Gov. Phil Scott’s administration has unveiled a plan for overhauling public education in the state.
The far-reaching proposal would consolidate decisions about education in Vermont in the hands of state government and five large regional school boards.
The plan would also seek to stabilize property tax rates after a voter outcry over affordability.
It’s far from a done deal — the Legislature will examine the plan in detail and would have to approve any changes in law.
Here’s what we know so far about how the plan might affect Vermont’s 287 schools and roughly 84,000 students.
More from Vermont Public: State officials unveil Gov. Scott's education reform ideas
School district structure
- Current: 119 school districts
- Proposed: Five regional school districts
Spending decisions
- Current: Local voters decide what to spend, and receive that amount from the state education fund. The state must come up with the money through statewide taxes
- Proposed: The state decides what’s appropriate to spend per student; local voters can raise more money locally
Tax rates
- Current: Homestead and non-homestead tax rates; homestead tax rate varies in each community based on local per-pupil spending
- Proposed: Single statewide education property tax rate
Education standards
- Current: The independent State Board of Education handles rulemaking
- Proposed: The Agency of Education, within the governor’s administration, handles rulemaking — including standards for “small school eligibility” and minimum and maximum school sizes and class sizes
School closures
- Current: Local voters or school boards (or both together, depending on the district) decide whether to close a school
- Proposed: Schools are assessed “based on financial viability and educational quality.” Failing schools will be “offered” options including sharing resources or merging with other schools
District size
- Current: Approximately 180 to 4,100 students
- Proposed: Approximately 11,000 to 34,000 students in each regional district
Local governance
- Current: School board for each district
- Proposed: Five school boards (one for each regional district), plus local School Advisory Councils
School calendar
- Current: Local entities set the calendar
- Proposed: Single statewide calendar
Curriculum
- Current: Each supervisory union sets a curriculum, aligned with standards from the State Board of Education
- Proposed: Statewide standards for a coordinated curriculum
Graduation requirements
- Current: Each school district sets its graduation requirements, with state guidance
- Proposed: Statewide graduation requirements
Income sensitivity for property taxpayers
- Current: Homestead property tax credit based on income
- Proposed: Income-eligible homesteads can exempt a portion of their home value from the statewide education property tax
Would this reduce my property taxes?
One of the Scott administration’s main goals here is to bend the cost curve. And for the 2025-2026 year, they’re proposing to use one-time state funds to avoid a property tax increase.
However, there’s not enough information yet to know how property taxes might look across Vermont if the proposal is implemented. The administration says financial modeling is coming later.
Aside from the numbers, the Scott administration says their new “foundation formula” would be simpler and easier for everyone to understand.
How would this affect staff salaries?
The administration says the plan is designed to raise teacher salaries and ensure pay equity across the state. As of Jan. 23, there are not enough details to know what that would look like.
When would this all happen?
The Scott administration wants to hold property taxes level in the 2025-2026 fiscal year by filling a hole in the education fund with other state funds.
They envision that communities would elect new school district board members in November 2026. The new regional districts would be fully operational starting July 1, 2027, and the new school funding system would take effect.
New evaluation metrics and potential merger of schools would happen starting in 2028.
What’s unknown?
There’s a lot that the plan does not say at this point, and the administration promises more detail is coming.
The unanswered questions include:
- How would the new tax rate work, specifically?
- What would happen to teacher salaries?
- How would tuitioning and school choice work?
- What happens with special education?
- How much authority would local School Advisory Councils have?
- What would be the role of the State Board of Education after its rulemaking authority is removed?
Learn more
How does Vermont pay for schools? A video explainer and glossary of terms
You can also view the Scott administration’s slide deck and read more details.
Have questions, comments or tips? Send us a message.
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