A sweeping education reform bill, H.454, is moving rapidly through the Vermont Legislature. Behind its bland title—“An act relating to transforming Vermont’s education governance, quality, and finance systems”—lies the most far-reaching restructuring of school governance and funding in state history. But lawmakers are preparing to pass it without knowing how much it will cost, how it will be funded, or how it will impact real school districts.
Presented as a pathway to equity and efficiency, H.454 consolidates districts, remakes the education funding model, introduces class size mandates, and rewires the property tax system. Yet critical decisions are being postponed to “next year,” and lawmakers are relying on projections built on imaginary districts, not the ones they represent. The bill has now been referred to the House Appropriations Committee for further review.
Quiet March Toward Massive District Consolidation
The bill outlines a dramatic reduction in Vermont’s 119 school districts—potentially down to 20 or fewer. A specially appointed subcommittee of the Commission on the Future of Public Education will draw up to three new district boundary proposals, each aiming for districts of approximately 4,000 students. The final decision will be ratified by the Legislature—not by local voters.
This new map will be drawn not by communities, but by a body dominated by union-aligned and bureaucratic interests. Yet on the House floor, Rep. Kornheiser suggested they might just use the existing regional property tax appraisal map “for now,” unless future district lines “justify a change.” That contradiction reveals either a lack of clarity—or a plan already in motion, regardless of the Commission’s future work.
Featured in a February 6, 2025 governance presentation from the Governor’s office, this is the only known district consolidation map to have been circulated among lawmakers. Despite H.454 tasking a future Commission with developing new boundaries, House leadership has suggested this model may serve as the working draft.
New Funding Formula with an Undefined Foundation
H.454 replaces the current funding formula with a “foundation formula” built around a new base of $15,033 per student, up from roughly $12,000 under Act 127 just two years ago, adjusted by weights for poverty, special education, and English language learners.
But lawmakers couldn’t say how that base number was calculated. On the House floor, Rep. Kornheiser admitted the statistical models came from consultants Kolbe and Baker, but when pressed, said the full report wasn’t attached. One lawmaker asked for regression analysis results, only to be told they were “somewhere”—but not part of the legislative record.
Even more alarming, Kornheiser confirmed the model was run on “imaginary districts”, not on existing ones. So the House is poised to pass a major tax and funding overhaul with no testing on actual Vermont school systems.
Class Size Mandates Threaten Small Schools With Takeover
The bill sets minimum class sizes of 12 to 18 students. Schools falling below those thresholds for two years could face forced closure, administrative takeover, or merger. Waivers may be available, but only for “geographically isolated” schools—criteria to be defined later by the State Board of Education.
Kornheiser stated on the floor that 90% of classrooms must hit the new targets to meet “evidence-based” benchmarks—making building closures and staff realignment a near certainty in sparsely populated areas.
Construction Incentives Encourage Closure, Not Choice
A new state construction fund is seeded through a revenue “waterfall” that reallocates local overages. But any district that closes a school must assign students to public schools only—no tuitioning, no independent school option.
This was reinforced on the floor:
“This is designed to keep public tax dollars within the public school system.”
So even if your town’s school closes, H.454 blocks choice and enforces centralized assignment. The bill protects the system—not families.
The Commission Driving the Plan Is Union-Aligned and Parent-Light
The “Commission on the Future of Public Education” is stacked with insider groups:
- Vermont NEA – (Union)
- Vermont Superintendents Association (VSA) – (Administration Lobby)
- Vermont Principals’ Association (VPA) – (Administrative Guild)
- Vermont School Boards Association (VSBA) – (Quasi-Government Advocacy)
These groups are joined by state appointees, consultants, and education department officials—but not parents or school choice advocates. Public input is limited to a short listening tour, with no binding votes. There’s no guarantee of parental or taxpayer representation. The Commission and its subcommittees will design new districts, funding mechanisms, and even determine whether schools are “efficiently configured.”
The commission is dominated by union and union-aligned organizations—with no meaningful representation from families or communities who will live with the results.
A Hidden Push Away from Rural Vermont
Legislative leaders insist the bill supports small towns. But its structure tells a different story.
Once a school closes, a district cannot reopen it with tuition choice—it must reassign students to other public schools. That removes both a critical educational option and an economic anchor for rural towns.
“Lawmakers say they want to reverse rural decline, but are about to pass a bill that would consolidate communities out of existence.”
“We’ll Figure It Out Later” — What Lawmakers Admitted on the Floor
Perhaps the most revealing moment came during the April 8 House presentation. Rep. Kornheiser and others confirmed that major components of H.454 would be finalized only after it becomes law. Punted to “next year”:
- How to treat bonded debt across new districts
- What happens to school reserve funds
- Whether tuition caps apply to receiving public schools
- How to handle districts that don’t operate schools but receive sparsity funding
- Rules for determining which communities qualify for aid—some of which haven’t been written yet
And again, the fiscal model used to justify the new formula wasn’t tested on real districts:
“We did not model it based on the existing districts because they will never be applied to existing districts.”
That admission should have stopped the bill in its tracks. Instead, it was met with a nod and a vote.
The Bottom Line
H.454 doesn’t just change the numbers on a spreadsheet. It restructures governance, remaps districts, and redefines local education—without clarity, consent, or cost certainty.
Lawmakers are promising to “fix it later” while launching one of the most complex and disruptive education bills in state history. And they’re doing it without testing, modeling, or real community input.
When the people closest to the policy admit they can’t explain how it works or what it will cost, that’s not transformation — it’s legislative malpractice.
📚 Sources and Supporting Materials
This article draws on testimony, documents, and floor proceedings from the following official sources:
House Committees
- Vermont House Committee on Education
– Meeting transcripts (Feb–Apr 2025)
– Chair: Rep. Peter Conlon - Vermont House Committee on Ways and Means
– Meeting transcripts (Apr 2025)
– Chair: Rep. Emilie Kornheiser
Public Hearings & Floor Proceedings
- “Caucus of the Whole” House Presentation on H.454
– April 8, 2025 | Watch on YouTube - Vermont House Ways and Means YouTube Archive
– youtube.com/@VTWaysAndMeans - Vermont House Education Committee YouTube Archive
– youtube.com/@VTEdCommittee
Documents Referenced
- H.454 Amendment 3.4 [CLEAN FOR VOTE] (April 2025)
- “Weighting Update Memo” by Dr. Tammy Kolbe (April 3, 2025)
- Education Transformation Timeline (April 7, 2025)
- “Education Transformation – Governance Proposal” (Feb 6, 2025)
- Commission Testimony, House Ed Committee (Feb 5–12, 2025)
Dave Soulia | FYIVT
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