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Gov. Phil Scott (R-Vermont) has reappointed controversial pick Zoie Saunders as secretary of education more than six months after the state senate failed to confirm her in the role.

Saunders, who has served on an interim basis since April 30, will reassume the permanent cabinet seat effective immediately, the governor’s office announced on Tuesday. Whether she will hold onto the position a second time remains unknown as she will still need to be confirmed by the senate, which retains a meager Democratic majority. Senators need a simple majority to approve or deny a nominee for the secretary of education seat.

Critics initially spoke out against Saunders — who Scott chose from a pool of candidates recommended by the state Board of Education — due to her lack of public school experience and history with the charter school movement. Tensions only increased when Scott appointed Saunders as interim secretary of education following the senate’s 19-9 vote against her permanent promotion. In response, Sens. Tanya Vyhovsky (P/D-Chittenden) and Richard McCormack (D-Windsor) filed a lawsuit against Scott and Saunders, arguing the governor had violated the state constitution by circumventing the will of the senate. A Vermont Superior Court judge eventually dismissed the lawsuit. Vyhovsky and McCormack are appealing the dismissal.

However, Scott made no mention of the controversies surrounding Saunders’ selection in his press release broadcasting her promotion. The announcement instead centered around her time spent as interim secretary, highlighting her “Listen and Learn” tour intended to understand schools’ short-term and long-term needs for success.

“Since day one, I have believed Zoie Saunders is the right person at the right time to lead the Agency of Education. We face significant challenges, with declining enrollment, student performance, and affordability within our education system, and we need thoughtful leadership to work our way through this,” Scott said. “In her six months at the Agency of Education, Zoie has demonstrated a strong commitment to working with teachers, students, parents, administrators, and community members, so together, we can build a stronger education system. I believe those who have met Zoie have seen how valuable her experience and expertise is.”

Saunders called her position a “privilege” in the press release announcing her promotion.

“I’m incredibly proud of my team at the Agency of Education for the work we have accomplished together,” she said. “The Agency will continue to prioritize enhanced data reporting, collaboration, and statewide continuous improvement to ensure every Vermont student benefits from a world class education. As a parent of two school-aged children, I will always keep students at the forefront of our work. I am grateful to Governor Scott for his confidence in my leadership and his support of the Agency’s efforts to promote education quality, equity, and sustainability.”

Megan Stewart is a government accountability reporter for the Burlington Free Press. Contact her at mstewartyounger@gannett.com.

The response surprised Pattavina, who dreamed up the idea as a way to add some simple, accessible fun to the shop’s mostly New England-produced offerings.

“Whenever I picture a corner store, it has to have treats,” they said.

Using ice cream as a lure for eating your vegetables is a classic trick, acknowledges Pattavina, a former restaurateur who began stocking New England-grown produce after noticing it missing from their local grocery store.

But true to the mission, that meant making sure the ice cream was regionally sourced, too. Unlike vanilla and chocolate, maple comes from New England. Momma’s maple creemees are made from Vermont-raised milk, cream, eggs, and maple. (The shop also serves vanilla and chocolate on a rotating basis — check Instagram for what’s on special when you go.)

“I never ate a maple soft serve, ever, until I became an adult,” said Pattavina. “But still, I didn’t really even understand what a craze it was until we opened.”

On an average day, the store turns out about 100 cones, although recently they hit a record of nearly 200 in a day, and selling out early September weekends. Pattavina expected creemees would be seasonal, but based on the response, they now plan to serve it year-round.

“As long as people keep coming and eating them, then we’ll keep serving them,” they said.

On Sundays, Momma’s offers a rotating cast of sundaes ($9) — a recent special topped maple soft serve with locally-produced marshmallow fluff and Vermont-based goat caramel from Fat Toad Farm, and maple sprinkles.

Some customers who arrive early think it’s a great breakfast food — after all, the machine starts churning out cones as soon as the shop opens, said Pattavina.

Accessibility is a big part of the idea, said Pattavina, including the price point.

“You need to have $100 to go into a restaurant to do the tip and do the meal, and if you want to drink,” they said. “But you could go into Momma’s, and you can get an apple, you can get a bottle of milk. You can get an ice cream.”

If you trade rolling fields and goats for Mass. Ave. traffic, does a maple creemee taste as sweet? From a bank of laundromat-style seats outside the shop, the creemee’s nostalgic flavor seemed as at home in the autumn air as on the farm.

The store features sophisticated fare: natural wines, lavender tea cookies, artisanal beans, and local cheese line its counters. But thanks to the creemee, some of its biggest boosters are kids. Pattavina enjoys when groups of them line up, chaotically debating twist combinations and toppings — only to hear the crowd fall silent when it’s time to eat.

“I think my favorite thing is kids after school with a Ziploc baggie of change that really wait patiently in line, and then, order one, and then take it outside with their gigantic backpack and eat it,” said Pattavina. “Oh my God, it’s just so happy.”

Momma’s Grocery + Wine, 2304 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, www.mommasgrocery.com

MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – A top Vermont lawmaker is calling property tax rates and the potential for another spike a de facto emergency. Senate Leader Phil Baruth is now urging Gov. Phil Scott to take the first full week of the new legislative session to address the soaring costs of schools for next year and the long term.

After a double-digit increase in property tax rates this year, many taxpayers are concerned with affordability to the point where many say they might not stay in Vermont if lawmakers can’t fix it soon.

“My kids are looking to move out of state because it’s very expensive to live in Vermont. It’s as expensive as some of the bigger cities,” said Leslie Borrok of Shelburne.

Borrok says she and her husband might have to do the same if property taxes continue to rise.

“If we’re gonna be on a fixed income with Social Security and whatever monies we’ve been able to pull together, it’s going to be unaffordable for us to continue living here,” she said.

The statewide property tax for education rose 13.7% this year. State leaders are bracing for another double-digit increase in 2025. Among the cost drivers– soaring health care costs for teachers and staff.

It affected the budget at the Slate Valley Unified Union School District, which put five spending plans to voters this year.

“When you have that amount of money being taken up over something that we don’t have control over, that is frustrating I think to all of us in the schools and in the classrooms,” said Brooke Olsen-Farrell, the superintendent of the Slate Valley Unified Union School District.

To keep budgets and tax increases down, school districts may have to grapple with cutting positions, something Alexis Koch knows well as a teacher at Essex High School.

“We basically had to cut a bunch of programming in our schools, a lot of teachers were let go, and I personally since I’m also a teacher in the district also almost was cut back,” Koch said.

In a statement released Monday, Vermont Senate President Pro Tem Phil Baruth says we are at a critical junction and calls on the governor to propose solutions to the funding crisis at the start of the session. Baruth, D-Chittenden County, wrote, in part: “Vermonters need, want and deserve a thriving public education system as well as affordable and predictable property tax rates. In order to achieve both, we need the Governor’s early, transparent and collaborative engagement.”

Interim Vermont Education Secretary Zoie Saunders says in the short term, the state can again look to pump other tax revenues into the education fund to help offset the impact on property taxes.

“It will require us to make difficult choices. We are operating with a limited amount of money but we understand that there is a need to make some stabilization in our system,” Saunders said.

This past year, the Legislature used approximately $95 million to buy down the average statewide property tax rate from the projected 18.5% to 13.8%.

But the education funding formula may need to be completely rethought for long-term solutions, along with other hard choices, like consolidating schools and larger class sizes.

Both Democrats and Republicans agree there are no easy answers.

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