Vermont's special education funding gap reveals a broken promise: Congress pledged 40% federal support in 1975 but delivers only 7-10%. Property taxpayers cover the rest—$8.5 million in Rutland Northeast alone. Worse, schools can't bill pri
Vermont funds its schools through a single statewide Education Fund, not separate town systems. Local voters approve school budgets each March, and the Legislature later adjusts statewide property tax and other revenues so the Education Fun
RNESU approved its FY27 budget at a 2 PM “retreat” the same day the Rutland Herald listed the meeting for 5 PM, raising open meeting law questions. Behind the time confusion is a bigger problem: Vermont’s school finance system pushes boards
Vermont spends more than any other state relative to its economy, with 29.4% of its output going to state and local government. Heavy federal dependency and a high tax burden demand urgent reform. Can Vermont reduce spending and grow sustai
Health insurance in the U.S. has shifted from catastrophic coverage to an inefficient catch-all system. By adopting portable HSAs, transparent pricing, and deregulated markets, we can empower individuals and reduce skyrocketing premiums. Th
For much of the 20th century, Christmas in the United States functioned as a shared cultural event rather than a narrowly religious observance. As institutions retreated from seasonal traditions in the name of neutrality, communal rituals f
Former MSNBC host Joy Reid shared a viral video claiming "Jingle Bells" was written to mock Black people, citing a 2017 academic study. But the researcher who conducted that study says her work is being misrepresented. "I never said it was
Vermont’s fiscal pressures extend far beyond education funding. Housing scarcity, healthcare costs, workforce readiness, regulation, and demographic decline are compounding in ways that no single policy fix can resolve. Part 2 continues the
Vermont’s education funding crisis is not the result of a single law or a broken formula. It is the visible collision point of decades of policy decisions that constrained growth, increased costs, and expanded obligations without regard for
Vermont’s shrinking pool of buildable land and new statewide zoning mandates are steering the state toward a dense, walkable future. Act 47 accelerates this shift by overriding local control, pushing higher housing density, and limiting rur
Vermont’s land base is far more limited than commonly understood. With roughly three-quarters of the state already conserved, publicly owned, or in long-term Current Use, the remaining buildable acreage is small and shrinking. As conservati
Vermont’s Current Use Program reduces property taxes on agricultural and forest land by assessing enrolled parcels at use value rather than market value. As enrollment grows and more landowners—both resident and non-resident—post their prop
