Ways & Means hears updated foundation estimate: $15,033 base proposed, weights for poverty, English learners and special education

The Vermont House Ways & Means Committee heard an updated cost study April 3 that estimated a fiscal‑year 2025 foundation (base) amount of $15,033 per pupil and recommended accompanying cost adjustments and student weights for a student‑based funding formula.

The analysis was presented by Tammy Colby, an education finance expert, who said the figure reflects updated models run on 2019–2024 school‑year data and inflated to FY25 using the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Cost Index. "That number is $15,033," Colby told the committee, which also received framing remarks from Julia Richter of the Joint Fiscal Office.

The foundation amount matters because it defines the state’s adequacy obligation under a student‑based (foundation) formula: it is the baseline per‑pupil spending the state would need to provide so students can reach Vermont’s proficiency targets. Colby said the committee must also decide how to count pupils and how to treat additional needs through weights or categorical grants.

Key details from the presentation

- Base amount and indexing: Colby presented a single base estimate of $15,033 per pupil in FY25 dollars, derived from updated pupil‑cost models and inflated with the BLS Employment Cost Index (ECI) so the number is comparable with other FY25 proposals. Richter and Colby discussed choices for escalation in later years and other possible inflation indices used by statute.

- Three high‑level policy choices for structuring the formula: (1) a single base plus student weights; (2) a simple variable base (different bases for small and/or sparse schools) with corresponding weights; or (3) a single base with categorical grants outside the formula for small or sparse schools. Colby explained tradeoffs:…