Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott Milne on Wednesday laid out a plan he said will deliver free, universal education for Vermonters from pre-kindergarten through college or vocational school.
The plan, the first detailed policy Milne has put forth during the campaign, hinges on consolidating supervisory unions and cutting per-pupil spending by about a third, from $17,500 to $12,000, and using the savings to pay for higher education for those students.
Milne’s plan also calls for a two-year cap on property taxes as a “tactic” that would force the Legislature to permanently reform the way the state funds education. He presented the plan at his first news conference since he launched his campaign, less than three weeks before voters will cast ballots Nov. 4.
Incumbent Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin’s campaign slammed the Milne announcement before it occurred, with a news release blasting the property tax cap as “just a bad idea” and saying it will “blow a $42 million hole” in the education system.
Milne’s plan is a seven-page, footnoted document. But despite its detail, the Republican challenger faltered Wednesday when questioned about it by reporters.
On paper, the plan says the state can reduce per-pupil spending and align it with the national per-pupil average of $11,800 if the state’s 46 supervisory unions consolidate into 15 “regional education administration districts,” or READs. The READs would have authority over school budgets and residents would pay a regional tax to the READ.
READs that reduce per-pupil spending would be allowed to use the savings toward college for students in that READ, he said.
Milne said his plan would revitalize the economy and attract young families to Vermont.
“The better economy we have, the better students we’re going to have,” he said.
Socio-economic status, not per-pupil spending, drives student outcome, Milne said. Education is the investment that provides the greatest and longest-lasting return, he said.
Milne said his plan would not force school district consolidation. Rather, it incentivizes consolidation with the “carrot” of free college for districts that save money, he said.
When asked what the specific process is for coaxing supervisory unions to consolidate, Milne said: “The process is I’m running for governor. I’ve got a plan for revitalizing the Vermont economy.”
Asked twice more for his specific plan, he began criticizing Shumlin and mentioning the struggles of the Vermont Health Connect website.
Consolidating into READs would reduce administrative costs because there would be 15 READs instead of the current 46 supervisory unions, 12 supervisory districts and two interstate districts, the plan says.
The READs would be consolidated around existing tech centers when feasible, the plan says. There are 17 high school tech centers in Vermont.
Milne’s plan includes a chart showing that the number of staff in Vermont schools rose by 17 percent between 1997 and 2012 while the number of students shrunk 17 percent in the same period.
The plan also calls for simplifying the system the state uses to fund education, but does not offer specifics on how to do so.
Milne said his goal is to reduce reliance on property taxes, which largely fund schools in Vermont and have risen steeply in recent years.
Once more than half of the READs reduce per-pupil spending to a point where income exceeds expenditures, a statewide higher education tuition fund would be established, the plan says.
Milne described his plan as “based on fact” and “practical.” He said he wrote the plan, along with “a couple smart people” he would not name.
The idea of creating READs was proposed in a 2012 report by Campaign for Vermont, a nonpartisan research group.
Tom Pelham, a founding member of Campaign for Vermont, said Wednesday that Milne did not consult with him on the plan, but he is glad that it’s gaining attention.
“The reason we put proposals out and ideas out is for people to consider them,” Pelham said.
There were 87,500 students in preschool through 12th grade last year, thus this plan would realize $481 million in savings, according to Milne’s plan. One year of tuition at a Vermont state college costs about $9,000, Milne said, so the savings could send 53,000 students to college each year.
About 7,000 students graduate from Vermont high schools each year. If all of them took advantage of this program, the state would have 28,000 students in the program and it would cost the state $63 million per year, per class, or $252 million annually, Milne’s plan says.
Students would be eligible for one year of in-state college or a vocational program for every two years they spent in the Vermont school system, the plan says.
Milne said the tuition offer would include all the state’s colleges and universities. Other Vermont colleges could opt into the program if they are willing to strike a deal with the state for “wholesale” tuition prices for the students.
In addition, the state would pay for a year’s tuition in return for a student staying and working in Vermont for a year, the plan says.
Asked about the Shumlin campaign’s claim that his formula would “blow a $42 million hole in Vermont’s education system,” Milne said he was not aware of that statement.
Milne stalled when asked how he would plug the $42 million hole a cap on property taxes might create.
After five minutes of questioning, he still gave a vague answer, saying the money would come from the general fund and could mean a cut of other state programs or raising other taxes.
His printed plan, however, said READs will supplement the budget gap created by capping property taxes for two years and incentivizing the overhaul of school structures to become more efficient.
Milne criticized the Shumlin administration for claiming not to have raised broad-based taxes while repeatedly raising the statewide property tax.
“Education is a broad-based tax in Vermont,” Milne said.
“It’s hard to take Scott Milne seriously when his property tax gimmick would likely cause income taxes to skyrocket by $47 million next year,” a Shumlin spokesman said later in response to Milne’s comment.
Milne said he plans to hold more news conferences soon about “taxes and economic incentives,” and a “big-picture, fundamental” reorganization of state government. He also said he has a plan to finance the cleanup of Lake Champlain but no timeline to reveal it.
“I will talk about it when I want to talk about it,” he said.
