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State Board of Education tells Senate committee it lacks funds and legal counsel to meet statutory duties
Summary
State Board of Education leaders told the Senate Appropriations Committee on March 18 they are underfunded, lack dedicated legal counsel, and have paused rulemaking because current budget levels and unclear statutory responsibilities limit their ability to update rules and hear appeals.
Jennifer Deck Samuelson, chair of the State Board of Education, told the Vermont Senate Appropriations Committee on March 18 that the board is underfunded and lacks in-house legal counsel, leaving it unable to carry out duties assigned under 16 V.S.A. §164.
The board asked the committee to consider funding to hire counsel and to support a one-time appropriation to modernize the state's education rules, work the board said is urgent because many rules are decades out of date and federal policy changes may shift responsibilities to states.
"We are in a state of flux," Samuelson said, describing uncertainty about which duties the board will retain as the Legislature reviews proposals that would change the board's authority. She said the board's current operating budget has been capped at about $70,780 and that, after planned expenditures, "the board has a little bit, like, I want to say around $35,000 left in this budget,"…
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