Governor—s office urges faster H.454 rollout, warns against higher spending and 10% supplemental cap

At a conference committee meeting on H.454, Jason Malucci, the governor's director of policy development and legislative affairs, told conferees the administration supports transitioning Vermont to a foundation funding formula but objects to proposals that would raise overall spending and allow districts a 10% supplemental levy under current cost levels.

Maluci said the administration views the moment as a "rare once in a generation opportunity" to reform education funding and governance, but cautioned that "we cannot spend more than we are today because Vermonters can't afford it." He said the governor would prefer the new governance and funding changes to begin in fiscal 2028 rather than a longer transition and asked committees to account for all costs, including special-education and career-technical education governance changes.

The governor's office highlighted three central concerns: affordability of any new spending level, the timeline for implementing governance and funding changes, and geographic equity if the state moves to a single homestead rate. Maluci said Vermont is…