06/16/2025
June 15, 2025
Dear WSESU Communities,
Below is a letter that will be sent to our legislators from our board chairs and me. If you have any concerns or reservations about H.454, now is the appropriate time to reach out to your legislators and share your perspective. The bill is scheduled for a vote tomorrow.
Senator Joe Major:
[email protected]
Senator Becca White:
[email protected]
Senator Alison Clarkson:
[email protected]
Representative VL Coffin:
[email protected]
Representative Elizabeth Burrows:
[email protected]
Representative John Bartholomew:
[email protected]
Thank you for your continued engagement.
Best regards,
Christine Bourne,
Superintendent WSESU
Dear Members of the Vermont House and Senate,
Please vote “no” on H.454, the Education Transformation Bill, as negotiated by the Conference Committee.
Throughout this session, we have approached the question of education reform with open minds and a shared commitment to thoughtful, meaningful change. We understand that Vermont’s education system must evolve, and we recognize the urgency of addressing issues of scale, sustainability, and equity. The original House version of H.454 reflected that potential, a bill we believed could be shaped into something promising for all of Vermont’s students.
However, the final version of the bill is not that. Instead, it reflects a troubling shift away from transparency, public accountability, and equity. What was once a genuine opportunity to transform our public education system for the better has now become a bill that prioritizes political expediency and private interests over the public good. The bill removes the opportunity for communities to vote on their local budgets.
Let us be honest about how we got here. The Governor’s response to a difficult budget season and rising education property taxes framed a narrative of crisis. That narrative took hold, but the data tells a different story. Despite challenging conditions, communities overwhelmingly passed their school budgets this year, reaffirming faith in their local schools and educators. There was no voter mandate to dismantle public education, yet that is what this bill effectively initiates.
The Conference Committee process, particularly in the Senate, has deeply undermined public trust. Two of the three Senate conferees had direct and vocal ties to private schools. Their influence is evident in a final bill that safeguards private institutions while implementing sweeping and untested changes to our public systems. The needs of more than 80,000 public school children have been sidelined in favor of protecting a small number of private schools that serve a fraction of our student population.
Let’s be clear about what H.454, in its current form, does:
FROM VSBA:
- H.454 Makes It Easier to Close Public Schools and Use School Choice Instead
The Conference Committee report removes rules that stopped school districts from closing public schools and sending students elsewhere using tuition. Previous versions required alternatives within the district or designated public schools—this safeguard is now gone.
- Some Independent Schools Can Still Set High Tuition
Two independent career and technical education (CTE) schools can still charge whatever tuition they want. A lawmaker on the Conference Committee works for one of these schools and advocated for this provision.
- Private Schools Will Have an Easier Time Getting Public Tuition
The bill lowers the threshold for private schools to receive public tuition from 51% to just 25% of students needing to be publicly funded in the 2023-2024 school year.
- District Size Rules Aren’t Based on Research
The bill mandates new district sizes between 4,000 and 8,000 students, despite repeated requests for a research-based approach.
- School Redistricting Group Has Too Many Legislators
Of the 11 members assigned to redraw district boundaries, only five are not lawmakers and just one may be a former school board member.
- Not Enough School Board Voices on Voting Group
A new group will create school district voting wards and influence how many members serve on school boards in the future, but only 2 out of 7 members are appointed by the VSBA.
- School Building Funds Are Gone
Earlier versions of the bill proposed using extra education funds to repair or build school facilities. The final version redirects that money toward lowering property taxes instead.
Most concerning of all, H.454 threatens to unravel the progress made under Act 127, a landmark step toward educational equity in Vermont. For the first time, Act 127 began addressing the actual cost of educating students who have been historically underserved - multilingual learners and children from low-income families. H.454 risks replacing this progress with an unproven system that has yet to be modeled publicly or understood fully by lawmakers, the AOE, or the Governor’s office.
We cannot support a bill of this magnitude that has been shaped by exclusion, rushed timelines, and political influence. In Vermont’s rural communities, public schools serve as the heart of civic life. This rushed bill risks unraveling the social fabric of our state in ways that extend far beyond the classroom. We stand in solidarity with the Vermont Superintendents Association, Vermont Principals’ Association, Vermont NEA, and Vermont School Boards Association, all of whom have raised serious objections.
To all legislators who represent public school communities across Vermont: Please vote no on H.454. Press pause. Recommit to a process that centers public education, equity, and the voices of the communities you represent.
Sincerely,
Christine Bourne, Superintendent, Windsor Southeast Supervisory Union
Bill Yates, Board Chair, Windsor Southeast Supervisory Union
Davis McGraw, Board Chair, Mount Ascutney School District
Nicole Buck, Board Chair, Hartland School District
AnneMarie Redmond, Board Chair, Weathersfield School District
Rep. Elizabeth Burrows, Member, Mount Ascutney School District Board and Windsor Southeast Supervisory Union Board, and State Representative of Windsor-1 District (Hartland, West Windsor, Windsor)
Amy McMullen, Member, Mount Ascutney School Board
Ryan Pezanowski, Member, Hartland School Board
Megan Reed, Member, Mount Ascutney School Board
Heather Vonada, Member, Hartland School Board
Sara Steele, Member, Weathersfield School Board
Nancy Pedrick, Member, Mount Ascutney School Board
Beth Roy, Member, Hartland School Board
Megan Waite, Member, Weathersfield School Board
Vincent Jewell, Member, Weathersfield School Board
John Arrison, Member, Weathersfield School Board
