Members of a key House committee pulled apart Gov. Phil Scott’s education overhaul proposal Thursday and said it stood little chance of passing, particularly as quickly as the governor wants.
Lawmakers on the House Ways and Means Committee politely peppered Tax Commissioner Kaj Samsom with questions about the constitutionality, wisdom and timing of the governor’s proposal. In addition, the committee exposed a major financial hole that the tax commissioner acknowledged would have to be filled.
Democrats and Republicans on the panel said the proposal had no chance of passing the Legislature by the end of next week, when towns would need to know whether to put their school budgets before voters at March town meeting or wait until May 23, as called for in the governor’s proposal.
In addition to timing, committee members objected to components of the proposal that Scott laid out in his budget address to the Legislature on Tuesday. His proposal calls for school districts to level fund their budgets for next year and for teachers to pay 20 percent of health insurance premiums, with the savings funneled to increased funding for child care, preschool and college programs.
Among the problems committee members raised were logistics, whether the proposal could pass constitutional muster, and whether the scope of the education fund should be expanded.
For example, Rep. Jim Condon, D-Colchester, said he believed allowing some communities to raise additional money on their own would violate the Brigham decision, a Vermont Supreme Court ruling designed to level disparities between towns on education spending.
“Those towns that have the wherewithal to spend more money and a populace willing to do so would be able to spend money where other towns would not. That causes a problem,” Condon said during a break after Samsom testified.
The tax commissioner said the administration is aware the question of whether the plan complies with Brigham is “a possible issue” and recommended the committee speak with administration attorneys.
Condon also questioned whether the proposal violated the Vermont Constitution, which he said calls for lawmakers to provide for the education of youths.
“That doesn’t mean day care and adult education or college,” he said.
Committee Chair Janet Ancel, D-Calais, noted the increased funding for child care, early education and college programs depended on projected savings from K-12 programs — the amount between what the schools were expected to spend next year and level funding — and said the proposal left a $35 million gap in the state budget.
In addition, committee members got Samsom to acknowledge the $15 million that is expected to be saved by having teachers increase their share of health care premiums would not occur in time for those savings to be used to beef up other programs. The requirement would be included in contracts to be negotiated soon.
“That will need to be fixed for that to be a real savings,” Samsom said when asked about it after his testimony.
He said he was “not sure” why the administration appeared to be using savings for other programs before they accrued.
Committee member Rep. Cynthia Browning, D-Arlington, called the Scott proposal “insulting” and a setback for property tax reform efforts.
“It insults the work of the school boards. It insults the towns in terms of the direction it gives them. It insults the Legislature in that we haven’t been given enough time to properly vet it,” Browning said.
Samsom acknowledged the tight timeline but said afterward, “I think it’s possible if the will is there to make changes.”
Republican Rep. Kurt Wright, of Burlington, also on Ways and Means, disputed the assertion that there would be enough time. Some towns, committee members said, have already sent their town meeting information to printers.
“It’s damn near impossible with the timeline we’re facing, unanswered questions not fleshed out,” Wright said. “I just don’t see a path to accomplish this, even if we wanted to, by the end of next week.”
Wright said he would have preferred “more of a long-term proposal than this short term proposal, which is to pass something on the fly, in an extremely short time period is damn near impossible. I appreciate the desire to do something different.”
Committee members questioned adding more programs to the education fund when it is already under financial pressure. Scott’s theory is to put all the programs under one cap, realign priorities and reduce spending at the K-12 level as the number of students decreases.
Condon also noted towns would have additional expenses holding a vote in May in addition to town meeting in March, when town and municipal budgets would still be voted on. Samsom said the administration was considering giving towns financial assistance for those additional costs.
Browning said she wanted property tax reform but that Scott’s proposal was “wrongheaded” and a setback for reform.
“I think this is an insult to people trying to do education reform and trying to fix the education fund because it’s just brute force, putting a cap in and then putting more costs in,” Browning said.
Added Condon: “I don’t see this flying.”
