This commentary is by Phil Scott, governor of Vermont.
Over the past few months, my administration has rolled out a plan to transform and strengthen our public education system. After last year’s double-digit increase in property taxes, Vermonters made it clear that we need to make major changes to a system that no longer meets the needs of our students, educators or taxpayers.
Our plan is focused on three critical areas.
The first is quality.
Vermonters spend more money per student on education than nearly every other state. But because of the way our system is designed, we’re not leading the pack in terms of outcomes, in fact we’re moving in the wrong direction. A report released in January shows that our test scores in key areas are continuing to decline. Which means we’re not getting the best return on our substantial investment.
With that in mind, transformation must be looked at through the lens of increasing education quality for every kid, in every county across the state. That also means giving our educators, who are working incredibly hard, more support and better pay to do what they love to do.
Second is equity.
Vermont students are guaranteed by our constitution equal access to education. Every kid, whether you live in Brighton or Burlington, deserves access to art, music, languages, AP courses, CTE and trades training, after-school, summer programing and sports. But we know we’re not meeting that standard. The gap between programs from school to school, district to district and region to region is staggering, and getting wider.
Which brings us to the third area, sustainability.
One reason our quality isn’t where it should be — and opportunity varies from community to community — is due to the way we fund our schools. Right now, every school district sets their own budget, and if the voters pass it, the state must fund it. That goes for high-spending towns who pass budgets year after year, and more frugal communities (who probably need resources the most) that try to keep budgets lean in hopes of a lower tax increase. The problem is it all gets paid out of the same pot. So, higher spending in more affluent towns can increase the costs for those trying to live within their means.
And because budgeting happens every year, lower-spending towns have less to cut. Often eliminating programs and services to balance books. Add in declining student populations across the state and increased costs of operating larger buildings originally built for more kids and it’s not hard to see why the current funding model causes inequity.Â
These problems aren’t new and have worsened over the years as our demographics have shifted. Act 68 and Act 46 were designed to solve the same problems we’re facing today. But they weren’t as successful as they needed to be because we weren’t addressing the underlying structural issues.
And let’s be honest: just putting a new coat of paint on this crumbling foundation won’t raise scores or reduce costs.Â
It’s time to do what we should have done a while ago and build a system that prioritizes our kids over our nostalgia.Â
We are well aware that our plan is bold.
It creates much larger and more efficient districts, which is a big change for us. It completely overhauls how we fund schools, sets higher educational standards and creates savings for taxpayers.
As expected, we’ve received criticism from some who are genuinely fearful of any change from the status quo. We’ve also heard from special interest groups, using talking points from national political playbooks, claiming we don’t have a spending problem.
But as I said, we expected that.
Which is why it’s been important to have the speaker of the House and the Senate pro tem, along with their teams, at the table as we’ve laid out our plan. Now, we haven’t agreed on everything, but we do agree on the urgency, scope and the need to find a path forward together, and for that I’m very grateful.
The role of a school is to educate our children and prepare them for the future as best it can.
To open doors to the world around them and fascinate them with the wonders of science, nature, literature, art, music, math and the lessons of history.
Schools are there for our kids to learn — in a safe and welcoming environment — how to be good citizens and help them navigate a path to a bright and successful future.Â
Schools are about our kids and that’s why we’ve all been willing to take this on.
It’s time to make sure the $2.5 billion dollars Vermonters spend creates one of the best systems in the country, to pay our teachers what they deserve no matter where they choose to teach, lift our rural communities, revitalize our cities, raise our standards and lower the crushing and unending burden on those who foot the bill.
I know we can do all of that, and more, if we have the courage do the tough work, and be brave together.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Gov. Phil Scott: Transforming education in Vermont through equity, quality and sustainability.