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Committee reviews how to restart school‑construction aid, weighing bond capacity and out‑of‑state models
Summary
At a March 31 Ways & Means hearing, state and outside witnesses reviewed options to restart school‑construction aid, including a reimbursement model, the bond bank as fiscal agent, the state's debt capacity, and public‑private partnership examples used elsewhere to speed projects and control costs.
The Ways & Means Committee on March 31 heard a broad review of options for restarting state school‑construction support and how the state might pay for it.
John Gray of the legislative council summarized the current legal landscape, noting a moratorium on the prior state school‑construction program from 2007 remains on the books and that, under existing rules, most construction costs are borne through local bond votes and property taxes. "Under current law . . . school construction costs are captured in the general state funding of public education," Gray said, and warned that bond debt approved after July 1, 2024, may count toward the excess‑spending threshold and therefore change districts' homestead tax rates.
Michael Gaughn, executive director of the Vermont Bond Bank, urged the committee to consider a fiscal‑agent role for…
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