Responding to hefty increases in education property taxes last spring, the Governor has proposed, and the Legislature is considering, major changes to how we pay for education, how leadership and administration of school districts will be conducted, and how education will be provided for our students.

Questions and issues under discussion in Montpelier include:

• Does the Governor's Foundation Formula tax proposal have a base amount of per pupil spending for every district (a proposed $13,200 amoint) that is enough to cover the reasonable cost of educating our students?

• Will a local district’s ability to raise additional funds above the base amount come with guardrails so that the tax system complies with the Vermont Constitution's requirement that a substantially equal educational opportunity is provided to all students?

• Does an income-based education tax proposal materially lower taxes for most Vermonters? Is the proposal politically feasible?

• The Governor proposes five to ten mega-school districts. In some configurations this would put the MAUSD towns in a district with northern Franklin County, or southern Rutland County. How can trust between district leaders and communities be maintained, or in some cases rebuilt when districts and their school boards are so far away? Would an Addison County district including the Hannaford Center be preferable? Would a modified supervisory union governance structure offer more flexibility, and a better opportunity to connect leaders with communities?

• Both the Governor and some legislators appear to support closing many smaller elementary schools, which are usually in rural areas like ours. Minimum enrollment thresholds of 400 students, 300, or 250 students are being considered. Alternatives have been proposed to review smaller schools on a case by case basis to determine education quality and financial viability, before closing an elementary school.

• Significant changes are also being proposed by the Governor for Vermont's career technical centers, such as Hannaford. Will the proposed base funding amount be sufficient for CTE students? Would integrating CTE center governance with high school districts provide better opportunities for all students?

Here are some resources relating to these questions and issues:

The Governor's Foundation Formula proposal:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/188r_Bg2GRQGJUm8D3NspkvAh1v-Bj2VL/view?usp=sharing

The Governor's proposal to consolidate school districts:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/189_S_RgoI4jM6QAi9vnsqE_nmcM3Ktw8/view?usp=sharing

The Governor’s proposal for career technical education:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DVhav71bb97FdeE2tMH6l3TldquFizgs/view?usp=sharing

H.177, proposing an income-based tax for education:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/189_S_RgoI4jM6QAi9vnsqE_nmcM3Ktw8/view?usp=sharing

H.180, proposing "due process" for rural elementary schools and their communities:

https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0180/H-0180%20As%20Introduced.pdf

The Vermont Rural School Community Alliance proposal, which opposes the arbitrary closing of community elementary schools:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1E-rB29aYJWpl1vjYNB4vUCLaVkx7B0M4/view?usp=sharing

Housing affordability is a top concern in our community. This is especially so with young families trying to start out their life in Vermont, but having difficulty finding a place to live. As our population ages, and young families seek to make a living out of state, we are in danger of losing the vitality of our rural towns. Declining student enrollment threatens the existence of our elementary schools.

The General and Housing Committee of the House of Representatives is working on housing legislation, linked here

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EgsQkZ5LriWRWTCzW9McN_k7yUu-bBA0/view?usp=sharing

which is expected to be acted on soon.

There are several provisions in the Housing Committee bill that appear promising for rural housing, including increased funding for the Manufactured Home Improvement Program, the First Generation Homebuyer Program, and several other programs supporting subsidized affordable housing. However, some question whether there is enough in the bill to make meaningful progress towards meeting rural Vermont's housing needs.

The Governor has proposed a program called Strategic Projects for Advancing Rural Communities (SPARC), linked here

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Eez0YbBmYbRT7dfbCZqXZQMUdrusOrNn/view?usp=sharing

which has the potential to expand housing opportunities in our rural Vermont communities, including building more homes outside "village centers".

I am working with the Regional Planning Commissions to ask for a review of regulatory barriers to new housing development in Vermont, including an examination of Vermont’ community, individual and municipal water and wastewater regulations. Any regulatory changes must be done without diminishing our environmental protection goals.

Health care in Vermont is the most expensive in the country, creating an affordability crisis for individual Vermonters, businesses, and local and state governments.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/102jExQtq-JfUsoP2p7ZpLpjfdASxCfU0/view?usp=sharing

As one example only, 16% of the education property tax increases we saw last spring were attributable to health care inflation. See this Agency of Education report on the "cost drivers" of last year's property tax increases:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1luoB-bhvjlOq_sItZ2bZ8sG0da6pQ__w/view?usp=sharing

Vermont has had an affordability and sustainability problem for decades, but we have been unable as a society to come together with solutions. There are many causes, but one of the most prominent is the cost of hospital care, especially at the UVM Health Network and the UVM Medical Center. While in most comparable hospitals in the nation, Medicare prices are sufficient to provide quality care for patients, these Vermont entities lose money

https://www.vhc911.org/vhc911-stat/uvmmc-benchmark-to-medicare

Those losses translate to higher premiums for individual Vermonters and businesses with coverage with health insurance companies. Higher premiums have led to many individuals and businesses not being able to afford insurance, and have brought our largest company, Blue Cross Blue Shield, to the brink of bankruptcy.

https://vtdigger.org/2024/08/14/green-mountain-care-board-approves-double-digit-increase-in-health-insurance-premiums-for-third-year-in-row/

The Green Mountain Care Board, Vermont's regulator of health care costs, recently hosted a leader of University Hospitals in Cleveland, Ohio. This hospital network faced similar affordability problems as Vermont, but transformed themselves into a cost effective organization providing improved care to patients. The foundation of the transformation involved changing the mindset of the organization from one focused on maximizing financial profit, to an approach of "Living and Leading with Love." The Ohio hospital network decided to (1) treat everyone (employees and patients alike) with respect, (2) build trust by doing things with, rather than to others, and (3) creating a management ethos of accountability. Here is a summary of the presentation.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EVxqE4YvrW8rGuYLZmi3OW7qWLsH-tXf/view?usp=sharing

I agree with Dr. Pronovost's prescription that an underperforming health care system, such as we have in Vermont, must start over with a better organizational mindset. But my questions are: What if the conditions necessary for positive change are not present in Vermont? What if the dominant health care organization does not have the right mindset needed for positive change? What is the role of the health care regulator in these circumstances?

What are the solutions? I don’t have solutions for the mindset of hospital managers, but I have introduced legislation promoting an improvement, linked here

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CUES03Xhd5vW35rrztntThamY1DoZhDF/view?usp=sharing

proposing a Universal Primary Care program, recognizing that primary care is cost-effective and improves health outcomes for patients.

I have also proposed legislation, linked here

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1E_THcRbeoHlRwdU6x4mv0-2qQ3lt9Mls/view?usp=sharing

asking the Green Mountain Care Board to consider whether Vermont's hospital semi-monopoly is in the public interest.

However, there appears to be little political appetite for "outside the box" solutions. 

There are intriguing legislative proposals under development in the Senate which would adopt a "reference-based" price regulation model, effectively lowering current excessive hospital network prices to Medicare levels. Here are reports on this pricing model from the State Auditor

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-xXUigfU34t4sc5DPW0-hOdnRUps6_EO/view?usp=sharing

and the Green Mountain Care Board

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EbNLSjJose2QiidJt63xL2rw7Jy_d8vc/view?usp=sharing

I remain committed to greater affordability and accountability in Vermont's health care system, a better work environment for health care practitioners, and better access for patients.

Since arriving in Montpelier, I have been learning a lot about opportunities for community development. My goal is to use that knowledge to help our community.

When the pace of the legislative session slows down a bit, I hope to stop by and talk with the Selectboards and Planning Commissions of our four towns. I want to listen and learn whether there are any particular projects you have in mind. Maybe about housing, or maybe municipal infrastructure or economic development. For example, I recently learned that the State funds a variety of program seeking to advance the recreational economy.

I want to see if I can use my knowledge and position to help navigate State programs and agencies to achieve our community goals.