News That Affects You!
Governor Phil Scott doesn’t support the vaccines under Emergency Use Authorization for mandatory use in schools. At today’s press conference, Gov. Scott was asked by Vermont Daily Chronicle: “Is it ever appropriate for a vaccine under Emergency Use Authorization to be considered for mandatory requirement for public school enrollment?” Scott replied: “Not as far as I’m Read More…
The Orange East Supervisory Union School Board will be holding a Special Meeting via Zoom on February 15th at 6pm. The special meeting is in regards to a vaccine mandate. You can participate in the meeting by visiting: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/811345?pwd=M2pJbkd5MVV0WXVEQXp6cjF6cS9SZz09 Meeting ID: 811 3458 6357Passcode: 228695Dial in: +1 929 205 6099 Agenda: I. WelcomeII. Board business Read More…
Vermont Stands Up, a mask and vaccine freedom advocacy group, is circulating a petition to end the Vermont Agency of Education guidance for a universal school mask mandate on February 28. The petition reads: “We, the undersigned, are asking our school officials, from Commissioner Dan French and the State Board of Education, to school board members, superintendents, Read More…
David Coates merits credit for sounding the alarm for years about the substantial underfunding patterns of the Vermont pensions. Most recently he was prescient in an article titled “State retirement plans need a robust stress test.” But alas, this test is more robust than Mr. Coates suggested was needed. Vermont’s public pension system is grossly Read More…
By Rob Roper Act 46, the mandatory school district consolidation bill passed in 2015, was sold with the promise that it would lower the cost public education in Vermont. It has not lived up to that promise (get ready for a massive property tax increase) with one very interesting exception: The Northeast Kingdom School Choice Read More…
State Agency of Education releases guidelines for Covid-19 public school closures By Guy Page March 10, 2020 – Today, Middlebury College announced it will send students home on spring break early this Friday, and will conduct all classes by remote learning for the rest of the semester. (For details see Vermont Daily Chronicle post.) Yesterday, the Read More…
By Rob Roper Vermont now has a $4.5 billion unfunded public pension liability for teachers and municipal workers. The politicians who created this problem are slow (stationary, actually) to take up the task of fixing this because the numbers are huge and telling someone they’re going to have to suck it up and pay does Read More…
Like a dragon eating its tail, the Vermont’s bureaucracy continues to bloat like a runaway Coronavirus, exponentially expanding “services” even as these very burdens drive more citizens into poverty, drug use, or emigration to more affordable states. A particularly virulent area of indefatigable expansion is schools. In 2013, Vermont held the distinction of having the Read More…
100 years ago, political power was decentralized By Job Tate If rural Vermonters feel unheard, misunderstood and largely forgotten, it might have something to do with I-89. Over the past 100 years, Vermont has witnessed its statewide leaders, and where they live, congregate along the I-89 corridor. Like a black hole collapsing in on itself, Read More…
Here is one important question you can ask: Can someone explain why after the implementation of Act 46, taxes are still going up? Further, when do you anticipate taxes will start going down, if ever? Current statistics show that from 2019 to 2021 the total equalized pupil count dropped 1500 while homestead education taxes increased Read More…
Last week, Joint Fiscal Office (JFO) submitted testimony to the Senate Education Committee which included a new analysis on the impacts of the recent Pupil Weighting Study. The high-level analysis shows that 77 districts (generally those with the highest poverty rates) would see an average tax rate decrease of $0.18 and 39 districts (generally those with Read More…
from Campaign for Vermont As is our Vermont tradition, we must be innovative with our public education system in order to compete in a 21st century economy. There is little doubt that Vermont’s K-12 public education system is under stress. Student population has decreased by nearly 20,000 over the past two decades, property taxes are Read More…
VT’s education system traps kids in assigned schools that offer unequal “educational opportunities.” Does this violate Brigham? Interview with Rob Roper.
Act 46 and It’s Impact on Small Schools – David Kelley and Brad Ferland Vote for Vermont
Vermont School Boards Association meeting March 2019. Providing information on the adoption of Act 46. As of July 2019, the following schools are closing or restructuring due to Act 46. Holland – June 2019 NCS Underhill – June 2019? Chittenden East Reading- Removed 5th /6th grade and cut principal and teacher positions. As of Sept Read More…
