Gilbert: Douglas wins Challenges for Change battle
Editor’s note: This op-ed is by Allen Gilbert, executive director of the Vermont-ACLU and a member of the Vermont Journalism Trust board, which is the umbrella organization for VTDigger.org. The Vermont-ACLU represented Anne Galloway, editor of VTD, in a public records lawsuit lodged against the Town of Hartford. Our former governor tried last year to [...]
Evslin: Challenges for Change post mortem
There’s a lot to learn both from the parts that worked – because we ought to do more of them – and from what didn’t work. Some of the things that didn’t work need to be tried again.
Digger Tidbits: Budget gap + Challenges = $183M; Sanders’ e-mail solicitation stirs brouhaha
Sen. Bernie Sanders was roundly criticized on Tuesday by national news outlets for sending a letter to supporters that describes the massacre and then segues into a fund-raising pitch.
Mackey: One school board member’s frustration with education finance
One reason why school spending is difficult to control is because our school finance system creates what economists call a “prisoners dilemma.” Simply put, when expenditures are collectively borne by a group, each individual in the group has an incentive to spend more than if each individual were responsible for paying for their own decisions.
Video + updated story: Shumlin won’t impose Challenges cuts on schools in 2012
“There’s no one who wants to reduce spending with more vigor than our local school boards,” Shumlin said.
Vermont schools come up $15.8 million short on Challenges target
“I never really believed school boards could have gotten there as quickly as we hoped,” Shumlin said. “We have this bridge money … let’s use it as a bridge, not a security blanket.” DOWNLOAD SCHOOL SPENDING SPREADSHEETS
Q & A: Smith talks about “structural” budget changes, tax policy and negotiating the deal
On Challenges for Change: “I think we need to think about how we can revive the need to be more effective with what we’re doing, without having the political baggage that comes with the label.”
Condos taps Leven as deputy secretary of state
In 2002, he staffed the Senate Reapportionment committee which was responsible for redistricting of House and Senate districts after the 2000 US Census. Reapportionment will again be taken up this biennium with completion of the 2010 Census. And, this past year, he served as counsel to the Government Accountability Committee which is monitoring the progress of Challenges for Change.
Schneider: Mandates are pushing schools over the edge
Over the course of two years, Williamstown will have had to redirect $540,000 or 5.5% of its total school budget away from regular education and into special education.
Shumlin asks Vermont school boards to keep spending level
Shumlin: “I remain supportive of using the $19 million in additional one-time federal funds as bridge financing over one or two years to accomplish the necessary cost savings.”
