Douglas: Vermont must make responsible choice with federal education money
Editor’s note: This op-ed is by Gov. Jim Douglas.
Vermont, like the rest of the country, has been forced to adjust to new fiscal realities as a result of the Great Recession. Throughout state government we have sought to rein in public spending to alleviate the strain on tax paying Vermonters who cannot afford an even greater burden. As we emerge from this economic downturn, it is critical that we maintain fiscal discipline and seek to reduce taxes so that we can maintain and create jobs in Vermont.
With a $13 trillion federal debt, Washington will not be able to support state budgets at the levels it has in recent years. When Congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) in early 2009, I urged lawmakers to resist the temptation of relying on one-time funds to support ongoing expenditures. This approach was largely agreed to for this year’s state budget, and as a result Vermont is much better positioned than most other states to address significant fiscal challenges in the coming years. Using federal money to keep state spending artificially high would have irresponsibly left state taxpayers on the hook when the federal spigot is turned off.
With the latest round of new federal spending to support education – $19 million of which will come to Vermont – we must not turn back on the fiscally prudent course we set. It is in the best interest of our state that these funds not be used to fund ongoing annual expenses, but rather that they go to help address long-term obligations, such as our unfunded liability in teachers retirement, and provide property tax relief for Vermonters.
We must not allow money from Washington to become a crutch that compromises our efforts to control school spending and reform our education system. Indeed, it is critical to job creation that we address the crushing burden of property taxes because Vermonters already bear the second highest property tax burden in America. That burden is fueled by the lowest teacher-student ratio in the nation by far – 49 percent off the national average. Further, the trend in Vermont is fewer students in our schools. Since 1997, our student population has dropped by over 15,000. Yet, during this same period, school staffs have increased by over 3,800. In the last three fiscal years – during the Great Recession – school staffing has continued to increase by 238, yet we have 2,800 fewer students in the classroom.
Given those numbers, using one-time federal money to bolster school staffing levels would be irresponsible – particularly with budget challenges remaining for the foreseeable future. School districts must continue to take seriously the spending reduction targets the Legislature directed, and the Commissioner of Education issued, as part of the Challenges for Change legislation passed this year. Efforts to reform school governance and funding must continue in earnest. Using this one-time federal money to avoid tough decisions would not only leave Vermonters on the hook for $19 million or more in property tax increases next year, it would make it more difficult for the next governor and the next Legislature to advance necessary reforms to reduce property taxes.
It is my hope that Vermont will continue along the responsible path and not use one-time federal money to kick the can another year. To do otherwise would lead to higher taxes and deeper cuts in the future, making it more difficult to create jobs and grow our economy.
