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Sen. Ann Cummings, D-Washington, is chair of the Senate Education Committee. Photo by Amy Ash Nixon/VTDigger
Lawmakers are now considering a plan that would lower the excess spending threshold and increase penalties for schools that spend more than the statewide average.
The plan would lower the point at which school budgets cross the excess spending line from 123 percent down to 110 percent, which would impact many more school districts.
The penalty would be 40 percent to 55 percent of the amount schools spend above the statewide average.
The new plan has emerged in the waning days of the legislative session, as conference committee members from the House and Senate rush to finish work on structural reforms to the state’s educational system.
The proposal would replace the House-passed spending cap of 2 percent.
While the formula would capture more districts who cross the 110 percent threshold, the new penalty would be lower than the one now in place.
The Agency of Education proposed a 40 percent penalty; the House wants a 55 percent penalty. Under current law all spending above the threshold is penalized.
The town of Weybridge, for example, the highest-spending district in the state, would see a 22 cent tax penalty under the House plan, and a 16 cent penalty under the agency plan.
Weybridge spends $19,299 per equalized pupil, which is $3,890 more than the state average per equalized pupil of $15,409, according to the administration.
The towns that would hit the 110 percent threshold are listed here.
The latest side-by-side comparisons of the bill can be seen here.
Sen. Ann Cummings, D-Washington, chair of the Senate Education Committee, said the committee has only a few fiscal pieces of the bill left to finalize.
“We are making excellent progress. We are close,” Cummings said.
Members of the committee have agreed to the Senate’s proposal for expanded school systems with at least 900 students.
They have also agreed to timelines for voluntary district mergers. Districts have until July 1, 2017, to explain to the Agency of Education why they are not working to form larger districts.
The secretary of the agency will work with districts that aren’t moving ahead with mergers.
By April 1, 2018, the secretary will then publish a proposal to be submitted to the State Board of Education for the remaining school districts that have not voluntarily moved into larger education districts.
Districts that opt in to a one-year accelerated merger program in 2016 and merge by 2017 will receive generous tax breaks over a five-year period.
The bill also extends incentives in current law for Regional Education Districts to form, but the grants are not as generous as the stepped-up incentives laid out for the first year.
The legislation phases out the hold harmless provision which has cushioned tax rate increases in communities with declining student enrollment.
The small schools grants in fiscal year 2020 and after would only be for schools that are geographically isolated or that have an average grade size of 20 or fewer, that participated in a merger study, have a high student-to-staff ratio, and offer high quality educational opportunities.
In Friday’s version of the bill, the Senate voted to leave the small schools grant program alone; that issue has seen major pushback.
The compromise bill expected to be voted out of conference committee on Thursday is a plan to continue small schools grants in perpetuity as a merger incentive grant.
Dave Sharpe, D-Bristol, said, “We believe that protects small schools.”
The program costs the state about $7 million a year.
“If you’re geographically isolated, you’re isolated, but if you’re not, then you’re going to have to meet the other criteria to continue,” to receive a small school grant, said Cummings.
Secretary of Agency of Education weighs in
Rebecca Holcombe, Agency of Education secretary, said the agency is implementing new educational quality standards and a review process. The agency will visit one-third of the state’s 277 school districts a year as part of the evaluations.
She said the agency may have capacity challenges associated with the realigning of school districts at the same time.
Cummings said both the House and Senate want to pass out an education reform bill with realistic target dates that do not overburden the agency.
Dovetailing the evaluation and realignment work may be the best approach, she said.
“We’re all trying to find a reasonable timeline that’s understandable and that we can hand out to school districts so they understand where we’re going,” said Cummings.
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