Senate education panel presses Agency of Education on district size, governance and costs tied to foundation funding plan

Continuing a series of hearings, the Vermont Senate Education Committee on March 28 heard from Zoe Saunders, secretary of education, on why district size and governance must be part of any shift to an evidence‑based foundation funding formula. “I’ve come back today, to really respond to some of the questions, that were asked, in the last meeting to really focus in on the importance of identifying district size as we're contemplating a transition to a foundation funding formula,” Saunders told the committee.

Saunders said the administration’s evidence‑based model ties a base funding amount to specific staffing and program inputs and therefore assumes districts will operate at a certain scale. “However, this plan would not be possible within Vermont's existing structure,” she said, arguing that without changes in governance some districts would be either underfunded for the new standards or the state would face much higher costs to reach parity.

Why it matters: Saunders framed the debate as one about equity and sustainability. The model's goal, she said, is to reduce inequities in per‑pupil spending and ensure that students with similar needs receive similar resources statewide. Committee members pressed the agency on practical consequences, including whether larger districts would actually solve workforce shortages and how…