This commentary is by Tara Arneson of Richmond. She is vice chair of the Mount Mansfield Unified Union School Board.
It’s budget season in Vermont. Local officials are working through complex plans and having pragmatic discussions about what to fund and what to cut for the next fiscal year. Community forums and informational meetings will be had so that we can all be prepared to vote on March 5. This is no different for school boards across the state. Many of us are reconciling the implementation of Act 127 as we consider how to continue to offer a high quality education to Vermont’s children while we have flat enrollments, inflation and rising healthcare costs. I assure you, this has not been an easy budget season.
Recently, VTDigger shared a letter written by State Rep. Emilie Kornheiser and Sen. Ann Cummings directed at school boards regarding Act 127 and education funding. The letter vilifies school boards based not on facts or data, but rather on testimony not provided by actual school board members. Both school boards and superintendents were given the opportunity to give testimony on Jan. 25. The testimony given is eye-opening. Educational leaders from around our state gave stark actualizations as to how this would play out in their respective districts.
School boards go into this work with the best interest of Vermont’s children in mind. Numerous districts, including mine, will lose tax capacity under Act 127. This means the new law will require a higher tax rate to maintain the same level of spending per student. The law does provide for a 5% rate cap for the first years. It is important to know that for our district to keep our budget below the cap, we would have to cut over $5 million dollars from the budget, or about 70 teachers. However, as written in the law, if school boards don’t use this 5% rate cap this year, we can’t access it again in future years. For some districts, including mine, it’s not in our best interest to be below this 5% cap because it would gravely impact how we can educate children in our district.
We are also in an era where our school buildings are tired and outdated. These buildings have been given a lot of care over the years, but they are in need of significant repair. Almost 20 years ago, the Legislature put a temporary hiatus on capital project funding for schools, leaving local communities to bear the brunt of large scale building projects. As the years continue to pass, that temporary hiatus seems to be more and more permanent every day. My district has been judicious in our spending and haven’t taken out bonds for capital improvements. But, as our buildings continue to age and as we are required to test for PCBs, the taxpayers are going to have to approve move bonds and bigger budgets for existing and future repairs.
When we talk about vulnerable Vermonters, our school-aged children highlight that population. School boards are elected to be their voice and represent public education in our state. We serve to represent their best educational interest. Most of us are volunteers, giving countless hours each week, to ensure our schools are providing the most quality public education they can. Since the pandemic, we have seen a shift in student needs at schools. Students need more and more support, not just academically, to develop into well-rounded, kind and responsible human beings. Schools across the state and nation have been looked to for giving children this support as well as safe, supportive environments where they can grow. Our budgets reflect the changing needs of students and the need to keep qualified educators employed in our districts. I recognize that the intent of the law was to develop a greater equity in funding education, knowing that the studies done show that it should cost more to educate students with higher needs. Part of my work with my board has been to create a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Committee that focuses on bringing equitable learning environments to our students every day. We strive to inject equity into every aspect of our work so that we can ensure all students are represented.
My district has consistently offered transparency in our budget process through informational meetings, community letters and supplying all information on our website. Local legislators attended our Dec. 18 meeting to hear what the impact would be in our area. As boards continue to pass budgets and hold more space for the community to provide input, I would encourage members of the public to reach out and talk to your school board about the budget. I recognize that some will only focus on the percentage increase. Please look past that number and ask questions. This is an incredibly complicated matter and my hope is that we can work together so that our children don’t lose any part of their education because of failed budgets.
