They didn't ask me

I think your most prudent Vermonters would look at those numbers and say, that’s not unreasonable.

--Jeff Francis, Executive Director of the Vermont Superintendents Association, in an article buried in today's Freeps.

The average increase in school budgets this year, according to the VSA, was 4.36% and 4.1% last year.   But the number of students in Vermont fell by 1.8% in 2006 and 1.2% in 2007, according to the Vermont Department of Education. 

In 2006 there were 2,000 more students in grade 12 than in Kindergarden.  In 2007, there were 1,400 more.  That trend will continue for at least the next five years, so the number of students will continue falling by one to two percent each year. 

The four percent growth in spending has to be looked at in the context of these declining enrollments, which means per pupil spending is growing at a five to six percent annual rate, faster than inflation and faster than nominal income growth.

I consider myself a prudent Vermonter.  Maybe not the most prudent one around.   And I'm concerned.

Comments

[Lani Duke]

Fewer kids each year and costs continue to rise. Maybe it would be more cost effective to follow the Department of Corrections approach and send Vermont children to school in other states.

[Karen Kerin]

I spoke at town meeting in Royalton pointing out that enrollment has declined to 81% of what it was five years ago, but the school taxes in the same time frame have increased more than 40%, far more than incomes have increased. It fell on deaf ears, sadly. People just do not understand we can not keep this trend going.

[STEVEN JONES]

What Vermonters need to realize is that some local control needs to be sacrificed in the form of unionizing many of our school districts. There is an economy of scale in doing this.

[Jon Harrison]

So true that the trend can't keep going. Same goes for the federal budget deficit and the national debt. We can't grow our way out of the problem, given the demographics and the wave of Social Security and Medicare spending that's coming down the pike as the boomers retire. Either cuts are made, or one day the nation will find itself bankrupt.

Vermont hasn't even heard of the concept of growing your way out of a hole. We think we can tax our way to solvency. Like the nation, we will get our comeuppence.

The fact is that no one wants to make the hard choices. We put them off for the next generation to worry about. In this respect, we remain a very immature people.

[Curtis Hier]

They didn't ask Art, but the Addison Independent did, as usual, ask Bill Mathis. Here's the account:

“The governor and the legislators must live in a different state than the voters … All we’ve heard is unrelenting talk of property taxes and school costs,” Mathis said. “My feeling is the people have spoken very clearly and universally … that they support their schools.”

“The big message is first of all it means that Act 60 and Act 68 are working, and income sensitivity is working,” Mathis said. “For all the criticism of Act 68, obviously Act 68 is working.”

The blob's spin machine is working. The waste I see in education every day disgusts me, regardless of what the tax burden is and regardless of what the budget vote results are.

Interestingly, the Otter Valley UHS School Board increased their budget only 2.2 percent. This is due to fears coming from last year's budget going down and increased scrutiny of Mathis.