The Vermont House Committee on Education on Feb. 21 reviewed education budget requests it will summarize for the Appropriations Committee and identified several items it intends to highlight, including a $4 million ask from the Agency of Education (AOE), a proposed Freedom and Unity scholarship, and requests from Vermont State Colleges, UVM and several education-related programs.

The committee’s review is advisory: the memo it drafts will present the Education Committee’s priorities and concerns to Appropriations but will not bind that committee’s decisions. The group focused on the AOE’s $4 million request and whether that money should fund short-term consultants or long-term staff capacity.

Committee members said the AOE request as presented lacked programmatic detail. Representative Rob, who summarized the Appropriations hearing, said the AOE’s request was “incredibly general” and that when pressed the agency repeatedly described the spend as for consultants. He added, “it came down to consultants.” Several members said they would prefer funding be structured to hire permanent staff rather than sustain a cycle of short-term contracts.

Beyond the AOE ask, committee members discussed several major items to include in the guidance to Appropriations:

• Freedom and Unity scholarship: Committee members noted the request document lists $55,200,000 to create a Freedom and Unity scholarship for students attending Vermont State Colleges (the document text read: “$55,200,000.0 for the creation of the Freedom and Unity scholarship for students attending Vermont State…”). Members asked staff to verify details in the testimony before recommending support and to clarify whether the proposal mirrors UVM or other programs.

• UVM and base increases: Members noted the University of Vermont’s request for a 3% increase in base funding; the committee reporter said the 3% figure aligned with the governor’s recommendation though the dollar amount was not in the draft memo and will be added after staff confirm it.

• Vermont State Colleges (VSC): The committee discussed a multi-year maintenance and bridge-funding profile for VSC. Members said the VSC request included an $11,500,000 gap relative to the governor’s recommendation tied to a longer five-year plan, with bridge funding that had previously been $10,000,000 but was proposed to taper to $5,000,000. Committee members asked staff to confirm FY‑26 figures and the administration’s treatment of CCV tuition-support items (a $1,000,000 CCV tuition-advantage item was noted as present in prior recommendations but reportedly not requested this year).

• Advanced Vermont / My Future Vermont: The committee reviewed a recurring request that members described as $350,000 in FY‑22 and FY‑24 and $150,000 in FY‑23; the organization is seeking ongoing base support (committee members said Advance Vermont requested converting $350,000 in one-time funds to base funding). Members expressed support for the program but questioned whether base funding was appropriate without clarity on how the program would expand outreach to schools and teachers.

• Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) fiscal sponsorship: The committee discussed a request of $182,000 to support fiscal sponsorship for small home-based providers participating in CACFP. Members said the funds would be used to pay the administrative cost of fiscal sponsors and to encourage more sponsors statewide; testimony indicated only three fiscal sponsors currently cover much of the state.

• Vermont Cancer Center and tech hub matching: Committee members noted a $5,000,000 ask for the Vermont Cancer Center spread over five years (approximately $1,000,000 per year) to secure matching grants, and asked staff to confirm whether the tech-hub requests include required matching funds.

• Facilities and maintenance: Multiple campus maintenance items were discussed, including a Johnson/Jefferson Hall heating-plant project listed as roughly $900,000 in FY‑26 with a follow-up $4,600,000 request in a later year; members asked staff to present totals for FY‑26 separately from multi-year plans.

Committee members agreed the memo to Appropriations should (1) flag the AOE’s capacity concerns and request for detail on the $4 million ask, (2) note large requests (Freedom and Unity scholarship, VSC maintenance and bridge funding, UVM base increases), and (3) relay support for some programs while leaving final funding choices to Appropriations. Several members said they would frame the AOE ask in a way that favors long-term investments in staff and benefits rather than pay for repeated consultant contracts.

The committee also noted a small number of items were presented to Education by letter or had not appeared before the committee in person (for example, the American Heart Association had sent a letter; Representative Brady had forwarded it). Members agreed staff should add items to the draft memo even if proponents did not testify in person, with a plain note when a program had not presented directly.

No formal votes or binding motions were taken at the Feb. 21 meeting; members focused on clarifying numbers and deciding the committee’s tone and priorities in the guidance to Appropriations. Staff were asked to confirm exact dollar figures and to return with more detailed summaries for the next meeting so the committee can finalize its memo.