Members of the House Committee on Education have been working feverishly to cobble together a modification to the spending threshold mechanism in Act 46 as school boards barrel toward finalizing their budgets.
On Thursday, Gov. Peter Shumlin, used his State of the State address to weigh in and called for a moratorium or total repeal in the near future – completely disregarding the chair of the education panel’s plan to adjust for unexpected health care costs.
“Act 46 is working better than any of us could have anticipated,” Shumlin said. “Communities across Vermont are finally having the very difficult but necessary conversations about how we right-size our institutional enterprise to improve the quality for students and reduce costs overtime for taxpayers. The rigid spending caps that were a teeny part of the bill, I believe have become the enemy of the good.”
The Annual Growth Percentage, or AGP is meant to reign in excessive spending on schools. Each school district has been given an amount they can increase spending between 0 and 5.5 percent based on the previous years per pupil expenditure. If spending rises above the assigned amount then school districts are penalized with a double tax on the additional costs. Some school boards are finding it difficult to comply due to a 7.9 increase in health care costs as well as other unexpected costs.
State Board of Education member Bill Mathis said that had the House used a multi-year formula instead of basing allowable growth on just the previous year it would have been more equitable.
The House Committee on Education is considering raising the percent each school district is allowed to grow by 0.9 percent to accommodate the unforeseen health care costs. They have been taking testimony on the proposal crafted by Rep. David Sharpe, chair of the panel, since the Legislature opened for business on Tuesday.
“Our proposal is gaining strength in the House,” Sharpe said. He doesn’t think the House will go for a repeal, but he plans to work with the Senate and the governor to swiftly pass something that will help school boards.
Rep. Bernard Juskiewicz, vice chair of House Education, doesn’t support the governor’s position. He said school boards have already cut spending and is concerned that a repeal would allow “school boards to do what they want to do.”
Sen. David Zuckerman, who sits on the Senate Committee on Education disagrees. He says school boards have been doing a good job of keeping spending down to approximately 2 percent for the last few years. “To punish districts because of things that are out of their control such as special education spending, changing student enrollments and health care costs is not the way to improve our schools and reduce spending.”
The Senate never liked AGP to begin with but they compromised to get Act 46 passed, according to Sen. Ann Cummings, D-Washington, chair of the Senate Committee on Education. She said that her committee has filed two bills that would repeal AGP. So, while the House toils away trying to craft a compromise and maintain some sort of “taxpayer relief,” the Senate and the Shumlin administration are poised to end the process at any point with a repeal vote.
House Republicans were incensed by Shumlin’s directive. “The one thing that offered Vermont taxpayers cost containment he wants to repeal,” said Rep. Kurt Wright (R-Chittenden).
Rutland Rep. Lawrence Cupoli was incredulous that after last year, Shumlin didn’t talk about the property taxpayer affordability issue in Vermont and instead wants to get rid of AGP.
But not everyone on the House ed committee is convinced, at least one member, Rep. Emily Long, D-Newfane, is listening and considering all the testimony being presented. “I wouldn’t want to take anything off the table. Our committee is working really hard right now to find the best path forward.”
