September Newsletter: What we are planning for this year

When I stepped into this role in June I shared with you that we would sharpen our focus in the months ahead. Last month, I laid out why that urgency behind that focus: 64% of Vermonters under 35 are planning to leave the state within five years, while close to 100,000 Vermonters are approaching retirement age. On top of that, we are shrinking faster than any state in the country.

A problem that size invites a dramatic response, throwing time and attention in every direction. We are not going to do that.

Today I am sharing our 2026/27 priorities; this is our strategic plan for the year ahead. It reflects a deliberate choice by us as an organization: fewer, bigger fights. We lead where we are uniquely positioned to lead. We support other credible organizations where they are already doing good work. We are a small organization, but focus is how small organizations have outsized impact.

Here is what that means in practice.

Where We're Leading

Education reform and literacy recovery. Vermont students are falling behind in reading and math while we remain one of the nation's highest spenders on education. This fall and winter, we will publish a statewide performance recovery plan drawing on the proven turnarounds in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Tennessee — states that decided declining outcomes were not inevitable. Alongside it, we'll release an education reform framework covering governance, finance, spending transparency, and accountability for results. Success means our recommendations are part of the 2027 legislative conversation, and that both the state and school districts are held accountable.

Ethics, oversight, and public trust. Campaign for Vermont led the coalition that secured Vermont's 2017 ethics law. That coalition has since dissolved, and the progress it won is being chipped away. We are rebuilding it, with partners across the political spectrum, and we will provide support for the Ethics Commission's requests for capacity improvements and investigatory authority. When oversight is weakened, we intend to act quickly and be loud about it. Vermonters deserve to know when public officials resist independent oversight.

Stronger capacity to do this work. None of the work we are outlining here happens without an organization built to deliver it. We are expanding our Board of Directors, deepening our Advisory Council, improving methods of reaching lawmakers quickly and clearly, and creating better ways for supporters and subject-matter experts to contribute directly to better outcomes for our state.

Where We're Supporting Others

Housing affordability and supply. Capable organizations are already leading here, so our contribution is in a supporting role through avenues like public communications, testimony, and policy analysis. Expect at least one policy brief on what actually prevents housing from being built at scale in Vermont, along with summaries of key housing legislation, and public communications.

Health care costs and transparency. Costs keep climbing, and roughly $195 million in federal rural health funding remains largely unallocated. We have working relationships across every side of this debate:  providers, insurers, regulators, and reform advocates. Our most valuable contribution isn't another voice in the mix; it's helping those parties find common ground on cost. Expect us to facilitate those conversations and produce short-form analysis on where Vermont's costs are out of line, why that is the case, and how collaboration can solve it.

Saying 'NO' Is Part of the Plan

I want to be transparent about the discipline this requires, because it's the part most organizations don't say out loud. We have more good ideas than we can realistically execute on. So every new project gets measured against three questions:

1. Does it advance a top priority?

2. Are we the right organization to do it; either as a leader or a genuinely useful partner?

3. Can we deliver it without dropping something we've already promised?

If the answer to any of those is no, it waits.

Here's Where You Come In

Legislators return to Montpelier in January. The work we complete between now and then (the research, the briefs, the coalition-building) determines whether we walk into the session with credible, ready-to-use recommendations and analysis or with just good intentions. Your support directly determines how much of this agenda we can deliver.

1. Support our work — financial support directly expands our research and legislative capacity.

2. Volunteer your time — we need help with legwork, data, and outreach.

3. Contact your legislators — still the most direct action any Vermonter can take.

4. Read the full plan — and tell us what we got right and what we missed. I mean that.

In July I said the best chapters of our story are still unwritten. This plan is how we start writing the next one. We are asking harder questions, challenging comfortable assumptions, and putting practical, nonpartisan solutions in front of the people who can act on them.

I'm energized, I'm ready, and I'm grateful to be doing this work alongside you.

On behalf of Vermonters,

Pam Mackenzie
President, Campaign for Vermont

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		NotchFM Interview Bill Sayre interviewed Ben Kinsley on August 3rd about the funding reform changes that are necessary in order to see savings in the education system. Listen
School PCB Testing Program (Act 130) On the third episode of Banter & Beans, we dive into Act 130. The new law extends school PCB testing, funding investigation, remediation, and ongoing indoor air quality monitoring to protect students and staff in Vermont schools. Watch
		Delaying Parts of Act 181's Rural Land Use Provisions (Act 152) The partial repeal of Act 181 got a lot of airtime earlier this year, but what did it actually do? We dive in on this episode of Banter & Beans. Watch
Reference-Based Pricing and Other Health Care Reforms (S.190) The Governor vetoed S.190, which would have accelerated referenced-based pricing in Vermont's health care system. What would this bill have done and why did the Governor veto it? We dive in on this episode of Banter & Beans. Watch
		Updating Definitions of Lobbying Advertisements H.686 (Act 154) Act 154 achieves a stronger reporting framework for covered lobbying advertisements and advertising campaigns costing at least 1,000. The law now requires more useful disclosure about what issue, bill, or person is being featured and whether the message expresses support, opposition, or neutrality. Watch

News Worth Reading:

Our top picks of local must-read news this month.

1. 1 In 5 Vermont Homes Is Vacant, 2nd Highest Rate In The U.S
   . - VermontBiz
2. Brown: Vermont Cannot Spend Its Way Into Affordability
   - VT Digger
3. Treasurer Pieciak to Examine Cost-Savings, Feasibility of a State-Led Off-Site Housing Construction Program
   - VermontBiz
4. Incumbents Largely Hold On In Vermont’s Legislative And Statewide Primaries
   - VT Digger
5. Vermont Agency of Education hosts Read Vermont Summit
   - VermontBiz
6. Scott And Officials Describe Work And Goals Of AI Task Force
   - Bennington Banner
7. VNRC: How VT Can Support Housing Growth While Protecting Wetlands
   - VermontBiz
8. Learey: Vermont’s Housing Challenge Is Also A Capital Challenge
   - VermontBiz
9. Vermont’s Population Of Primary Care Doctors Is Declining
   - VT Digger
10. Burlington Business Association Shutters After Nearly 50 Years
    - Seven Days
11. Lake Champlain Chamber Launches "Downtown Business Alliance" To Reclaim Downtown Vitality
    - VermontBiz
12. Brown: Part-Time Vermonters Aren’t The Enemy
    - VT Digger
13. Swenson: Vermont Doesn’t Have A Housing Shortage. It Has An Affordability Problem.
    - VT Digger
14. Hoffer: State Agencies Should Report Accurate Performance Data
    - VermontBiz
15. How best to spend Meta's $92M 'gift'?
    - St Albans Messenger
16. ‘I’ll Take Money From Anyone’: Corporate Cash Fuels Some Vermont Political Campaigns
    - Vermont Public
17. Vermont’s New Car Inspection Rules Ease Up On Brake Rust, Tire Cracks And Dashboard Lights
    - Vermont Public
18. Two Weeks Until The Vermont Solutions Summit, Sept 10
     (Vermont Chamber) - VermontBiz

Recently Completed Research & Policy Proposals:

• Wealth Migration Report - Published December 11, 2024
• Education Spending & Outcomes Report - Published December 30, 2024
• A Pathway to Viable Education Reform - Published March 7, 2025
• Letter to Education Reform Conference Committee - Sent June 6, 2025
• Review of Yale Report on Effectiveness of Act 46 - Published July 22, 2025
• Letter to Act 73 Task Force - Sent August 12, 2025
• Finding Savings Through Shared Services in Vermont - Published November 10, 2025

Campaign for Vermont's mission is to advocate for public policy changes by reconnecting middle-class Vermonters to their government.