Vermont school leaders urge caution on proposed foundation formula, flag staffing and special-education gaps

Chelsea Myers, executive director of the Vermont Superintendents Association, and Amy Minor, president of the Vermont Superintendents Association, told a joint hearing of the House Education and Ways & Means committees that superintendents support the goals of equity and adequacy in education finance but urged lawmakers not to adopt the governor's proposed foundation formula and five-district consolidation without resolving key delivery and cost-driver questions.

The Vermont Association of School Business Officials (VASBO), represented by Heather Bushey, VASBO president and director of finance for the Essex Westford School District, echoed that call and said business officers need detailed financial modeling to understand how the proposal would affect district budgets and local tax burdens.

The testimony focused on three immediate concerns: assumptions baked into the foundation formula'including staffing tables and a $13,200-per-pupil base figure mentioned in the testimony; the administration's proposed move to five large districts; and how the plan would fund special education, transportation, extracurriculars and school meals. "Any meaningful education reform must be grounded in the principles of equity, quality, and efficiency," Myers said. "Changing the funding system without simultaneously addressing the delivery system could create unintended consequences that undermine education quality."

Nut graf: Lawmakers are considering a major overhaul of how Vermont funds K-12 education. Witnesses who run and finance districts said they are open to a foundation model but warned that the administration's current proposal lacks the district-level detail and transition protections needed to avoid funding shortfalls that would force cuts to programs and staff.

Major deta…