Two southern Vermont towns are hiring a lobbying firm to advocate for a system that measures educational spending, and evaluates its effects on taxpayers.
The towns of Dover and Wilmington will co-fund the costs of hiring KSE Partners to track how their education taxes are being spent at the state level.
Clare Buckley, a lobbyist with KSE Partners, tells the Dover Select Board it’s been "an uphill struggle to get the Legislature interested in looking at the issue from the town’s perspective."
Meanwhile, lawmakers are taking a new approach to get more Vermont school districts to merge. They hope the move will help augment an earlier effort to cut down on the number of school boards.
Education officials say mergers would result in more student opportunity and possible cost savings.
You can find select board minutes from Dover and Wilmington as well as government documents from 100 other Vermont cities and towns at VPR’s Public Post. While you’re there, post a comment or send a message on Twitter using the hash-tag #PublicPost to open a discussion about an issue in your town.