Op-Ed: Stop the government takeover of our public schools
May 20, 2025 | By Matt HenchenA false narrative is sweeping Vermont, one carefully constructed by Gov. Phil Scott and disturbingly echoed by lawmakers in both the Democratic and Republican parties.
It’s a story that our property taxes are out of control simply because our schools are spending too much. This misleading storyline has become the convenient scapegoat for everything from local tax increases to state budget woes. But here’s the truth: Vermont’s education spending as a percentage of our state’s Gross Domestic Product has been flat since the late 1990s, according to the Public Assets Institute.
There is no education spending crisis, and our local school boards have been doing their part for the past few decades. Across the state, they’ve been making hard choices — reducing staff in response to declining student enrollment, trimming budgets where possible, and attempting to maintain quality despite fewer resources. But while they’ve worked to cut costs, the Vermont Legislature has been quietly piling on unfunded mandates that require schools to hire additional personnel, often in roles not directly involved with teaching students. These include compliance officers, program coordinators, and other administrative positions created to satisfy well-meaning but costly new laws.
So if our local school boards aren’t to blame, then why did property taxes spike in 2023? The real causes are clear, and none of them are the responsibility of our local school boards:
● Historic economic inflation of nearly 18% between 2020-2023 alone
Chart from Public Assets Institute
● Runaway healthcare costs that strain school budgets, with health insurance premiums that have risen by 65% from 2020-2025
● The loss of federal COVID-era funding, which at its peak added over $285 million in one-time support for Vermont’s education system
● Numerous unfunded mandates, including:
Universal Free School Meals: Requires districts to provide free breakfast and lunch to all students, even when state or federal funding falls short.
Expanded Special Education (Act 173): Increases expectations for individualized support and staffing without proportional funding increases. (In my district alone, Harwood Union Unified School District, this means an increase of approximately 50 students next year who will be on an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) at the cost of an additional $2 million dollars)
Publicly Funded Pre-K (Act 166): Mandates access to early childhood education with local districts covering tuition and administration costs.
Early College and Dual Enrollment Programs: Allows students to attend college while in high school at district expense, reducing per-pupil funding.
Personalized Learning Plans & Proficiency-Based Graduation (Act 77): Requires districts to redesign curriculum and assessment systems without extra funding.
Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS): Obligates districts to provide academic and behavioral interventions, requiring new staff and systems.
Mental Health and Behavioral Supports: Expands school responsibility for mental health services without dedicated state funding.
Equity and Anti-Racism Initiatives: Requires curriculum reform, staff training, and policy development without state-funded implementation.
School Safety and Emergency Preparedness: Imposes drills, security measures, and infrastructure requirements with limited or no funding.
Technology and Data Reporting Requirements: Mandates extensive digital tracking, assessment reporting, and compliance systems without added staff or IT support.
Support for English Language Learners (ELL): Requires specialized instruction and services without adequate targeted funding.
Environmental and Facility Compliance: Enforces testing and remediation for air quality, radon, and lead in water with costs pushed onto local budgets.
Please note that acknowledging these unfunded mandates does not mean that we don’t support them. However, if lawmakers value these initiatives, they should provide adequate funding. This also demonstrates how more government control of our schools is not likely to lead to tax decreases. Who do you trust more to make these critical decisions – lawmakers in Montpelier, or your school board representatives, duly elected by the local community?
And let’s not forget: Gov. Phil Scott used one-time federal funding to artificially lower property taxes in 2021 and 2022, knowing full well that when the money ran out, the tax bills would skyrocket. Now he’s proposing to do the same thing again, in the lead-up to an election year. This is not fiscal responsibility. It’s a cynical shell game.
And now comes H.454, the so-called Education Transformation Act. Don’t let the name fool you. This bill is a thinly veiled government takeover of our local schools. If passed, it will result in forced school closures and district consolidations, layoffs of teachers and school staff, larger class sizes and citizens and local school boards being stripped of their power.
When we give up local control, we give up our right to determine how our children are educated, from class sizes and curriculum to whether our community schools even stay open. And more importantly, this bill will fundamentally erode our most cherished democratic traditions in Vermont, and once gone, they are unlikely to ever return.
And for what? A recent academic study at UVM conducted by Professor Daniellea Hall Sutherland concluded that Gov. Scott’s centralization proposal would not decrease costs, but would instead harm both students and communities. And Public Assets Institute issued a sharp warning that the plan raises “serious concerns,” including:
A return to a foundation formula that disproportionately burdens poor communities
The dismantling of democratic participation in school governance
State-mandated school and district consolidation
Doubling down on property taxes while eliminating income-based solutions
This bill needs to be scrapped entirely.
It is built on a crumbling foundation of half-truths, outdated assumptions, and disingenuous political maneuvering. What Vermont needs is a new bill based on facts, not fear.
And let’s be clear about one thing: Vermont schools are not failing!
Vermont’s education system continues to be one of the best in the country. Consider the facts:
Our graduation rate is consistently above 90%, among the highest in the nation.
Vermont students consistently score above the national average on the SAT and rank among the top states in college enrollment rates.
Vermont has the lowest rate of juvenile crime in the United States.
We rank near the top in youth well-being, according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Ranking #4 in ‘Education’ and #3 in ‘Family and Community.’
Vermont is also #1 in youth participation in school sports — a key indicator of student engagement and community involvement. (Although there is a significant decline at the high school level, which is likely a result of fewer teams being available in our larger high schools.)
We should be proud and protective of a system that works and not tear it down because of political spin and selective data. The misuse of NAEP scores — a national test not aligned in any way with Vermont’s curriculum — is a disingenuous smear tactic. It cherry-picks data to paint a misleading picture, all to justify unnecessary upheaval.
I reject the idea that Vermont schools are in crisis, as well as the notion that local control of our schools is the problem. I reject the idea that austerity programs and budget cuts are the only way out of this affordability crisis. I reject every major premise this bill was built upon, which is why the bill needs to be soundly defeated on the Senate floor, and lawmakers can come back with fresh ideas from their constituents and not lobbyists from special interest groups. We need a plan that works for the people.
Now is the time to act. Contact your state senators and urge them to vote no on H.454. Talk to your local teachers and school board members. Ask them what they need, and how to responsibly reduce education spending without sacrificing student success or community control.
Tell the Vermont Legislature to stop the shell games. If we want to provide universal meals and early education — and we should — then fund those services transparently. That means reducing unfunded mandates or increasing income taxes on Vermont’s wealthiest residents and second-home owners, not shifting the burden onto working families and small towns.
Start fresh next year and work on a bill that solves the property tax problem without hastening the decline of our communities and reducing the quality of education our kids deserve.
Let’s fix what needs fixing. But please leave our public schools in local hands.
Matt Henchen is Moretown resident and social studies teacher at Harwood Union Middle-High School.