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House committee debates adding legislative appointees to State Board of Education
Summary
Members of the Vermont House Committee on Education discussed proposals to change how members are appointed to the State Board of Education, including adding legislative appointees, but deferred final action pending more testimony.
The Vermont House Committee on Education spent much of its March 27 meeting discussing proposals to change the composition of the State Board of Education, including adding seats appointed by legislative leaders.
Committee members said the issue affects how education policy will be carried out as the legislature shifts rulemaking authority to state agencies and the board. "Currently, there are 10 members. 2 are students. And then the rest are governor appointees. And the secretary serves as a nonvoting member," said Ken James of the Office of Legislative Counsel during the discussion.
Supporters of adding legislative appointees said small, incremental changes — such as giving two appointment slots to the legislature through the speaker of the House and the Senate committee on committees — would provide more balance and another set of eyes on the board’s makeup without overhauling the system. One committee member proposed allowing the governor six appointments and reserving two seats for legislative appointees; another suggested the governor choose four and professional organizations pick four to ensure field representation.
Other members urged caution. Several said adding appointments now could inject fresh controversy into a bill the committee intends to move quickly. "I'd rather leave the entire section out of the bill than have to put something through that has not been thoroughly vetted and had testimony from all sides," one committee member said. Another argued legislative appointments are appropriate because the legislature is assigning more rulemaking responsibilities to the board.
Members repeatedly returned to basic counts and voting status as they tried to pin down the legal baseline: the board includes student members and a nonvoting secretary, leaving eight voting appointees drawn from governor or other sources under current law. Committee members asked legislative counsel for exact statutory language and said they would hear testimony later in the day before deciding whether to include any change in the pending bill.
The committee did not vote on any amendment at the March 27 meeting and agreed to continue the conversation after additional testimony.
