote school budgets today – Voters in South Burlington have already rejected two school budgets. The other May 7 revotes will take place in school districts that rejected budgets at Town Meeting.

The South Burlington third-try budget is $3.2 million less than the budget rejected at Town Meeting. The reported property tax rate will be just under 10%.

Voting times and locations, as known by VDC, are as follows:

Berlin, Calais, East Montpelier, Middlesex & Worcester – voting for these Washington Central School District towns is by ‘Australian ballot’ (voting booth). Some towns open polls at 7 AM, some at 10 AM, and all close at 7 PM. 

Essex-Westford, 7 AM – 7 PM – Town of Essex: Essex Middle School in the Town of Essex. Town of Westford: Westford School in the Town of Westford. City of Essex Junction: Champlain Valley Expo Blue Ribbon Pavilion in the City of Essex Junction.

Waterford – from 10 AM – 7 PM in the Waterford School gym.

Senate tweaks H.887 ‘yield bill’ to take in taxes on grid, wind power – A Senate amendment to H.887, the House education spending reform bill, under review by the Vermont Senate this morning, neither promises nor delivers spending cuts. It would:

1. Set the homestead property tax rate at about 12-13%. The non-homestead rate, which taxes businesses, second homes, and rental dwellings, would be higher, a Senate Finance Committee member said. 

2. Derive ‘status quo’ revenue for the Education Fund from lottery sales, 25% of rooms and meals taxes, one-third of vehicle purchase and use taxes, the sales and use tax, and Medicaid reimbursement funds. It does not appear to add clothing to the sales tax list, an idea floated in the Senate last week. 

3. Deposit into the Education Fund existing tax revenue from: 

1. A tax on land use changes
2. The Uniform Capacity Tax (sometimes called the Solar Energy Capacity Tax). It is paid by the owners of solar plants with nameplate capacity equal to 50kW or greater. The UTC also taxes energy storage facilities with a plant energy rating of 600kWh or larger, $0.50 per kWh.

3. A wind-turbine power generation tax – $.0003 per kWh. 

4) Create new taxes on short-term rentals and prewritten computer software “regardless of the method in which which the prewritten computer software is paid for, delivered or accessed.”

5) Keeps the House plan to create a Commission on the Future of Public Education.

6)  Creates an Education Fund Advisory Committee to update and improve the complicated ‘pupil weighting’ education funding formula. The first meeting will be held in July of next year. 

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