Agency of Education requests $4 million one‑time appropriation to support education transformation in FY26

The Agency of Education asked the Senate Appropriations Committee on March 21 to include a one‑time $4,000,000 appropriation in the FY26 budget to fund work tied to the governor’s education transformation proposal, agency leaders said.

"We implement state and federal laws, policies, and regulations so that all Vermont learners have equitable access to high quality learning opportunities," said Jill Bruce Campbell, interim deputy secretary of education, as she opened the agency overview and budget briefing.

The request came as the agency presented a recommended FY26 budget of about $2.6 billion, down roughly $47.5 million from FY25, driven primarily by the expiration of pandemic‑era federal funds. The agency said the ARP ESSER and other COVID‑era programs supplied roughly $500 million in education funding beginning in 2020; the last of those funds ended Sept. 30, 2024. Sean Klooza, interim chief financial officer, told the committee federal grants and contracts drop sharply in FY26 as those funds wind down.

The $4 million one‑time request would fund three broad program areas the agency described as priorities for managing transformation: financial transformation and budgeting support, education quality and accountability, and school board and governance support. Campbell told the committee the agency proposes five new permanent positions to be embedded in the agency and to work in…