[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},"mediaId",6102733,"mediaKeyId","2803527-d16cadf6cbb93628034650c6b56e65c3","parentId",2803527,"title","Professor Tammy Colby lays out design choices for a student-based foundation formula","audioSeconds",3556,"startMs",2191135,"endMs",5747605,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2803527-d16cadf6cbb93628034650c6b56e65c3&start=2191&end=5747","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2803527-d16cadf6cbb93628034650c6b56e65c3/thumbnail_2191135.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6102733/Vermont/Professor-Tammy-Colby-lays-out-design-choices-for-a-student-based-foundation-formula","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6102733-e3f99f24b1ef2e97d34315d92c92db7c/orig.mp4?Expires=1773649379&Signature=RpN9HdG5~vbhBGh3NnSe~gmnwKGm69kT0B3tIvvHdTu-00JaJBaDOCoSey~oMK199jIfVMwxrMVeAGUIFM8oLDwY0fDQLIXP1LmOMb60RH6QSajDbqgtSnnsWbOfcPhsqllFZx92tyPY51tena4KUg7KVf4p1y92GgkezF3BzppycGwppq4~lnL6xBdpPToK4GBDuQ~tU8Lbivk0m6srGT8i9JyJE8tH9NuopBne8QLz~u7SEGHbVSqToYFLQXDef0GueRncBwpG5LXCD5bvwg8SsocZtcvoXVbyk8o-ag02nqcgYGnjT8vqvxoTqQc0IqH1nHm9ROgnzb5a4yUbBA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","","date","2025-03-28T03:41:07.807Z","article","Professor Tammy Colby told the Ways & Means Committee that designing a foundation formula requires three core policy choices: the base spending amount, the cost adjustments (weights or per-pupil grants), and how students are counted for funding. “Foundation formula are fundamentally student based funding systems,” Colby said, and she added states must make intentional design choices rather than adopt another state’s model verbatim.

Colby recommended starting with a clear definition of the base: the amount of general-education operating spending required, on average, for a student with no additional needs to reach state standards. She emphasized that capital and debt service are typically excluded from the base because they are handled through separate funding mechanisms. On escalation, Colby urged that most states stipulate a statutory escalation method (an inflation factor) and also require a full recalibration of the formula every four to five years.

On cost adjustments, Colby grouped common adjustments into four buckets: individual student risk or need (for example, disability status, English‑learner status, economic disadvantage), school- or district-context factors (for example, concentrations of high-need students), scale and sparsity (small schools, low enrollment, rurality), and input-price differences (geographic differences in labor/input costs). She cautioned that Vermont’s empirical work did not find input-price differences to be a statistically significant cost factor and said cost factors and their magnitudes must be determined using Vermont-specific analysis.

Colby addressed Vermont’s tuitioning towns and urged the committee to “start to rethink, rather than having tuitioning towns, we have tuitioned students,” explaining that in a student-based system dollars follow students and that has implications for weighting and tuition arrangements. She reviewed pros and cons of single versus variable bases (a single statewide base, a simple variable base that differentiates on a few transparent factors like sparsity, and complex variable bases that are harder to understand and administer).

On special education, Colby said many states are moving from single weights toward multiple, need‑based weights or matrix approaches because disability category alone is a poor proxy for cost. She recommended policymakers consider a high‑cost reimbursement or insurance mechanism (many states do) and to calibrate special‑education weights using empirical methods that measure cost differences in Vermont. Colby urged pairing statistical cost-function analysis with qualitative methods (professional judgment panels) when possible to cross-check estimates.

Committee members asked questions about updating the base when statutory requirements or costs change (Colby recommended triggers such as formal recalibration and cautioned the Legislature should plan for major changes), how to treat facility maintenance and capital (typically outside the operating base), and how choices about counts (average two‑year enrollment, average daily membership, or most‑recent-year counts) affect district funding. Colby repeatedly urged that Vermont pursue Vermont-specific cost studies and use a multi-method approach to validate estimates.

The committee paused for a break after the presentation; Colby and staff indicated follow-up materials and further technical options would be shared with the committee.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","House Ways and Means – 2025-03-27 – 9:00AM","oneSentenceSummary","Professor Tammy Colby told the committee that a foundation formula requires decisions on three core questions—what the base spending amount is, which cost adjustments to include, and how students are counted—and that Vermont needs state-specific empirical work and periodic recalibration.","taxTitle","Ways & Means, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Committees, Legislative , Vermont","taxId",35157,"location","Vermont","headline","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},6102738,"Appropriations substitute strips appropriations, tax credits from H.479; committee straw-polled 10-1",337,180270,518014,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2803527-d16cadf6cbb93628034650c6b56e65c3&start=180&end=518","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2803527-d16cadf6cbb93628034650c6b56e65c3/thumbnail_180270.jpg","/articles/6102738/Vermont/Appropriations-substitute-strips-appropriations-tax-credits-from-H479-committee-straw-polled-10-1","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6102738-b023b2235daf7673f9c120ecad7a428c/orig.mp4?Expires=1773649379&Signature=HRdqG15BUAUwmj~8uhICxkJdzvLCbjcGw-ZBq5DuhxegbDZnQcxmn2nMTrjGN54m~1UmibNG0fwnF8a6-GTo57iwJovEoVCaxvhmEhg2SmGhDttEoT-j6B4h4-4YX49mTnCHqgfmBXEbhRhcipMDZjyvEqthfRKsIY18Z4uNq3pX00HcIm8O80Bj7wjkfGrLpzwZrVbQdEzY4dnXEzs-UqF~h9eGxoNpbcUCODxMQJx3YAK227pSdo3Z0NcYwJ20LVze3uMQTg3AuCXrTPpM~5rrgiHBHvuFRbKGleEhDmLBOEZok9fV9oM3UWGtsdlgiZ3uFT~kNdkJyx0azHGE5Q__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Ways & Means Committee reviewed an Appropriations Committee substitute to H.479 that removes several appropriations and tax-credit provisions from the bill and moves—or omits—them relative to the larger budget vehicle. Legislative counsel Cameron Wood described the substitute as “very straightforward” and said the Appropriations Committee’s recommended substitute strips the appropriations from H.479 and replaces the committee’s prior amendment with the Appropriations language.

Wood said the substitute: removed an appropriation to a design committee and instead added a subsection tying per diem payments to whether the per diems are funded in FY2026; removed the bill’s tax-credit section entirely; removed a municipal 1% short-term-rental tax provision that had been in the committee’s amendment; and stripped a $250,000 appropriation that had funded an off‑site housing construction report by the Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA), adding instead that VHFA would not be required to produce the report if it is not funded in the budget.

James Duffy of the Joint Fiscal Office told the committee a document titled “JFO Crosswalk” was posted on the Ways & Means Committee page and shows, column by column, which H.479 appropriations did and did not land in the larger budget bill. Duffy said the crosswalk clarifies which appropriations were omitted, which were reduced, and which were carried into the larger bill.

Committee members confirmed that the two DHFA affordable-housing tax-credit programs and an extension of a payment-assistance provision did not make it into the final budget as introduced. The committee conducted a straw poll on the Appropriations substitute amendment; the chair reported the informal tally as 10 in favor, 1 opposed, 0 abstentions.

Committee members said some tax-credit provisions may appear in other bills that cross over from the Senate and that the larger budget and crosswalk are the best sources to track which line items ultimately received funding. The JFO crosswalk and the Appropriations substitute text were posted to the committee page for member review prior to any formal committee action.

Votes at a glance: Appropriations substitute straw poll — informal: yes 10, no 1, abstain 0.","Legislative counsel and the Joint Fiscal Office told Ways & Means the Appropriations Committee substitute for H.479 removed appropriations and tax-credit provisions. The committee conducted a straw poll on the Appropriations amendment (10 yes, 1 no). JFO posted a crosswalk table showing which appropriations moved to the big bill.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},6102744,"Ways & Means backs amendment to H.397 to align four municipal charters with 75/25 local-option tax split",615,1598240,2214195,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2803527-d16cadf6cbb93628034650c6b56e65c3&start=1598&end=2214","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2803527-d16cadf6cbb93628034650c6b56e65c3/thumbnail_1598240.jpg","/articles/6102744/Vermont/Ways-Means-backs-amendment-to-H397-to-align-four-municipal-charters-with-7525-local-option-tax-split","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6102744-9cd59b4165e24e692618c2058e529cac/orig.mp4?Expires=1773649379&Signature=LVZtk0hLtN5apFk2gxRCK3ghqBbPm-keqB1CdSvJUy8WiIdGcfiJaOOIT2EiCY~uiHcKIfwVZMtBaooLapudm-zXApA~DxjBYxJlaXDPOEJjOKZ3q1ljR4joUvdKZ2g8XEvgCVjBl5PqjWO5uvbafSg-iNl2dOu8tTg6iS5kRLrj212FDr2UlvzRsf-6u7nZmll97C546ZAymJQ8~5~UKiMxOLT8wjj8pbw-FYn1ZSyH2zMp7zkSsmxQRPO4veqFVSB5aKjMzGh3CboYMaLEtcLAqNtpYscQYU~BXy0qwg-uoStSplfVC1nJX3cMy01gr9~xg686uPSqCKNwhpbs2A__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Ways & Means Committee voted 11-0 to find an amendment to H.397 favorable that would bring four municipal charters into conformity with a proposed 75/25 split for the state local-option tax. The amendment ties charter language to 24 V.S.A. §138 so those municipalities would receive 75 percent of the municipal share under the statute rather than a fixed 70 percent spelled out in their charters.

The amendment’s purpose, as explained by legislative counsel Tucker Anderson, is “to bring the charters of 4 municipalities into conformity with the new pilot 75 25 split.” Anderson told the committee his review of the charter text in the LexisNexis database identified Burlington, Montpelier, Middlebury and Williston as specifically referencing a 70 percent allocation and that, without the amendment, those charters would control over the new general-law percentage.

The change matters because charter language is special law that applies to the named municipality; where charter text explicitly prescribes a percentage it can override later changes in general statute unless the legislature acts to make the charter language operate in tandem with the new law. Anderson noted a downside to tying charter language to the general statute: if the Legislature lowers the statewide allocation in the future, those municipalities would also receive the lower amount unless they pursue separate charter amendments.

Committee members asked whether other municipal taxing authorities or non-state-collected local option taxes (for example, downtown or municipal taxes) were affected; Anderson said the amendment applies to the state local-option sales tax allocation covered by 24 V.S.A. §138 and offered to follow up offline on other local taxing authorities or marketplace taxes that cities may adopt.

The committee recorded the motion finding the amendment favorable by roll call; the clerk reported 11 yes, 0 no. The motion text on the record identified the amendment as the committee substitute language to H.397 offered by Representatives noted in committee materials. The committee noted that separate related amendments (including ones addressing the pilot special fund surplus and other pilot program changes) remain under discussion and could be addressed in later floor negotiation.

The committee referred members to the bill text and the posted amendment on the committee page for final floor preparation. The amendment ties charter provisions explicitly to 24 V.S.A. §138 so that Burlington, Montpelier, Middlebury and Williston would receive the allocation set in that statute going forward.

Votes at a glance: The committee found the amendment to H.397 favorable by roll call, 11-0.","The Ways & Means Committee voted to find an amendment to H.397 favorable that ties four municipal charters to the state local-option tax statute, allowing Burlington, Montpelier, Middlebury and Williston to receive the proposed 75/25 revenue split rather than a 70% share fixed in their charters.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Professor Tammy Colby lays out design choices for a student-based foundation formula

Appropriations substitute strips appropriations, tax credits from H.479; committee straw-polled 10-1

Ways & Means backs amendment to H.397 to align four municipal charters with 75/25 local-option tax split