Financing Schools With Finance Bill

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Created on Monday, 02 April 2018 17:57

Written by Kiernan Brisson

LYNDON - The Vermont State Legislature is looking to pass a bill that will reform the ways in which Vermont tax payers give funds for education. A new bill has been passed by the House which would cut property taxes, and reallocate the payments to an increase in the state income tax.
There are many state representatives who are in favor of the bill and who feel that it would not derail funding for schools, and it would be a big help to the state as a whole by lowering the amount of property taxes that residents have to pay. "H.911 will achieve district rate equity," St. Johnsbury representative Scott Beck noted, "Increased cost containment, and reconnecting a district's spending to its homestead property and income tax rates, I think it's a good bill."
There are, of course, issues surrounding the bill. One major issue that school districts in the local area face is the problem of unification. It has been a long and laborious process for school districts, and the issues regarding funding have definitely not helped the situation. Jennifer Botzojorns, the new Superintendent for the Kingdom East School District, is not opposed to the bill, however she feels that it is not the right time to implement the bill.
"At the current time, I feel that the bill would be rushed if it was implemented this year." She explained, "We have just created a cohesive budget across the eight schools in our new district, and implementing a new bill that would change the whole process of schools receiving money from the state for funding would mean a complete revision of how we have built our budget."
At the current time the bill has passed the House; should the bill make it to Phil Scott's desk, he has made a public statement saying that he would veto the bill, claiming that it would be detrimental to efforts made by schools attempting to unify.