IN APRIL 17’S FINAL READING:
— On a call with Senate lawmakers Friday morning, Jeb Spaulding, chancellor of the Vermont State Colleges System, broke news that the system is considering the shuttering of three campuses and cutting 500 employees under a radical restructuring proposal to manage the pandemic’s financial fallout.
The plan would close down Northern Vermont University, which has campuses in Lyndon and Johnson, and consolidate Vermont Technical College’s operations onto its Williston campus. Several lawmakers reacted with alarm to the plan, noting that the schools were major employers in the state’s poorest regions.
“Throw in Lyndon as a place to be eliminated and you really end up wiping out three counties,” said. Sen. Joe Benning, R-Caledonia. “That’s not the kind of decision that in my opinion that a small group of unelected officials should be making.” – Lola Duffort
— Vermont lawmakers are supporting a proposal that would give additional pay to workers on the frontlines of the Covid-19 crisis. Under a plan discussed by state senators Friday afternoon, workers making $20 an hour or less in industries that have been deemed “essential” by the governor during Vermont’s state of emergency could receive monthly grant payments.
Those eligible for the benefit include grocery store workers, pharmacy workers, janitors, trash collectors, child care providers, and assisted living and nursing home caregivers. A legislative working group that drafted the proposal hasn’t determined how much workers would receive each month, but is looking at providing payments in April, May, June and July.
Senators expressed desire to move forward with the measure quickly, so that essential workers can see swift pay increases. “I’m getting worried, I think we all are, that people will start getting back to work before they get a penny of acknowledgement,” said Sen. President Pro Tem Tim Ashe, D/P-Chittenden. – Xander Landen
— House Education lawmakers were confronted with educator concerns about a new Scott administration guideline that says schools districts are required to continue remote learning for all Pre-K students, including those who were being served by a private provider before the coronavirus.
As many educators pointed out, this could mean that instructors may have to take on hundreds more students, which districts don’t have the staff capacity to do. Stacie Curtis, director of Burlington’s Early Education Programs, said successful remote preschool teaching relies heavily on connections between teachers and parents.
“I don’t know how families can make connections with teachers they don’t know,” Curtis said. – Grace Elletson
— House Rules met today to iron out some final wrinkles in its remote voting process before formally testing it out in the coming weeks. Because the House chamber has many more members than the Senate, it’s taken the body longer to figure out a remote voting method.
House Speaker Mitzi Johnson, D-South Hero, said remote voting sessions will take place over Zoom and that when it comes time for a vote, lawmakers will submit their yay or nay through an app called Everbridge.
But there are backup plans: In case lawmakers run into technical difficulties with the app, they’ll be instructed to call or email the House clerk with their vote. In order to ensure that every member has enough time to vote, Johnson said three minutes will be alloted for each question. – Grace Elletson
— While no Vermont fairs have officially made the call to cancel their festivities for the summer, Jackie Folsom, a lobbyist for the Vermont Fairs and Field Days Association, told House Ag lawmakers that many are in a tough financial situation.
“They’ve taken deposits from exhibitors. They’ve paid out, in some cases, enormous amounts of money for entertainment,” Folsom said. “And one of the things we’re wondering is … on some of these contracts you can get refunds from an act of God. And we’re waiting to find out if Covid is considered an act of God.”
Folsom said the Caledonia County fair will make the call to stay on or cancel in mid-June. The Addison County fair decision date is Aug. 1. – Grace Elletson
