House Education hears recommendation to add $80,000 county base, split remaining adult‑education funds 85/15

Nick Kramer, chief operating officer at the Agency of Administration, told the House Education Committee on Feb. 5 that a neutral stakeholder process had produced a compromise recommendation for how Vermont should distribute state adult education funds.

Kramer said the report — prepared after five stakeholder meetings — recommends an $80,000 base payment for each of Vermont’s 14 counties and that the remaining state funds be distributed 85% on the basis of a rolling two‑year average of students served (diagnostic‑tested enrollees) and 15% on student contact hours. "We are recommending an allocation that has an $80,000 base payment ... and that that remaining funding be distributed 85% on the basis of the student count and then 15% based on student hours," he said.

Why it matters: the committee convened the review after a statutory change and long‑standing State Board of Education rules produced large differences in per‑student funding across counties. Stakeholders and staff said the mismatch…