School districts respond to governor’s education finance reform plan
ESSEX, Vt. (WCAX) – Vermont school leaders are weighing in on Governor Phil Scott’s plan to overhaul Vermont’s education system. The plan released last week includes school consolidation, with five proposed regional districts. It also changes how the state would pay for schools and structure curriculum.
Governor Phil Scott’s plan proposes moving from a mostly local control model to a state-focused control.
In the Essex Westford district, Vermont’s second largest, school board chair Robert Carpenter has concerns about health care costs. “Without a direct plan to address that — even if we change to another formula, change what the bucket looks like for education funding — we still have that hose pouring in that’s health insurance — that isn’t going away,” he said
Flor Diaz Smith chairs the school board for the Washington Central Unified Union School District. She shares similar concerns about cost drivers. “We have to have a plan — how are we gonna address the health care needs,” she said. “That’s a big cost driver that I don’t think that will necessarily bring the savings.”
The governor’s plan proposes consolidating the over 100 districts in the state to five. Carpenter says Essex Westford has looked at possible consolidation and mergers and that they’re open to the idea if it means better outcomes for kids. “We need to have a really strategic plan put in place for the state so we can see what this would look like, prepare our families, and most of all prepare our students for those changes,” he said.
As WCUUSD continues to consider its own consolidation plans, Diaz Smith worries Scott’s plan will happen too fast. “The timeline is too aggressive. I don’t think five districts is sustainable for our state. There are a lot of things that have been floating around,” she said.
This all comes as school boards are crafting budgets for the next fiscal school year, balancing student needs with taxpayer expectations following last year’s school budget revolt by voters. They say they’re hoping to see more details of the governor’s plan in the coming weeks.
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