When the Legislature passed Act 73 earlier this year, the expectation was straightforward: Vermont would begin the process of redrawing and consolidating school districts as part of a larger plan aimed at controlling education spending. The law was explicit. A task force was to be appointed, it was to meet, and it was to deliver up to three statewide maps showing new, consolidated school districts.
Taxpayer dollars were appropriated. Meetings were held. Per-diem stipends were funded. Agency staff devoted hours to support the effort. And after months of work, what Vermonters got was… not the deliverable the statute required.
Instead of providing the consolidation maps mandated under Act 73, the task force voted to keep all 119 existing school districts intact and recommended only that districts “voluntarily” explore cooperative services. In practical terms, the task force substituted its own preferred outcome in place of the clear directive written into law.
And the total cost? Between the statutory appropriations, administrative support, legal and staff time, and meeting resources, Vermont taxpayers likely invested well over $100,000 in the process. For a deliverable the law did not authorize.
A Task Force Built to Fail
The structure of the task force itself raises serious questions. Although Act 73 passed both chambers of the Legislature, the leadership responsible for appointing the task force co-chairs selected two lawmakers who had voted against the bill—Rep. Edye Graning (D-Chittenden-3) and Sen. Martine Larocque Gulick (D-Chittenden-Central District). Both were placed in charge of implementing a law they did not support.
Alongside them were nine additional members, creating an 11-member panel with sharply mixed views on whether district consolidation should occur at all. Legislative leadership—most notably the Senate Committee on Committees and House Speaker Jill Krowinski—appointed this group, despite their own chamber votes favoring Act 73. In effect, lawmakers who supported the law’s goals handed the implementation to people who fundamentally disagreed with the law’s mandate.
The results speak for themselves.
The Money Trail
Act 73 dedicated $10,000 for member stipends and another $50,000 for facilitation, consultants, and administrative support. While individual per-diem payments aren’t publicly itemized by member, the Legislature appropriated the full per-diem pool. Eleven members participating in the required meetings translate to roughly $500–$900 per person under Vermont’s standard compensation rules.
Beyond that, the Agency of Education contributed staff hours for research, legal guidance, meeting support, and data analysis—real labor costs that stack on top of the statutory appropriations. Legislative Counsel and other state resources contributed additional time, none of which is free.
In total, when support hours and indirect costs are included, the public outlay almost certainly exceeds $100,000.
A Clear Mandate, Ignored
Unlike the Affordable Heat Standard—where the Legislature intentionally included a “check-back” provision requiring the Public Utility Commission to confirm feasibility before implementation—Act 73 contained no such clause.
There was no feasibility pause.
No option to decline the task.
No instruction to propose alternatives.
No mechanism permitting a “voluntary merger” substitute.
The statute simply said:
Deliver the maps.
The task force was not authorized to reject the directive.
It was not authorized to redesign the assignment.
And it was not authorized to decide consolidation was “irresponsible.”
Yet this is effectively what happened.
Multiple members expressed early doubts about the feasibility of drawing the maps. Instead of resigning, recusing themselves, or requesting clarification from the Legislature, the task force proceeded with its meetings, accepted the statutory per-diem funding, and ultimately voted to decline the core requirement of Act 73.
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Independent Map Completed Days After Task Force Began Work
The task force held its first meeting on August 1, 2025.
Six days later, on August 7, FYIVT independently produced a statewide redistricting map that met the statutory requirements of Act 73 — including ADM thresholds, geographic logic, and preservation of tuitioning towns. Whether one agrees with the resulting configuration or not, the map fulfilled the core mandate of the law and was produced in roughly two hours using publicly available data.
This fact does not imply endorsement of consolidation as policy, but it clearly shows that generating compliant maps was possible, contradicting the task force’s position that the assignment was unworkable.
Political Blowback Arrives
Governor Phil Scott did not mince words. He stated publicly that the task force “failed its primary directive,” noting that maintaining all 119 districts is not what the law required. Scott emphasized that meaningful education-funding reform must begin with district consolidation—precisely the step Act 73 was designed to initiate.
Members of the task force countered that the assignment was flawed from the start and that consolidation would be harmful, unpopular, or based on incomplete data. But the law they were appointed to carry out did not ask whether consolidation was popular or convenient. It required them to generate maps, not evaluate the emotional or political landscape.
If members believed the work was unwise or impossible, they were free at any time to decline appointment or resign. None did.
A Deliverable That Was Never Delivered
The result is stark:
- A law passed
- A task force was appointed
- Money was spent
- Meetings were held
- Per-diem stipends were funded
- Staff worked hours supporting the effort
- And the legally required deliverable was never produced
Vermont taxpayers paid for a mandated product that the task force simply chose not to create.
The Bottom Line
Whatever one thinks of school-district consolidation as policy, the procedural reality is inescapable:
Act 73 was a clear directive—draw the maps.
The task force chose not to draw them.
And taxpayers paid for work that was never completed.
At a time when Vermont faces record-high education spending and rising tax burdens, the question practically asks itself:
How many more task forces can Vermont afford that deliver nothing?
Dave Soulia | FYIVT
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