[B]URLINGTON — The Burlington School Board presented preliminary budget figures Tuesday night that show the education property tax in the city could jump 10 percent.
The 90-minute budget presentation at Hunt Middle School in the city’s New North End came a day after district officials presented early spending figures to the Burlington City Council. A standing room only crowd attended the meeting.
“We’re asking for your input,” said Superintendent of Schools Yaw Obeng, who was joined by Finance Director Nathan Lavery for the presentation.
Burlington isn’t alone in facing a steep increase in the state education property tax rate — every school district in the state must address a similar dilemma this year. Vermont has a statewide property tax that is set by the Legislature and the governor. This year the state has a $50 million state education budget gap that will increase to $80 million if school spending in Vermont increases by 3 percent as expected. Because of the gap in the state education fund, the estimated increase in the overall statewide property tax rate is 7 percent, according to the Vermont Department of Tax.
Gov. Phil Scott has said he will not accept any increase in the statewide property tax and will likely propose cuts to K-12 education in his budget, which will be released later this month.
School Commissioners Liz Curry, Stephanie Seguino and Kathy Olwell said the city schools educate a diverse population, and they are committed to providing a quality education for Burlington children.
“We in Burlington aren’t like the rest of the state,” Olwell said.
Administrators presented a base budget of $74,038,378 for fiscal year 2019. Last year the base budget was $73,755,000.
The total 2019 budget, which includes other sources of revenue such as grants, is $84,120,971.
The district has a $1 million surplus set aside that the board may opt to roll into this year’s budget. If implemented, the education spending increase would go down from $1,462,263 to $369,236.
If the surplus is used, the education property tax rate would go up 7.81 percent, according to the district presentation. Without the surplus, the tax rate increases by 9.72 percent.
The base budget incorporates items such as new health-care plans with increases for teachers and staff. A number of audience members came to the meeting wearing green Burlington Education Association T-shirts.
The proposal doesn’t include the $1 million in new programs the district wants to add or maintain. Among the needs the district has identified as high priorities are: closing the achievement gap, retaining multilingual liaison staff and maintaining class sizes recommended by the Vermont Agency of Education.
After the presentation, board members reacted to the budget proposal. Some school commissioners, like Jeff Wick, who represents the South District in the city, said he wants to speak with his constituents about the plan.
School Board Chairman Mark Porter made a case at the city council meeting for strong, educational programs to ensure that children stay in school and graduate. He sounded a more pessimistic tone during the board meeting, noting his concern about the potential double-digit tax rate increase.
Olwell, who represents the Edmunds Elementary and Middle schools area, reminded the audience of the board’s mission. “We’re in the business of educating kids.”
The board is slated to consider the budget at a special Jan. 16 meeting.
