Conferees advance plan letting districts vote share of foundation funding, adjust tuition and weights

Montpelier — Conference committee conferees reviewing education policy presented a Senate conferees' proposal on May 30 that would let each Vermont school district vote the percentage of the statewide foundation amount it will receive and would change tuition eligibility, program weights and the timing of a foundation-formula rollout.

The proposal would require districts to approve an "approved percentage" of the foundation amount (described in the draft as a percentage in the 90–100% range) and includes a multi-year transition schedule that lowers the minimum allowed percentage in early rollout years. It also would change how tuition to independent and approved schools is treated, add or revise weights for career and technical education (CTE) and high school students, and establish transitional caps and tax-rate mechanics tied to the votes.

The committee heard a section-by-section reading of the Senate conferees' text. St. James of the Office of Legislative Council opened the presentation by describing the document: "This is the senate conferee's, proposal to the education, policy sections." John Gray, a legislative staff presenter, explained the new voter-choice mechanism and transitional schedule, saying in part that "the approved percentage range was 90 to a 100%."

Under the proposal discussed, the "approved percentage" determines each district's Educational Opportunity Payment (EOP). The draft sets an approved-percentage range with a floor planned lower in initial rollout years (the presenter described the earliest transition year as allowing a lower minimum in the first rollout year, then increasing the minimum by 1 percentage point each year until the floor reaches the long-term…