April 2, 2025
Agenda:
• Welcome
• Discussion of education proposal through a rural lens
Sen. Seth Bongartz - Senate Education, Chair
• Vermont State Colleges
Chancellor Elizabeth Mauch
Minutes:
Welcome
Rep. Yacovone Announcement
Exploring an amendment to the education bill H.454 that would require the vote of a town before a school was closed. Please see Rep. Yacovone for additional information.
Discussion of education proposal through a rural lens
Sen. Seth Bongartz - Senate Education, Chair
Sen. Bongartz shared that the Senate Education committee has produced a map that includes nine districts, rather than the Governor’s proposed five district map. The committee has been taking testimony since January and felt they heard and saw a logic for larger districts. Six of the nine zones are supervisory districts. The other three zones span from the northeast of the state diagonally to the southeast and are designed to be supervisory unions. Supervisory unions would allow the state to maintain how independent schools stay in the mix of the state education system. Sen. Bongartz emphasized that independent schools are critical for specific rural areas of the state and their economic communities. Independent schools also provide an attractive option for some families and have played a role in the system, specifically within rural areas, for numerous years. He also mentioned that larger districts do not necessarily mean longer travel times, but larger governing districts where those districts decide what may be best for school locations and consolidation. The Senate education committee’s proposal of districts would shrink school choice as supervisory districts would not be eligible for tuition money, but supervisory unions would keep school choice where it is integral to the area. There are currently three different governance models for Career Technical Education Centers and they are evaluating which would be the right one to move forward with to fit these centers into a proposed statewide governance model.
How do we best bring the House and Senate Plan together?
Sen. Bongartz mentioned that the House plan is prescriptive for a statewide process and timeline. The Senate is not looking to be prescriptive and would be interested in a district specific foundation formula and district sizes that make logical sense to specific areas. Mentioned that we cannot leave the status quo intact as it is costly and the voters asked us to do something.
Vermont State Colleges
Chancellor Elizabeth Mauch
The Chancellor assumed the role a little more than one year ago and thanked the legislature for walking hand in hand with VSC on this journey. The mission of VSC is to provide affordable, high quality, student-centered, and accessible education for the benefit of Vermont. Every Vermonter should have access to higher education regardless of their background or income. The Chancellor emphasized that VSC look different, with more than half being part-time students who are over the age of 24. Through their ongoing transformation process they have looked at their offerings and the accessibility of them. They feel they need to be agile to ensure they are meeting the needs of today’s students. VSC’s current priorities include workforce development with the inclusion of arts, digital transformation and accessibility, and the facilities. As student needs change, facilities and infrastructure need to be adaptable (ie housing styles, community resources, overall location). There will be continuous improvements needed to ensure the needs of students and communities are met. Some prospective challenges over the next 3-5 years include: meeting and serving the needs of present day students and funding sources for retrofitting existing infrastructure to best serve community and student needs.
Next time/Future meetings
It was discussed that the overall objective of the caucus continuing discussion on the future of public education for continued learning and not exactly to take a position.
Next time we’ll hear from the Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD) on how our communities can adapt their school buildings and continue to thrive after a school closure.
In the near future we plan to transition back to discussing rural health care.
Rep. Olson Announcement
Rep. Olson is also putting together a proposal that would require the vote of a town before a school was closed. Please see Rep. Olson for additional information.
