Legislators have tough choices about education all around

Another week, another change to the education bill.

When I last wrote about this, we had passed the education bill, H.474, out of the House and it went over to the Senate, where they have, as expected, made a bunch of changes. 

One specific and big and interesting difference is the Senate’s proposed membership of the subcommittee that will draw up the school board voting districts and maps. This subcommittee will function under the currently existing Committee on the Future of Public Education; the House proposal suggested that experts from various interested groups make up the subcommittee and the Senate proposal makes it all legislators.

I’m not loyal to the House proposal simply because I’m a member of the House — I’m loyal to it because I think involving community members, principals, superintendents and experts in the map-creating process is essential. There are superintendents and principals who are probably going to put themselves out of a job by redrawing the maps in an equitable way, and yet they are supportive and understanding of this process.

I’m concerned about legislators being the only people in charge of this process. (With all due respect, of course.) These districts, however many there end up being, will have elected school boards, which means they will inevitably be political. The education reform legislation is already political; there are legislators who are fully supporting or not supporting aspects of H.474 because they represent districts that benefit from public money for private schools. I totally get it. They can’t vote against what their communities want, even if it were theoretically for the better good of Vermont’s children, because they will lose their jobs when it’s time for reelection.

It’s fine if this is the reality of the situation, but I think having people who are unbiased politically and not compelled to operate through the lens of their own personal success is a better choice for Vermonters. If the Senate proposal for composition of this committee is in the final draft, I don’t know if I can support it. I’m not confident that this committee, no matter how knowledgeable and experienced in matters of education legislation, will still have the expertise and clear-eyed view of school district-creation that we really need.

The General Assembly usually adjourns in mid-May, but this year we’re going to go until the end of the month. The education bill is the main reason; another is the budget, which is the last bill we pass out of the House at the end of the session, and which is being currently constructed as a glorious home on the top of a pile of quicksand.

We don’t know what’s going to happen to a lot of our federal funding. This is funding we rely on to support people with disabilities, feeding people through Meals on Wheels or SNAP, education funding for students with specials needs and all kinds of other programs. If we need to make up for sudden future holes in our budget, we’re going to have to make some difficult choices as legislators and as Vermonters.

Like, look at the education funding example. Students testified in the Senate last week that they hadn’t been consulted on any of this, and they don’t want school consolidation. Well, as adults, we asked for it. We voted down our Champlain Valley School District budget last year because of property taxes, so we had to make cuts. As a state, people were dissatisfied with their taxes and demanded a change to education funding. And now we’re doing it, and with that action, comes consequences. We might end up in a district with 20,000 other students. We might end up with a lot fewer teachers and much bigger class sizes, but again, this is what we asked for.

It’s concerning to look at our state funding as an extension of this point of view. What are we going to do if we lose a lot of federal money? Who is going to lose their funding? Which groups of people are going to suffer the least with less money? I don’t even know how to begin to make those decisions, but I know it’s entirely possible that I’m going to have to.

And when I make those “I” statements, please know it’s more like a “we.” I’m making these decisions based on what you all tell me and based on what I think you all would want me to do. It helps if you let me know. I can be reached by email or 917-887-8231.