Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Bond bank advisers outline options to treat legacy school debt as Senate education panel crafts construction-aid framework
Summary
Advisers to the Senate Education Committee presented Vermont Bond Bank data showing legacy school debt is concentrated in a few districts and outlined three options — transfer to merged districts, state reimbursement (to avoid classifying the debt as state-supported), or a targeted payoff for small debts — as lawmakers work to flesh out Act 73.
BURLINGTON, Vt. — On Jan. 7 the Vermont Senate Education Committee heard members of the advisory board on state aid for school construction and staff from the Vermont Bond Bank describe the state of school debt and options for a new construction-aid program under Act 73.
Michael Gaughn, executive director of the Vermont Bond Bank, said the bank was created to pool municipal school loans and secure low, equitable rates for districts. He told the committee the bank’s portfolio helps keep borrowing costs down for towns statewide.
Dave Epstein, an architect and principal at Trucks Collins, used one district example to show rising costs: “Take Winooski, for example, a project we were involved with; their project was $57,000,000. It would cost $120,000,000 to do that today,” Epstein said, arguing the escalation in construction prices makes legacy debt less of a liability in…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
