(Host) Opponents of the two vote school budget law that passed at the end of last year’s session are launching a final campaign at the Statehouse to repeal the policy.
But their plan is running into strong opposition in the Senate.
VPR’s Bob Kinzel reports:
(Kinzel) The law is known as Act 82. Here’s how it works. First, it applies only to towns that spend above the statewide average. Second, it kicks in only if a school budget increases by more than the rate of inflation, plus one percent.
In these cases, the school board must present two budgets to voters – one that represents inflation plus one percent, and a second for all spending above this level.
The House earlier this session repealed the law and replaced it with a plan that penalizes higher spending towns that exceed certain limits.
The Vermont NEA, the state’s teachers union, is trying to convince the Senate to adopt the House plan. Spokesperson Joel Cook says it’s unfair to hold schools accountable for costs that are out of their control.
(Cook) “People, not just schools, but everybody in the state, is hurting because of the increase in energy costs, the increase in health care costs, and – in the school context – the difficult costs associated with special needs kids, and basically imposes this two vote mechanism. It’s a recipe that invites voters to take out their frustrations on our kids."
(Kinzel) Senate Education Chairman Don Collins doesn’t like the House plan because he feels it hampers a local school board’s ability to ask voters to support higher budgets.
(Collins) “What will happen is you can talk with your voters, you can tell them how important this is, how necessary it is for the school. But they have no control over it because when you hit it you have to pay an extra dollar for every dollar you spend.”
(Kinzel) Collins says he likes the two-vote plan because it allows school boards to seek additional funds if they can make a solid case to local voters.
(Collins) “Have a good discussion with their communities, maybe have to work a little harder on explaining their budget and marketing their budget. But the two-vote gives them that opportunity and the excess spending provision does not give them that opportunity."
(Kinzel) Since the House bill is stuck in Collins’ committee, Senate backers of the repeal effort hope to offer their plan as an amendment to another education bill. Windsor Senator Dick McCormack is leading this effort.
(McCormack) “The approach the state is taking is analogous to dealing with the high health care costs by punishing people for getting sick. And the two-vote implies that school boards are not doing their job. And I think they are and it’s really an insult to the school boards and for that matter to the local voters."
(Kinzel) McCormack says he’s keeping a close eye on the Senate calendar for the right bill for his amendment in the final days of the session.
For VPR News, I’m Bob Kinzel in Montpelier.