MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – Will state lawmakers provide property tax relief on a double-digit rate increase? Gov. Phil Scott Wednesday spoke to reporters about his hopes for buying down the Education Fund and the Senate rejection of his pick for education secretary.
This week brought a fresh batch of school budget revotes with mixed results. A dozen school budgets were decided Tuesday — seven failed and five passed.
It remains to be seen, if Senate lawmakers will modify the Yield Bill to raise taxes or take other action to provide property tax relief.
Governor Phil Scott Wednesday said he would like to use surpluses in certain programs in the state budget and divert some of those to help buy down education costs. He says without doing something this year, Vermonters’ bottom lines will suffer. “Vermonters are hurting, they don’t know how they are going to pay those property taxes, and at this point they are not seeing much relief, and I believe there is a path to giving them that relief,” he said.
The governor says lawmakers need to begin systemic education funding reform this year instead of relying on the results of a House-proposed 18-month-long study committee.
Even under the current House-passed yield bill — Which raises taxes on business software and short-term rentals, homestead property taxes would increase 15% and non-homestead taxes covering businesses and renters would increase 18.5%.
SCOTT DECRIES PARTISAN HIT JOB AGAINST SAUNDERS NOMINATION
The education finance reform discussions came a day after the Senate rejected the governor’s pick for education secretary.
Scott on Wednesday defended his decision to name Zoie Saunders interim secretary, saying he has a constitutional responsibility to fill vacancies. However, he says he has not decided whether he will re-appoint Saunders in a permanent capacity or direct the Board of Education to re-open the search process for a permanent secretary. He says its important that the agency of education have someone at the helm to provide stability.
Gov. Scott also decried what he described as a political hit job against his administration and pointed the finger at groups like the Vermont-NEA for raising the temperature on this issue.