Yesterday morning, a mysterious text flashed across my work cell from House Speaker Chief of Staff Conor Kennedy. He was requesting my assistance for a “special mission.” We could only speak of it IRL. I was, naturally, intrigued.
Come 1 p.m., we linked up in the cafeteria, but there were too many prying eyes and eavesdropping ears. He whisked me away to an abandoned committee room and shut the door behind us. What the actual hell was going on?
He turned to me all excitement and conspiracy: Molly Moore, Kennedy’s coworker in the Speaker’s Office, would be proposed to by her boyfriend of eight years, Senate Finance Committee Assistant Zane Buckminster, that very evening on the Statehouse steps. Kennedy and House Speaker Jill Krowinski, D-Burlington, wanted my help in pulling off the surprise. I believe I let out a squeal. (I love love, okay? And a plot! Sue me!)
Here was the plan: Moore needed to be lured out onto the steps at 5 p.m. sharp. An astute, hard-to-fool woman, she needed a good reason to be out there just then. The scheme was that I’d pretend I was interviewing Krowinski for this very newsletter. Something something “We’re trying something new, adding video content.” Moore’s presence would be required at the media avail on the steps.
“Operation is still in motion,” Kennedy texted me at 4:41 p.m. I assumed my position. Buckminster didn’t actually know who I was. Minutes before, he sweetly asked if I’d mind moving, as he was going to propose right on these very steps imminently. “No no! I’m the reporter! I’m in on it! I’m the decoy!” I replied. I’m not quite sure I soothed his nerves.
Just after 5, Krowinski emerged from the Statehouse with Moore. I waved, trying to play it cool. “Does here work?” Krowinski asked me, pointing to a spot on the steps convincingly. “Perfect,” I said, pulling out my phone to take a video.
That’s when Buckminster emerged from behind the Christmas tree, still aglow on the Statehouse lawn. “I have no idea what’s going on right now,” Moore said. Krowinski and I scurried out of the way. Buckminster popped the question, and Moore said yes.
So how many Statehouse rats does it take to pull off a surprise proposal? As it turns out: one House Speaker, one plotting staffer, one decoy reporter and a happy couple. Cheers!
— Sarah Mearhoff
In the know
From the school districts most advantaged by the latest changes to education finance to those on the opposite end of the spectrum, everyone, it seems, is having a uniquely difficult budget season.
In what Rep. Emilie Kornheiser, D-Brattleboro, chair of the House Ways & Means Committee called “deep listening,” lawmakers took rapid-fire five minute testimony from about two dozen school and state education officials Thursday.
Ryan Heraty, superintendent of Lamoille South Supervisory Union, did not hide his disdain for the latest changes resulting from Act 127, which sought to change the education spending formula to direct more resources to schools with higher-need students, calling the law “one of the most detrimental and dangerous pieces of legislation in recent history.”
— Ethan Weinstein
Lawmakers on the House ag committee had a question for officials on Thursday: Why hadn’t they opted in to a national program that would give income-eligible families with children more financial assistance for food this summer? The program would add to existing SNAP benefits.
“It was my recommendation that Vermont was not ready or able to participate in summer 2024 based on complexities of the law,” which was finalized in late 2023, said Rosie Krueger, state director of child nutrition programs at the Agency of Education. The state is planning to participate next year, she said.
The United States Department of Agriculture initially only gave three days to make a decision about participating, Krueger said. The state does not currently have a system that can quickly verify which families meet the program’s eligibility criteria, which are different from those of a similar pandemic-era program. Krueger said that’s why the state could not commit to the program by the Jan. 1 deadline.
“We don’t want to be in the position of telling families to expect this benefit this summer, and then not be able to give it to them,” she said. “That would be far worse than telling them upfront that we’re not able to give it to them.”
Recently, the USDA relaxed the deadline for states to opt in, and Krueger has traveled to Washington, D.C., to advocate for changes in the program and to determine whether Vermont could participate after all, she said. The program would offer around $120 more per child to each income-eligible family to be used during the summer months.
— Emma Cotton
On the move
Just as Final Reading went into production, House lawmakers gave preliminary approval to H.839, which makes mid-year changes to the state’s fiscal year 2024 budget, with a roll call vote of 112-24. The bill includes additional funding to extend the pandemic emergency shelter program and to provide assistance for municipalities affected by last year’s flooding.
— VTD Editors
Visit our 2024 Bill tracker for the latest updates on major legislation we are following.
What we’re reading
EMS personnel plead with Vermont lawmakers to address system ‘in crisis, Vermont Public
Talk of the towns: neighbors seek plumbers, lost pets and community on Front Porch Forum, Seven Days
