When lawmakers return to the Statehouse next month, one of the most pressing issues facing them will be the future of spending caps in Act 46 - the state's new school district consolidation law.
The outcome of this debate could have a significant impact on property tax burdens in many parts of Vermont.
The spending thresholds are controversial because they're essentially a two-year plan to restrain school spending. The variable cap links a town's per pupil spending to its budget growth and sizeable penalties are imposed on communities that exceed this threshold.
Bristol Rep. David Sharpe, chairman of the House Education committee is concerned that the spending caps will interfere with local discussions around the consolidation of school districts. He says his committee is considering its options for taking action.
"I think the committee came away with the conclusion that we needed to do something,” Sharpe said.
"Health care costs are killing our budgets across the state ... That's a problem and we recognize that." - Bristol Rep. David Sharpe, chairman of the House Education committee
However, it's not clear what should be done. Sharpe notes that health care costs for teachers are rising almost 8 percent and he says one plan would exempt these costs from the spending cap.
"Health care costs are killing our budgets across the state,” Sharpe explained. “That's a problem and we recognize that."
Sharpe says lawmakers need to deal with this issue in the first few weeks of the session. That's because most school budgets are sent to the printer by the end of January.
If the Legislature fails to act within this time frame, he says it sets up a difficult situation for many school boards whose budgets will not reflect any changes made to the cap by the Legislature.
"School districts and communities can vote [on] supplemental budgets,” said Sharpe. “Or for those communities that vote on the floor, they can amend the budget on the floor on Town Meeting Day but I just think it's an easier process the sooner that we can get something done at the Statehouse."
"We have to let the law play out." - House Minority leader Don Turner
House Minority leader Don Turner doesn't support any changes to the caps because he thinks it's critical to restrain overall school spending.
"It does it for a two-year period which is a temporary fix and I think that we have to let the law play out."
And Turner says the time has come for some school boards to reduce the size of their teaching staff.
"We have seen the student population in Vermont decline at a very steady rate for the last decade,” Turner explained. “We haven't seen a corresponding reduction in teachers and staff and this is not sustainable."
The House Education committee hopes to have a proposal ready for debate on the House floor by the middle of January.
