House Education Committee asks Appropriations for more detail on $4 million AOE request, tentatively backs several education funding priorities

The Vermont House Committee on Education on Feb. 26 told staff to ask the House Appropriations Committee for more information about a $4,000,000 Agency of Education (AOE) request aimed at transition work and consultant support, and laid out tentative, conditional positions on a set of education funding requests.

Committee members said they generally support several “top-tier” funding requests — including the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation (VSAC), the University of Vermont (UVM), the state colleges and the State Board of Education — but emphasized support would be contingent on available resources and further review. Representative Hunter, who served as scribe for the committee's budget memo, read draft language reflecting that conditional backing and other positions.

The memo language the committee agreed to finalize asks the Appropriations Committee to seek “finer detail” on how the $4,000,000 would be spent and on the timing of those expenditures before approving the request. Committee members expressed concerns that the AOE request is high-level and that much of the funding, as presented, would pay consultants rather than permanent staff. Several members said transition-related work will be necessary under any restructuring plan, but that the exact scope depends on decisions the committee has not yet made.

Committee discussion and stances recorded in the memo draft - Top-tier support (conditional): Committee members said they will support the funding requests from VSAC, UVM, the state colleges and the State Board of Education “if funding allows” and with attention to budget constraints. - AOE $4,000,000 request: Members asked Appropriations to obtain more specificity about work tasks, timeline and whether the request covers multiple fiscal years; the committee did not adopt a definitive yes-or-no on the request but requested ongoing involvement in Appropriations’ review. - Adult education: The committee agreed to support correcting adult education budgeted amounts in the FY26 budget now rather than requiring programs to return next year through the Budget Adjustment Act (BAA). - Hunger Free Vermont: The committee agreed that the Agency of Education may serve as fiscal sponsor for Hunger Free Vermont and supported appropriations as a vehicle to draw down federal dollars, per discussions with AOE staff. - Governor's Institute: Committee members said they support a 3% over-base request for the Governor’s Institute, characterizing it as support for the program. - Advanced Vermont: Members said they philosophically support Advanced Vermont and favor multi-year, sustainable funding rather than one-year awards as the program proves itself. - Farm School and certain maintenance requests: Those items were deferred to other committees (the committee referenced House Institutions and the general committee) for recommendation.

Representative Hunter read a proposed line for the memo about adult education: “we support correcting budgeted amounts in the FY26 budget rather than requiring that the organizations return next year to have that corrected in the BAA.” That formulation reflects committee direction to fix an apparent AOE budgeting error in the FY26 proposal rather than force programs to repeat the budget process.

Members pressed for clarity about the $4,000,000 request’s intended use and pacing. One member noted the secretary had described an initial phase of a strategic plan that might be available in March; several members said they would like AOE to provide the data and detail they had requested earlier. Committee members discussed whether to attach conditions — for example, prioritizing Vermont-based consulting firms or specifying how consultant roles could convert to permanent AOE positions — but did not finalize such conditions in the memo.

Next steps Committee members asked staff to finalize the draft memo for Appropriations and to circulate it overnight for review; members agreed they could reconvene for a final check the following morning. A committee member (David) was asked to follow up with Liaison Lindsay to obtain outstanding data. The committee’s position as recorded in the memo is not a formal appropriation; final funding decisions rest with the House Appropriations Committee and the full Legislature.

Ending The committee’s memo will advise Appropriations to probe the AOE request’s details and timing and states conditional support for several education requests while deferring other items to appropriate committees. Committee members emphasized they want to remain part of Appropriations’ continued review rather than relinquish oversight entirely.