House and Senate negotiators are focusing on an education cost containment plan that they think could help reduce property tax burdens in the future. They're looking at a way to penalize schools that spend above certain levels.
The state already has a mechanism in place to discourage school districts from spending too much money. It's called the excess spending threshold.
Here's how it works: If a town spends more than 23 percent above the statewide per pupil average, all spending above this limit is subjected to a stiff penalty. Because of this financial pain, very few schools exceed this threshold and the penalty is rarely used.
Londonderry Rep. Oliver Olsen wants to apply a similar concept to all school districts. Under his plan, high spending districts would be penalized if their budgets grew by more than roughly 1 percent. But in low spending districts, budgets could increase by 3 or 4 percent before the penalty kicked in.
Olsen thinks it will be an effective way to control overall school costs. "So this is applying a similar concept but now everyone will be subject to this; and I think school districts will work to keep their spending below the threshold,” he says.
Olsen says his plan will have the biggest impact on the state's largest school districts. "If you look at 15 or 20 largest school districts in the state, you'll find that they spend more than the bottom 150 districts in the state,” says Olsen.
"It's a variable rate and it's not a cap ... So communities can exceed these numbers and they will pay more in taxes and the additional payment in taxes will make the Ed Fund more robust and will reduce taxes across the board for all Vermonters." - Bristol Rep. Dave Sharpe
Bristol Rep. Dave Sharpe is the chairman of the House Education committee. His panel originally backed a plan to impose a firm cap on all school budgets. He says this new approach makes a lot of sense.
"It's a variable rate and it's not a cap. What it is, is a high spending threshold,” he says. “So communities can exceed these numbers and they will pay more in taxes and the additional payment in taxes will make the ed fund more robust and will reduce taxes across the board for all Vermonters."
Washington Sen. Ann Cummings is the chairwoman of the Senate Education committee. She's intrigued by this new approach but has some questions about it. "We want to encourage schools that are spending too little to spend enough and make it possible for them to spend enough to provide an adequate education,” says Cummings.
"We want to encourage schools that are spending too little to spend enough and make it possible for them to spend enough to provide an adequate education." - Washington Sen. Ann Cummings
The House Senate Education Conference committee is hoping to a reach a final agreement on a compromise plan on Friday.