The Legislature worked late last night, finally concluding that an education reform deal was out of reach. They are coming back in a couple weeks to (hopefully) finish the job.

The road to education reform in Vermont has been long and winding, and we are at another crossroads. Driven by increasingly unaffordable property tax bills, House bill H. 454 attempts to use district consolidation as a cost-saving measure along with a funding formula change meant to contain spending. With no proof that this tactic will actually save money (and plenty that suggests it will not), this legislation heads us dangerously in the wrong direction. We need to look both ways before we go any further down this road.

H.481, passed by the Vermont House and Senate in 2025, amends stormwater management regulations to enhance water quality protection, particularly for impervious surfaces of three or more acres. The legislation addresses permitting, funding, and municipal responsibilities while establishing a study committee to explore regional stormwater utility districts.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 27, 2025

Campaign for Vermont Announces the Addition of Roger Allbee

Non-profit seeking to grow VT’s middle class expands its advisory council.

The most significant event in Montpelier this week is the one that almost didn't happen... Sensing that the education reform bill (H.454) was going to have some challenges on the Senate floor, we issued an action alert on Monday. Those concerns turned out to be well-founded when Senate leadership announced on Tuesday that they were pulling the bill back from the floor.

H.482 aims to balance the financial stability of health insurers with hospital accountability in Vermont’s healthcare system.

The bill proposes comprehensive reforms to Vermont’s public education system, focusing on governance, funding, and quality to ensure equitable, sustainable, and efficient education for all students. The bill redirects commissions, establishes task forces, and imagines new systems to achieve these goals, with specific timelines for implementation.

The Senate is getting ready to vote on a historic education reform package (H.454) as soon as tomorrow. The bill includes major reforms to the financing of education in the state that are similar to the proposal we released in March. This overhaul will correct the tragedy of the commons situation that Act 60 has created (which significantly accelerated the growth of education spending in the state). The legislation also tees up major changes to the governance structure of education and creates a working group to come up with a plan for doing so.

I read Miro Weinberger’s recent opinion editorial “If Vermont wants a future of abundance, we must choose to build” with excitement. I too recently finished reading Ezra Klein’s new book, Abundance, and its relevance to Vermont is unquestionable.