This commentary is by Neil Odell of Norwich. He is on the steering committee of Friends of Vermont Public Education, and is a Norwich/Dresen school board member.
Back in late February, I had to stand up at Town Meeting and tell my community that I anticipated our taxes would increase by double digits. It wasn’t fun. We’re looking at a 15% increase and I’m not at all happy about it. I have to pay it too. My town elected me to make decisions about our schools and about our taxes, and this year I felt like I just couldn’t get it right on either side of the equation.
Gov. Scott said it was simple. Just spend less. Less where? Pay our teachers and staff less? Kinda hard with a contractually binding labor agreement with the union. Fire some teachers or staff? A possibility that we considered but neither the board nor families were happy with increased class sizes. Spend less on healthcare? Also a bit challenging when we don’t get to set the premium rates.
Maybe we could abandon our failing septic system replacement. Despite what we were told by health officials and concerned families, perhaps some fecal matter on the school green in the winter isn’t that bad for kids. I thought about getting rid of sports teams or music or theater programs at the middle and high schools but my colleagues from the New Hampshire side of our interstate school district were not persuaded.
I ran the numbers. We’d need to cut approximately $3.5 million from our elementary budget for a near zero increase in the tax rate. Coincidentally that was the line item amount for the entire regular education portion of my budget — all teachers and school supplies. That would do it — a flat tax rate for a school with no teachers.
But it ain’t simple, and I’m pretty sure the governor knows that. His one-liner is really appealing – who doesn’t want lower taxes? His solution? Borrow. Yup, borrow. Borrow from the money set aside for schools for next year. So we all get a year of “relief” only to lament next year that we’ve got an even bigger hole to fill in the education fund.
Guess what happens then? We raise property taxes to fill that hole. That’s the type of solution you get when you don’t have the right people at the table. We’re talking about a Vermont child’s life and future. If you don’t know where the money is going and simply just cut your way out of this situation, you stand to impact an entire generation of folks that we want to be the future of Vermont.
The governor claimed that the veto override of the yield bill was “a major loss for Vermont taxpayers, workers and families”. I disagree. According to Vermont’s non-partisan Joint Fiscal Office, “Without a yield bill, property taxes would not raise sufficient revenue for the Education Fund, leading to an estimated deficit of $82 million.” As a result our kids would take the hit, schools would be shorted the money they need and next year taxpayers would be facing an even larger property tax increase because we would need to make up the $82 million first before even considering any new school spending. That’s what the governor wanted?
There’s another reason that the veto override of the yield bill was good for Vermonters. The bill established a commission that will begin work on July 15th on the future of education in Vermont. The governor will be at the table. The Legislature will be at the table. Schools, school boards, even private schools will be at the table. Their job? To develop a vision for Vermont education including “a written report containing its preliminary findings and recommendations, including short-term cost containment considerations for the 2025 legislative session, on or before December 15, 2024”.
Dig into the details and you’ll see that the commission will be holding numerous public meetings throughout the state this summer and fall and public engagement is a priority. My school board colleagues and I are ready to get to work. I do not want to tell my community at next year’s Town Meeting that our taxes are going up by double digits again. So, Gov. Scott, we agree. We both feel obligated to be the voice of Vermonters. Now let’s get to the real work. See you in July.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Neil Odell: It’s not so simple, Gov. Scott.