Vermont officials and consultants outline foundation-formula options to rework school funding

Justin Silverstein, co‑chief executive officer of APA Consulting, told a joint meeting of the House Education, Senate Education, House Ways and Means and Senate Finance committees on Oct. 12, 2025, that “36 of the 50 states use a foundation formula” as a starting point for allocating K‑12 funding.

The presentation and extended question‑and‑answer session framed a foundation formula as two linked problems: (1) defining the resources a district needs to give students comparable educational opportunity, and (2) deciding how the state and local taxpayers will pay for that package. The Agency of Education said the work is meant to strengthen public education, not privatize it; Zoe Saunders, Vermont secretary of education, told lawmakers, “I want to be very clear that that is not what this is. We are bringing forward, an idea for a foundation formula that is about strengthening our public education system.”

Why it matters: presenters and committee members tied the conversation to the Brigham decision, which the administration called a legal floor for any formula change, and to long‑standing goals of educational equity, predictability and fiscal sustainability. A foundation formula would change how Vermont calculates per‑pupil allocations and could alter the budget timeline and the extent of local discretion over spending.

Key details

- Definition and purpose: APA described a foundation (or student‑based) formula as a system that sets a base per‑pupil…