by Rep. Terri L. Williams
A bill that is coming through my committee, the House Education Committee, is bill number H634. It states the following: This bill proposes to require school districts that close an existing elementary or high school to provide for the education of its students by designating three or fewer public elementary or high schools to serve as the public school or schools of the district. I will NOT be supporting this bill as read. My stance on this is that I will always support school choice. As I continue to support public schools, I will also support the independent school opportunity. One school/or school type does not fit all children. Home schooling is a good example of that.
When I was trekking through my school years, I went to the awesome public school at Concord. It was the perfect fit for me. I grew up in North Concord and went to Concord School from grades 1 to 12. I knew everyone; we all knew each other. We all studied together, we played sports together, we attended each other’s activities. We were a family unit through all grades.
When I wanted to advance in my business/bookkeeping studies, Concord didn’t offer enough. I had completed all that Concord had to offer but I was hungry for more. Concord School had an agreement with St. Johnsbury Academy, an independent school, that if the town of Concord was willing to pay tuition for students to attend their vocational program, we were welcome to attend. Thank you, town of Concord for giving me this great opportunity. I attended this program during my junior and senior years. This extra educational opportunity gave me a solid foundation to become a factory supervisor, fast food manager, business owner.
I worked for the Concord School in the early 1990’s as the school secretary. We not only continued to offer vocational opportunities to our students, but we also had another contract to help support our students. Three schools, Concord, Danville, and St. Johnsbury Academy agreed to place up to three students from any of the schools in a school setting that better suited the student’s needs. I remember and still stay in touch with some of the students that attended Concord from the other schools. Being in a setting that works best for you can make all the difference in the world as to your success or failure.
We need to preserve all options and opportunities for our rural communities and kids. This bill would do just the opposite. It would eliminate opportunities at a time when many rural communities are exploring the best path forward to serve our children.
Some are concerned that independent schools discriminate. The Vermont State Board of Education has done tremendous work to make sure this doesn’t happen. The State Board has solid requirements in the 2200 series rules that address any concerns over discriminatory practices. All approved independent schools must comply with the anti-discrimination laws in the admissions and operations process if they want to receive public tuition dollars. It states that they cannot discriminate against protected classes or consider socioeconomic status. They are required to comply with the VT Public Accommodations Act and the VT Fair Employment Practices Act. Vermont also has Act 173, which requires independent schools that wish to receive public tuition to serve students with special needs if the school is determined to be an appropriate setting. The Agency of Education is integrating procedures and processes in order to support schools to adapt and adopt the systemic changes necessary to respond to the act. These rules and procedures are just beginning to take effect and it will take some time to implement.
Let’s talk a little about cost. The highest budget costs per pupil in the state are in the districts who operate schools for grades K-12. Those per pupil costs are, on average, about $5,000 per pupil more than non-operating districts and districts that operate elementary schools and tuition for secondary grade levels. Furthermore, independent schools must use independent sources of revenue for their capital needs and are not eligible for state construction aid. Self-funding their capital costs saves communities and the statewide education fund tens or hundreds of millions of dollars. This creates more capacity for use by public operating districts in the financing of their school bonds.
Why shouldn’t communities be allowed to consider independent schools and broad school choice? Shouldn’t quality, cost, convenience, what’s best for children, and local control be the driving forces behind these decisions — not the legislature forcing families into more expensive, and less convenient situations that may not be best for students?