Rising education spending driven by state-level problems

COMMENTARY

OLCOMBE AND MONIQUE PRIESTLEY Gov. Phil Scott recently described an average projected increase in education property taxes of almost 18 percent as "unacceptable" and asked school boards to control costs. We agree that people across the state are worried about affordability, from higher tax rates to out-of-control housing costs. School boards cannot control state-level drivers of higher cost any more than they can solve the evils of poverty on their own.

The projected education property tax increases are driven by a projected 12 percent increase in school budgets statewide.

We hope to work with the governor to tackle state-level drivers of that education spending. As one superintendent told the Valley News, many of the factors behind growing school budgets are out of the control of boards, including skyrocketing health insurance costs, our housing crisis, and cost-shifting from state to local budgets for a host of human services. We would add use of public school budgets for what amounts to private benefits.

Here are a few ways Gov. Scott could meaningfully reduce property tax burdens:

• Lead on health care reform. Health care spending consistently grows faster than education spending. One in five dollars Vermonters spend is spent on health care. School districts face a 16 percent increase in health care premiums this year - an increase twice the rate of inflation. These increases occur year after year. and VT increases outstrip national increases, burdening employers and individuals across the state - not just school districts. Sadly, 40 percent of insured Vermonters under age 65 (much of our workforce) are underinsured, meaning their health care costs exceed what their incomes can bear. Schools cannot fix our health care crisis. The governor can join the legislature in working on the sustainability of our health care spending, a process the legislature began with Act 167.

• Focus resources on development of workforce housing. Housing shortages drive up housing costs, locking seniors in homes they struggle to afford and locking young families out of the housing market. That means fewer kids in our schools, higher costs per pupil, and skyrocketing tax rates. In a vicious cycle, higher tax rates make it even less likely families will move in. Governor Scott should lead on developing municipal infrastructure that supports smart development including municipal wastewater systems in the least affordable communities, conditional on development of climate-friendly affordable housing. This would lower the cost of housing development and make higher density possible - where it makes sense. In turn, this development refills our schools, builds our tax base, lowers per pupil tax rates, and addresses our workforce crisis.

• Fund state agencies so school districts don't have to pay for state cuts. Our mental health crisis doesn't go away when the Governor cuts state budgets, as he effectively proposes this year by capping the state mental health department's budget at 3 percent growth - a number half the rate of inflation. Cutting state resources for mental health services displaces these costs onto already strained schools - the payers of last resort. Adequately funding state mental health services both keeps people healthy AND reduces our education property taxes.

• Address unfunded school infrastructure liabilities. The administration is aggressively testing school classrooms for PCBs, without realistic state investment in mitigation and without a coherent plan for what to do when PCBs are found. This is closing classrooms across the state and forcing school districts to fix these classrooms on their own, driving higher education spending. They have spent millions of dollars on loud filters that fill hallways, and yet recorded PCB levels are sometimes higher AFTER so-called "mitigation" spending. Districts already face hundreds of millions of dollars of deferred investments in failing infrastructure. This problem screams for state leadership. The House took a first step by passing H.486. The governor must get behind this bill and comprehensive approach.

• Confront uncontrolled, poorly regulated private school vouchers. Private school vouchers drive up tax rates for everyone - in order to pay for private benefits for the few. Prior to 1991, the Academies were public schools in statute and they were held to the same rules as public schools. Now, out of all taxpayer-funded private schools in Vermont, only Thetford Academy and The Sharon Academy commit to open enrollment and the higher quality standards the State Board of Education applies to public schools. While public schools are asked to hold the line, Vermont sends public school dollars to elite prep schools in other states and other countries, driving up the per pupil cost in Vermont schools. Public money is for public education, not private benefit. Any voucher to a school that doesn't serve a public purpose makes everyone pay more so a handful of people can have taxpayer-funded benefits that most children cannot access.

Enough is enough. We are all worried about affordability. If the governor is serious about affordability, he'll step up on health care reform. He'll respond strategically to our housing crisis. He'll adequately fund state agencies, so that public schools don't pick up the bill for state cuts. And, he'll ensure the public education fund is used to provide excellent, equitable, and accessible public education for all children.

Representative Erin Brady of Williston, is an active public school teacher; Representative Rebecca Holcombe of Windsor-Orange 2, was former Vermont Secretary of Education; and Representative Monique Priestley, of Orange-2, is clerk of the tri-partisan Rural Caucus. The opinions expressed by columnists do not necessarily reflect the views of Vermont News & Media.