Scott Beck
July 03, 2025
Sen. Scott Beck (R) represents the Caledonia Senate District and is the Vermont Senate Minority Leader.
H.454 was the final bill that passed Vermont’s legislature this year after an unusual and difficult conference committee that had to rectify two versions of a bill, neither of which had majority support in the House or Senate. The Governor intends to sign H.454 and begin a long process to transform Vermont’s Pk-12 education system into one that provides increased opportunities for Vermont children at a price that Vermonters can afford.
In H.454 Vermont’s education commitment of $2.3B (FY25 dollars) is maintained with future growth controlled by inflation and weighted student count. Under H.454 225 towns would receive a property tax decrease and 26 would experience an increase. The 26 would receive considerably more school funding than they do now. All 12 towns in the Caledonia Senate District would receive a property tax decrease with a combined tax savings of $17.5M over 5 years, assuming full implementation.
Districts are starting to unpack H.454 and determine what it means for their students, educators, and school(s). The ironic conclusion is that this bill doesn’t mean anything for Vermont’s 119 existing school districts. In order for H.454 to be implemented districts and supervisory unions as much as practical would have to be reorganized into much larger units between 4,000 and 8,000 students. For reference, Caledonia County has about 4,300 students. Champlain Valley Union is Vermont’s largest school district with 4,125 students. If district reorganization isn’t successful in 2026, then almost all of H.454 won’t be implemented, including the foundation funding formula.
Under H.454 new districts would be reorganized and begin operating in the 2028-2029 school year. A foundation funding formula would also begin in the same year and be fully implemented over 5 years. This foundation would pay districts a base student amount ($15,033 in FY25 dollars) along with a weighted amount for each student based on their unique characteristics: poverty, English language learner, and special education. Small schools with less than 100 students and/or sparse areas operating small schools would receive additional aid in the form of grants. The base, weights, and grants would increase annually according to inflation and be regularly reviewed for accuracy. Districts would be able to spend 10% more than the foundation base with voter approval in 2028-2029, gradually becoming 5% in 2033.
Notably absent from H.454 are grade and career & technical education weights. All CTE’s (public and independent) have historically been allowed to set their tuition in Vermont and secondary grades have always been weighted to reflect the increased costs of specialized instruction in grades 9-12. These factors are not important to districts that operate all grades and a CTE center, but they are terribly important to districts that do not operate a CTE and/or all grades. Without weights funding will not be available for additional costs associated with secondary grades or CTE instruction in much of Vermont, especially rural Vermont. It is worth pointing out that all public and independent secondary schools in our area receive students from other districts and would be negatively impacted by this omission. If this issue is not addressed, H.454 will not work in rural Vermont where public tuition and supervisory unions are prevalent.
Classroom sizes attracted a lot of interest in H.454. I am not a proponent of this idea and instead would prefer that education professionals be given flexibility without empowering bean-counters. In the end the idea of classroom sizes was watered down to 10 students for 1st grade increasing gradually to 18 for secondary grades. Many types of classes are excluded and enforcement is optional. In addition, all references to school size were dropped in H.454. I welcome the softening, but am wary of other legislators that do not understand rural Vermont and the importance of schools to rural communities.
Invariably, whenever transformational education change is proposed in Montpelier, people speculate which districts will win and which will lose. In the case of H.454 it is impossible to say because existing districts would no longer exist. H.454 will ensure that all Vermont children are equally supported with flexibility for districts choosing to spend up to 5% more.
H.454 is the opening move in what will be a long and important process to transform Vermont’s Pk-12 education system. There are many other issues to address, including cost factors – healthcare front and center. I will provide periodic updates, please reach out if you have questions, concerns, or ideas.
H.454 was the final bill that passed Vermont’s legislature this year after an unusual and difficult conference committee that had to rectify two versions of a bill, neither of which had majority support in the House or Senate. The Governor intends to sign H.454 and begin a long process to transform Vermont’s Pk-12 education system into one that provides increased opportunities for Vermont children at a price that Vermonters can afford.
In H.454 Vermont’s education commitment of $2.3B (FY25 dollars) is maintained with future growth controlled by inflation and weighted student count. Under H.454 225 towns would receive a property tax decrease and 26 would experience an increase. The 26 would receive considerably more school funding than they do now. All 12 towns in the Caledonia Senate District would receive a property tax decrease with a combined tax savings of $17.5M over 5 years, assuming full implementation.
Districts are starting to unpack H.454 and determine what it means for their students, educators, and school(s). The ironic conclusion is that this bill doesn’t mean anything for Vermont’s 119 existing school districts. In order for H.454 to be implemented districts and supervisory unions as much as practical would have to be reorganized into much larger units between 4,000 and 8,000 students. For reference, Caledonia County has about 4,300 students. Champlain Valley Union is Vermont’s largest school district with 4,125 students. If district reorganization isn’t successful in 2026, then almost all of H.454 won’t be implemented, including the foundation funding formula.
Under H.454 new districts would be reorganized and begin operating in the 2028-2029 school year. A foundation funding formula would also begin in the same year and be fully implemented over 5 years. This foundation would pay districts a base student amount ($15,033 in FY25 dollars) along with a weighted amount for each student based on their unique characteristics: poverty, English language learner, and special education. Small schools with less than 100 students and/or sparse areas operating small schools would receive additional aid in the form of grants. The base, weights, and grants would increase annually according to inflation and be regularly reviewed for accuracy. Districts would be able to spend 10% more than the foundation base with voter approval in 2028-2029, gradually becoming 5% in 2033.
Notably absent from H.454 are grade and career & technical education weights. All CTE’s (public and independent) have historically been allowed to set their tuition in Vermont and secondary grades have always been weighted to reflect the increased costs of specialized instruction in grades 9-12. These factors are not important to districts that operate all grades and a CTE center, but they are terribly important to districts that do not operate a CTE and/or all grades. Without weights funding will not be available for additional costs associated with secondary grades or CTE instruction in much of Vermont, especially rural Vermont. It is worth pointing out that all public and independent secondary schools in our area receive students from other districts and would be negatively impacted by this omission. If this issue is not addressed, H.454 will not work in rural Vermont where public tuition and supervisory unions are prevalent.
Classroom sizes attracted a lot of interest in H.454. I am not a proponent of this idea and instead would prefer that education professionals be given flexibility without empowering bean-counters. In the end the idea of classroom sizes was watered down to 10 students for 1st grade increasing gradually to 18 for secondary grades. Many types of classes are excluded and enforcement is optional. In addition, all references to school size were dropped in H.454. I welcome the softening, but am wary of other legislators that do not understand rural Vermont and the importance of schools to rural communities.
Invariably, whenever transformational education change is proposed in Montpelier, people speculate which districts will win and which will lose. In the case of H.454 it is impossible to say because existing districts would no longer exist. H.454 will ensure that all Vermont children are equally supported with flexibility for districts choosing to spend up to 5% more.
H.454 is the opening move in what will be a long and important process to transform Vermont’s Pk-12 education system. There are many other issues to address, including cost factors – healthcare front and center. I will provide periodic updates, please reach out if you have questions, concerns, or ideas.
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