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Vermont NEA urges action on health‑care costs, income sensitivity and mental‑health funding for schools
Summary
The Vermont NEA told the House Education Committee it supports changes to reduce health‑care costs (including reference‑based pricing), expanding income‑sensitivity to reduce property tax burdens, continued funding for universal school meals, and stronger state funding for school mental‑health services and school construction.
Jeff Bending, executive director of the Vermont National Education Association, told the House Education Committee the union represents about 13,000 education workers and that his organization supports measures to lower property taxes and address rising health‑care costs.
"We're about 13,000 members who work in every public school," Bending said. He told the committee the NEA supports updating the income thresholds used in the education tax system (often called "cliffs" or income sensitivity) to reflect inflation, which the union estimates would help tens of thousands of Vermonters and reduce property tax pressure.
On health insurance, the NEA recommended exploring reference‑based pricing to control hospital and provider costs. Bending cited reports and state analyses identifying high hospital prices as a major driver of Vermont’s high premiums and said some other states have used reference‑based pricing approaches to reduce costs.
The NEA also urged continued funding for universal free school meals and for investments in school counselors and community schools to address growing mental‑health needs among students. The union asked the legislature to fully fund the Agency of Education and to restart a long‑term approach to school construction and PCB remediation.
The NEA raised two additional administrative items: restoring the ability for seasonal school support staff to apply for unemployment insurance over the summer, and continuing successful teacher recruitment programs such as state loan‑forgiveness administered by VSAC.
Why it matters: The union represents a broad cross‑section of school employees and frames many priorities in terms of workforce retention, school operations and household tax burdens. Several proposals would require state appropriations or statutory changes.
No committee votes were taken during the testimony; presenters offered to supply further data and to work with legislators on the proposals.
