Agency of Education requests $4 million to support statewide education transformation

The Vermont Agency of Education asked the House Education Committee on Feb. 26 for $4,000,000 to fund contracted services, tools and on-the-ground support to aid a planned statewide education transformation, Secretary Zoe Saunders said.

Saunders said the request is intended to expand the agency’s capacity during a period of major change so the AOE can support districts with budgeting, accountability, special education monitoring and the transition to a new funding formula and new local school boards.

Saunders said the $4 million request is “broken down into 3 primary components” and that none of the proposed work would duplicate current job duties of existing agency staff. She told committee members the funds would pay for contracted expertise to provide intensive, on-the-ground support to districts as they plan for fiscal year 2027 and the transition to a foundation funding formula planned for fiscal year 2028.

The largest component is financial transformation and budgeting support. Saunders said consultants would help model the fiscal-year-27 impact on the state foundation grant, develop criteria for adjusted funding requests, and expand an internal early-warning system that identifies districts at risk of financial instability. Saunders told the committee the AOE already supports 119 districts and is shifting from largely virtual assistance this year to more in-person training for business managers and other district staff.

A second major focus is education quality and accountability. Saunders said the funds would be used to strengthen the state’s accountability framework, develop tools and dashboards for data-driven instruction, improve timelines and validation for state assessment data, and redesign special education monitoring. The AOE is currently listed in “needs assistance” status for special education, Saunders said, and the requested resources would be used to increase oversight and targeted supports.

Saunders said consultants would also help design a teacher-equity data-monitoring system to better track whether high-need students are served by highly qualified teachers. “One of the findings that we had from the federal government is that we don't have a great way of ensuring that our high needs students are connected with a highly qualified teacher,” Saunders said.

The third area of work would support the transformation-related governance changes, including recruiting and training for new or “forming” school boards, clarifying roles and responsibilities during transition periods, and developing a menu of evidence-based instructional materials for districts to consider.

Saunders said the agency will use standard procurement processes — including requests for proposals — to secure contracted expertise, and that the contracted providers would work intentionally alongside agency staff with the aim of identifying gaps that may later be filled by permanent positions. She noted the chief academic officer position has been fully funded and the agency will begin recruiting for that role.

Committee members asked how the work would proceed if the funding is not provided. Saunders said strong agency leadership is critical to the transformation and that the resources are “critically important” to achieve the agency’s stated goals and to address diagnosed vulnerabilities.

Committee members requested follow-up material. Saunders said feedback collected by the AOE’s field “sprint teams” is being organized and will be shared with the legislature in a matter of weeks, and she told members the agency will provide additional detail on procurement and staffing (including a staffing grid and contract history) on request. Saunders also said the agency will publish a brief strategic-plan framework in March that will be refined based on legislative decisions.

No formal motion or vote on the funding request was recorded during the committee discussion.