Superintendents tell House Education draft preK bill risks unfunded costs and oversight gaps

Chelsea Myers, executive director of the Superintendent Association, told the House Education committee on April 1 that associations supporting public schools were testifying on draft 7.3, an act related to publicly funded prekindergarten, and asked lawmakers to weigh quality, equity and cost before changing current law.

The testimony that followed focused on three recurring concerns: (1) funding mechanics and the need to align with the Joint Fiscal Office (JFO) analysis, (2) a licensing pathway that could create duplicate credentials and confusion, and (3) language that would make districts responsible for ensuring resident preK access without providing corresponding funding or supervisory authority. "High-quality preK education is one of the most important levers to improve quality and equity in our education system," Myers said, while urging the committee to consider the JFO recommendations for bifurcated and streamlined funding for public and private providers.

Elaine Collins, superintendent for the North Country Supervisory Union, described the geographic and operational realities that shape district capacity. North Country comprises 11 schools and a career center spread across large distances; Collins said the union's FY26 cost to operate preschool in its buildings is $2,376,319, with individual site costs ranging from about $72,000 to more than $550,000. "Preschool is simply a good investment to make," Collins said, but she warned the committee that requiring districts to sponsor or oversee private preschool staff would impose liability and administrative burdens the districts do not have the authority or staffing to manage.

Collins and others said current practice in some places has superintendents signing letters for provisional licenses requested by private providers, but that practice is uneven and risky. "I will not sponsor a provisional license for a private preschool," Collins said, adding that sponsorship has previously been administered by the state Agency of Education (AOE) under pilots and that a reinstated state sponsorship model would better protect districts.

Amy Miner, superintendent of Colchester schools and president of the Vermont School Superintendents Association, outlined the history of two AOE-sponsored provisional-license efforts—one under Deputy Amy Fowler and a later pilot run by Wendy Scott—and said those programs mitigated liability concerns. Miner proposed that the Child Development Division (CDD) become the sponsoring body for provisional licenses in private settings and noted that CDD deputy Janet Mclofflin and assistant director Andrew Proutton are working on a related proposal to the Vermont Standards Board for Professional Educators.

John Moldin, superintendent of Mount Mansfield Unified Union, framed preK as an equity issue and provided district figures: MMU spends roughly $2.8 million on preK staffing, of which about $1 million is returned from the state, requiring transfers from K–2 budgets to make programs work. Moldin and other witnesses suggested policy levers that could facilitate expansion—such as increasing preK weights in the foundation formula or exempting preK spending from excessive-spend thresholds—while warning that block grants or certain foundation-formula designs could increase district fiscal pressure.

Witnesses also cautioned that removing geographic limits on district responsibility would effectively expand where districts must provide services—forcing districts to ensure special education, ELL and other services across a much broader provider network and increasing transportation and service costs. The associations urged the committee to avoid codifying superintendent sponsorship of private provisional licenses and instead align statutory language with the JFO report and with an administrative approach that leaves licensing sponsorship with the state entity best positioned to oversee private providers.

The committee did not take action on the bill during the session. Members signaled concern about the bill's complexity and cross-committee implications, with Representative Brady urging more time and coordination with Human Services and Ways and Means before moving forward. The committee recessed and planned to reconvene in the afternoon session (scheduled for 1:00 p.m., likely closer to 1:15 p.m.).