Superintendents, CFOs warn Vermont funding overhaul could shrink budgets, force staff cuts without clear transition plan

The Senate Finance Committee heard detailed testimony Feb. 21 from superintendents, a school district chief financial officer and the Vermont Superintendents Association about the administration's proposed education funding and governance changes, including a new foundation formula and consolidation of districts.

"Any numbers that are being put out there are numbers that would... be in effect in 2028," Chelsea Meyer, executive director of the Vermont Superintendents Association, told the committee, arguing that many published figures describe a future system after consolidations and do not map directly onto today's districts.

The concern from multiple presenters was that the administration's spreadsheets and the two-page summary the committee received this week do not show a realistic path from the current system to the proposed one.

"The shortfall is close to $7,000,000. Even if we eliminated all expenses associated with the district office ... the shortfall would still be $3,000,000 for Milton schools, approximately 45 positions," Amy Rex, superintendent of the Milton Town School District, said in testimony. Rex said her district modeled the proposal against local FY26 budget factors and then removed central-office expenses and still faced a multimillion-dollar gap. She described…