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Witness and senators debate H.454 foundation formula, equity and implementation risks
Summary
Alan Gilbert, a former school-board leader, told a Senate committee that H.454could work to equalize school funding but only if the Legislature commits to maintaining the foundation amount with inflation; committee members discussed consolidation, timelines and implementation concerns.
Alan Gilbert, a former chair of the Worcester School Board and past president of the Vermont School Boards Association, urged the Senate committee to preserve the equity mechanisms in H.454 while warning that the plan will fail unless the Legislature keeps the foundation amount in line with inflation.
Gilbert told the committee that his town of Worcester illustrated the problem the bill is intended to fix: in 1995 the largest taxpayer in town was the telephone company, and nearly half the town was state forest land exempt from property taxes, leaving the district with a “minuscule property tax base.” He said those conditions made it extremely difficult to pass a modest bond for classrooms and student services.
“The plancan work if, and this is the big if, the legislature pointed towards the responsibility of keeping the foundation amount in line with inflation,” Gilbert said. “If it can’t, we’re going…
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