The Vermont Agency of Education told the House Committee on Education on March 20 that it is requesting $4,000,000 in the governor’s budget and five permanent positions to support a multi‑year plan to reorganize district governance, integrate data and finance systems, and strengthen academic supports.

The funding request and positions are intended to support three main areas: operational budget and business systems, academic quality and standards, and school board and governance transition, Agency of Education Secretary Zoe Saunders said. “We are actually including in the proposal five permanent positions,” Saunders said, describing them as base funding that would remain after the initial implementation window.

Why it matters: Committee members pressed the agency for detail on how that money and staff would be used because the plan ties directly to a proposed change in governance and a future foundation funding formula. Agency leaders said the positions and temporary consultant support are meant to build agency capacity and provide sustained, field‑facing support so districts and new supervisory structures can operate on a stable, predictable schedule and funding stream.

Agency officials described five targeted roles: two related to business operations and data integration, two focused on curriculum and education quality standards, and a school facilities support specialist. Shildrig Campbell, deputy secretary of education, said the business operations and data integration specialists will “work on the ground a lot with district teams” and play a central role if Vermont moves to a single statewide financial or student information system. Campbell emphasized that certain back‑office work “must be achieved by 07/01/2027” so systems are ready to switch on by that date.

The school facilities position would help districts assemble facilities‑condition data, enrollment trends and transportation patterns to support decisions about consolidation, grade realignment or capacity expansions. Campbell said the role responds to ongoing facilities conversations with local directors who face barriers coordinating across current district boundaries.

Agency leaders also described a curriculum and education quality standards integration specialist to help reduce variability in graduation requirements, proficiency‑based grading, and local benchmark practices. Saunders and Campbell said the two education‑quality positions would be supported by existing agency teams, including a newly created chief academic officer post, which the agency recently advertised.

The agency plans to use consultants for a surge of technical work such as mapping systems, defining user requirements and managing integration; those consultant costs are temporary, the agency said, while the five positions are permanent. The agency has implemented a data‑collection and mapping tool this year called Edvibe to help align information from disparate district systems during the transition.

On staffing and timing, Saunders said hiring cannot begin until the legislature appropriates funds, but the agency would aim to have job descriptions ready and pursue early‑fall hires if the appropriation is approved. Committee members noted pay competitiveness and vacancies; Saunders said the agency is working to align pay scales and had several positions posted, with multiple candidates in process.

Agency leaders said the $4,000,000 request does not include education transformation grants the agency is considering to cover the “double‑staffing” or startup costs of standing up new central offices for consolidated districts; those grants are a separate potential vehicle for FY27 support. The agency said it will return to the General Assembly next year with a report on system integration that outlines costs and timelines for statewide adoption of unified systems.

Committee discussion focused on pacing and contingency planning. Representatives asked whether elongating the implementation timeline would affect costs and system stability; agency staff said timing choices would involve tradeoffs and that federal funding uncertainty increases pressure to stabilize state funding. The agency also described an interagency approach to support communities—naming Department of Mental Health, the Agency of Natural Resources and the Agency of Agriculture among partners—when districts consider consolidation or facility changes.

No formal committee action or vote was taken during the testimony. Agency leaders concluded by offering to provide the committee with additional modeling of five sample district budgets, policy sprint notes and an org‑chart and vacancy dashboard showing current recruitment status.

The committee’s follow‑up will include review of the agency’s next report on state system integration costs and implementation milestones ahead of FY27 budget decisions.