Vermont educators urge lawmakers to boost school funding, oppose spending caps and expand career-technical capacity

Members of the education community testified to a legislative committee on Feb. 25, pressing lawmakers to increase funding for schools, protect programmatic choices and address rising costs that they said are eroding services for students.

Peter Davenport, a behavior interventionist at St. Alban City School, told the committee that staff working one-on-one with students in crisis perform “miracles” every day and warned: “If we don't provide the care these kids need when we can, we set them up for failure in life with catastrophic knock on effects to our largest society.” He called for fair pay for school staff, universal health coverage and affordable housing as policy priorities to stabilize students and educators.

Several speakers linked out-of-school problems—housing instability, shrinking access to healthcare and household poverty—to growing demands on schools. Vicky Johnson, who teaches math and science at Randolph Union High School, said districts are serving students who often lack heat, running water or adequate food and urged lawmakers to recognize that “budgets are expressions of our values.”

Teachers asked legislators to revisit specific policies. Helen Sullivan, a social studies teacher at Montpelier High School, urged repeal or study of the early college program and specifically asked the committee to support H.779, arguing that early college enrollment can hollow out senior-year classes and that the program appears to serve relatively fewer low-income students: she cited a recent statistic showing 12.5% of early college students qualified for free or reduced lunch versus 31.8% of the broader student population.

Career and technical education (CTE) capacity was a recurring theme. Janineve Jocelyn of the Central Vermont Career Center said the program turned away more than 100 qualified applicants because of limited space and flagged recruitment and retention problems when CTE instructor pay lags industry wages. Cole Peekard, who works in IT for Essex Westford School District and is a CTE alumnus, urged the committee to lift the moratorium on school construction aid so centers can expand capacity and train local workers.

School support staff described how non-instructional services keep students in class. Toby Bashaw, a paraeducator at the Randolph tech center, praised the free breakfast program and described how morning meal time provides a chance for staff to learn about students’ health and home situations. Matt Guile, a librarian from Winooski School District, said his library budget has fallen roughly 50% since 2018 (nearly 60% after adjusting for inflation) while student needs have grown.

Several witnesses tied healthcare costs to educator retention. Caroline Tomley, a special educator with Two Rivers Supervisory Union, urged progressive tax reform and steps toward single-payer-style coverage to relieve schools’ burden for wraparound services; Madeline Doherty, a Randolph teacher, said teacher wages and the rising cost of the state VHII gold plan make it difficult for young professionals to afford living in Vermont.

Speakers also warned that statewide policy choices can harm small and rural districts. Lisa Ellis, a preschool teacher at First Branch (part of the White River Valley Supervisory Union), described how blended state, local and Head Start funding expanded access for families in her village and cautioned that proposed Act 73 redistricting maps and longer commutes would make community events and preschool access more difficult.

What’s next: the committee did not take votes during the session. Committee organizers said the hearing would continue through the scheduled adjournment at 2:30 p.m. and lawmakers will consider the testimony as they deliberate on related bills and budgets.

Quotes in this article come from public testimony delivered to the education committee on Feb. 25 and have been attributed to speakers who identified themselves at the hearing.