MONTPELIER- The Senate Education Committee voted unanimously to pass their version of H.361, the House education reform bill, out of committee Wednesday evening. The education committee’s action came after Bennington Senators Dick Sears and Brian Campion met on Saturday with constituents in Wilmington and Readsboro, many of whom expressed concern about the impact of the bill on their schools.
The Senate’s version of the bill differs significantly from the House bill in regard to governance consolidation. Rather than a mandate to study and implement larger, 1,100-student districts, the Senate version provides incentives for districts to join together to form pre-K-12 supervisory districts with a minimum of 900 students. The incentive can be taken in the form of a five-year reduction in the tax rate – 10 cents in the first two years, 8 cents in the third, 6 cents in the fourth, and 4 cents in the final year – or in the form of a $400-per-student state grant in the first year of the merger. Merged schools would also qualify for a merger support grant and a “transition facilitation grant” of up to $150,000. To be eligible, the merged school districts must be operational before July 1, 2017.
Local voters that met with Sears and Campion at Memorial Hall in Wilmington on Saturday said that the 10-cent tax reduction incentive could be a boon to larger towns that may be able to absorb their smaller neighbors, or join with other nearby communities. On Saturday, Campion, who is a member of the Senate Education Committee, acknowledged that one of the problems with the tax incentives was funding – other districts would have to fund the tax incentives.
Although the Senate bill expressly states that there is no intent to close small schools, and that the state wants small schools to have more opportunities and flexibility, it eliminates the state small schools grant except to schools that are deemed geographically isolated by the state, and have an average class size of fewer than 20 students. Schools currently receiving the small school grant would be weaned away from the funding, receiving two-thirds of the grant for fiscal year 2017 and one-third in fiscal year 2018.
The bill also eliminates the current 3.5% “hold-harmless” provision, which protects schools with declining enrollments from the loss of more than 3.5% of their state education funding in any single year.
The bill provides for a three-year transition, and eliminates the hold-harmless provision altogether in 2021, except for districts that are eligible for certain consolidation incentives.
The Senate version of the bill also includes an enforcement provision for districts that don’t comply with current or new laws. If the state finds that a supervisory union or any district fails to comply with state statutes, the secretary of education is authorized to increase nonresidential, homestead, and income-sensitized tax rates by 5% each year in those districts, until the state determines the district or supervisory union is in compliance.
The bill is slated to move to the Senate Finance Committee for their review.
The Senate’s version of the bill differs significantly from the House bill in regard to governance consolidation. Rather than a mandate to study and implement larger, 1,100-student districts, the Senate version provides incentives for districts to join together to form pre-K-12 supervisory districts with a minimum of 900 students. The incentive can be taken in the form of a five-year reduction in the tax rate – 10 cents in the first two years, 8 cents in the third, 6 cents in the fourth, and 4 cents in the final year – or in the form of a $400-per-student state grant in the first year of the merger. Merged schools would also qualify for a merger support grant and a “transition facilitation grant” of up to $150,000. To be eligible, the merged school districts must be operational before July 1, 2017.
Local voters that met with Sears and Campion at Memorial Hall in Wilmington on Saturday said that the 10-cent tax reduction incentive could be a boon to larger towns that may be able to absorb their smaller neighbors, or join with other nearby communities. On Saturday, Campion, who is a member of the Senate Education Committee, acknowledged that one of the problems with the tax incentives was funding – other districts would have to fund the tax incentives.
Although the Senate bill expressly states that there is no intent to close small schools, and that the state wants small schools to have more opportunities and flexibility, it eliminates the state small schools grant except to schools that are deemed geographically isolated by the state, and have an average class size of fewer than 20 students. Schools currently receiving the small school grant would be weaned away from the funding, receiving two-thirds of the grant for fiscal year 2017 and one-third in fiscal year 2018.
The bill also eliminates the current 3.5% “hold-harmless” provision, which protects schools with declining enrollments from the loss of more than 3.5% of their state education funding in any single year.
The bill provides for a three-year transition, and eliminates the hold-harmless provision altogether in 2021, except for districts that are eligible for certain consolidation incentives.
The Senate version of the bill also includes an enforcement provision for districts that don’t comply with current or new laws. If the state finds that a supervisory union or any district fails to comply with state statutes, the secretary of education is authorized to increase nonresidential, homestead, and income-sensitized tax rates by 5% each year in those districts, until the state determines the district or supervisory union is in compliance.
The bill is slated to move to the Senate Finance Committee for their review.
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