Bennington County and Wilmington Senator Bob Hartwell, who introduced a school consolidation bill to head off what he said was an impending education funding disaster, says his bill and two other consolidation bills aren’t getting the attention they deserve. The so-called “Peltz bill,” authored by Woodbury Representative Peter Peltz, received widespread interest, but Hartwell says it has languished in committee. “I don’t think it goes far enough,” Hartwell says, of the House bill. “And it’s going to cost some money in the near term.”
Hartwell says that, if he’s returned to the Senate, he plans to reintroduce a consolidation proposal in January. This time, he says, it will tackle not only consolidation, but also take a stab at changing the funding mechanism and moving beyond Act 68.
“Clearly there’s a problem with the underlying system of education finance,” Hartwell says, “when Brattleboro’s putting in Astroturf and Wilmington is deferring maintenance.”
During hearings before the Senate Education Committee and the joint Senate/House Education Committee, residents of some Vermont towns charged that school consolidation plans would eliminate school choice in towns that currently tuition students to their choice of approved schools. Residents in towns with independent schools complained that independent schools would be left out in the cold. The next consolidation bill will have specific language to protect independent schools and “a lot more choice,” Hartwell says. “That’s hugely important to people.”
In the meantime, the Legislature’s agenda is dominated by budget issues. Challenges for Change legislation, intended to reduce budget expenditures in several key departments, has run into significant opposition. “A lot of people don’t like it,” Hartwell says. “The Republicans are in rebellion. The Senate is talking about coming back for a special session (on the $38 million in Challenges for Change) in July, when we get the July numbers. Challenges for Change has gobbled up endless time in the House and it’s going to come over (to the Senate) and gobble up time. But the budget has to be balanced in some way.”
Hartwell says there’s a significant hole in the budget thanks to lower than expected revenues – including federal money for the state’s hospitals and a drop in revenue from tobacco sales.
According to Representative Ann Manwaring, this week the Senate Appropriations Committee is considering a proposal that would add one cent to the statewide school tax. Essentially, the committee’s proposal would follow an earlier proposal by the Douglas administration to reduce the overall transfer of money from the general fund to the education fund. To make up for the reduction, the state would increase the statewide education tax by a penny. “My personal concern is twofold,” Manwaring says. “School budgets were level-funded this year, so I find no reason to increase the rate, and that’s the argument I raised in the House Appropriations Committee. The second, and more compelling argument, is that if the Legislature raises the statewide education property tax, then other revenues should also be on the table to solve the deficit.”
In a letter to Senate President Pro Tem Peter Shumlin and several other senators on Wednesday, Manwaring reiterated her points. “To continue to have a bright line in the sand for all revenues except the property tax is, at best, bad policy and certainly is hypocritical,” she wrote. “Clearly, the general fund obligations have to be met, but it is time to stop treating this state-imposed property tax as though it is not a tax increase. I sincerely hope the Senate will be able to find a more equitable solution than further burdening Vermont’s property tax payers.”
In their budget, the House rejected the governor’s recommendation and fully funded the general fund transfer to the education fund. In a memo to House Speaker Shap Smith and other members of the House, Manwaring called on her colleagues to “honor the commitment made in our budget to level fund the statewide property tax rate in recognition of the work done by local school boards (to reduce spending for fiscal year 2011).”
Bennington County and Wilmington Senator Dick Sears, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, says Manwaring’s outrage is “convenient.” He says the Senate is faced with a significant budget deficit, and a loss of revenue that hadn’t yet surfaced when the House was putting together their budget. “Lowering the property tax is a worthy goal, but there are a lot of other things in there that the Senate would rather not do,” Sears said Wednesday. “It’s going to be upsetting to some people but, looking at next year, it may be even worse in terms of property tax and appraisal.”
For this year, Sears says, the Senate is struggling with the funding for programs that, if they were to go unfunded, would increase the pressure on school budgets and the property tax as families turn to schools to provide the services. “Either way, it’s coming back at you,” he says.
The Dover School Board views the cut in the general fund transfer and the increase in the statewide property tax as a raid on the education fund – the use of property tax to fund non-education spending. When the Douglas administration made their recommendation, Dover School Board members fired off a letter calling on Vermont legislators to vote against any transfer from the education fund, or the use of statewide property tax money for any purpose other than education. Board member Laura Sibilia says she’s disappointed to see the scheme back in play. “I understand how challenging it is,” she says, of the Legislature’s budgeting task. “They have to find additional cuts or they’re all coming back in June.”
But she says the state’s education funding mechanism is fundamentally broken. “The schools aren’t being irresponsible, but the state is having a hard time coming up with their end of the deal. Now they’re having a hard time deciding where to cut and they want to raise the property tax to keep from addressing other budget issues. And, at the end of the day, that’s hitting businesses and second-home owners the hardest.”
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