MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – The state is getting to work on rethinking what public education in Vermont should look like and how to pay for it.
The task force has a lot of work in front of them, including rethinking how we fund education and examining whether we should start consolidating or closing schools.
We’ve reported extensively on the spiking property taxes, even though student enrollment has been dropping and test scores have remained largely flat.
The task force is made up of lawmakers, members of the Scott administration and organizations in the education system, like the Vermont Principals’ Association.
But there are many questions about whether they can come to consensus. Will they try to fund education with an income tax instead of a property tax? Or will they redo the education formula altogether?
“These are tricky and extensive issues we’ve been tasked with addressing. I feel like all of us in our respective roles have been focused on different parts of the elephant and I’m looking forward to bringing us all together so we can look at the elephant as a whole,” said Jennifer Samuelson of the State Board of Education.
Some, including Gov. Phil Scott, have said that funding reform should have started this past session.
Final recommendations from the task force are due in December ahead of the next legislative session.