Kathleen Berk, executive director of the Vermont State Housing Authority, speaks to lawmakers about financial challenges related to the Section 8 federal housing voucher program on Nov. 5, 2025 in Montpelier. David Littlefield / Vermont Public
This story, by Report for America corps member Carly Berlin, was produced through a partnership between VTDigger and Vermont Public.
With federal funds dwindling for a key housing assistance program, Vermont lawmakers are looking at using state money to slow the loss of vouchers that help thousands of Vermonters cover rent.
Legislators have said they want to earmark $5 million in a mid-year spending package to soften the blow of funding reductions to the Section 8 program. The bill has plenty more hurdles to clear, but a key housing panel registered its support for the funds on Thursday after local public housing authorities have spent months crying for help.
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Still, the earmark falls far short of the $18 million housing authority leaders had originally bid for last fall, an amount that would have maxed out Vermont’s voucher ceiling set by the feds and boosted the number of vouchers in rotation.
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“What we’re trying to do with this one-time, strategic intervention is to…slow the decrease in the number of vouchers in this calendar year as much as possible,” said Rep. Marc Mihaly, D-Calais, who chairs the House General and Housing Committee.
As Vermont faces steep housing costs and persistently high levels of homelessness, federal housing vouchers play a crucial role in sustaining housing for low-income people who can’t afford market-rate rents. Voucher recipients pay a third of their income toward rent; a local agency administering the federal program pays for the rest. The vouchers offer one of the few avenues out of homelessness for the thousands of Vermonters sleeping in shelters, motels and outdoors.
But over the last year, local housing authorities in Vermont have seen reductions in funding from Congress. That has led many of the nine local authorities to stop issuing new vouchers off their lengthy waiting lists, rescind vouchers from people looking for an apartment to use them, and shelve vouchers when tenants have died or moved out. The state lost hundreds of housing vouchers in 2025 through attrition.
Still, many of the nine Vermont housing authorities are entering 2026 in a budget shortfall which they don’t expect to ease anytime soon. Berk is now worried VSHA might need to take the extraordinary step of withdrawing vouchers from people currently using them to help pay their rent if the state does not intervene.
Draft bills in Congress would result in the loss of roughly 300 to 600 more vouchers in Vermont – or $3.6 million to $7.2 million – according to Berk.
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“Preserving housing assistance and keeping Vermont families stably housed has to be a priority,” Berk told lawmakers Thursday.
The federal government bases future years’ Section 8 voucher funding on past years’ spending by local housing authorities. That means that as Vermont authorities shrink their voucher rolls, they can expect to receive less money in the future even if need remains great, leading to what Berk has called a “downward spiral” in the number of vouchers available to Vermont renters.
The $5 million in state aid is meant to halt that spiral, at least for a year: It would allow Vermont housing authorities to slow down the erosion in the number of vouchers available to Vermont renters and ensure the state gets more federal money in the coming years.
“It means that we will always get a greater share of whatever [Congress chooses] to give us [in] future years,” Mihaly said.
Rep. Robin Scheu, D-Middlebury, chair of the powerful budget-writing panel in the House, said Friday morning that her committee is looking at the funding ask “very seriously.”
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“If the Section 8 voucher goes away, these people will not be able to afford to pay full market value, and if they can’t pay, then they don’t have a place to live,” Scheu said.
The stopgap funding would help local housing authorities offset funding shortfalls and prevent the displacement of families, according to Berk.
The earlier public housing authorities can receive the funding, the more vouchers they can save this calendar year, Mihaly said – hence, lawmakers’ attempt to earmark the funds as part of the mid-year spending bill typically passed in March.
But Republican Gov. Phil Scott’s administration has signaled it wants to hold off and consider the ask as part of the budget for fiscal year 2027, which begins in July.
“[The governor] believes that in the face of federal uncertainty, we should not be appropriating funds without first understanding the full budget picture and weighing all priorities before making those decisions,” said Amanda Wheeler, Scott’s press secretary.
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The House Committee on Appropriations is expected to hash out its version of the mid-year spending package over the coming weeks, before the bill is sent to the House floor and then to the Senate.
Students who plan to enter the workforce after graduation are being celebrated at the Northwest Career & Technical Center’s 2026 Skilled Trades Signing Day.
The event is scheduled for 1 to 2:30 p.m. June 5 in the BFA Saint Albans Gymnasium, according to a community announcement.
Modeled after collegiate athletic signing days, the event will feature students signing “letters of intent” with future employers. The ceremony aims to recognize students for their hard work, technical skill development and commitment to pursuing careers in Vermont’s workforce.
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Students from various programs at the Northwest Career & Technical Center are expected to participate, including those entering fields such as electrical, construction, cosmetology and engineering.
Participating students and their future employers include:
Theodore DeCiantis – Alliance Group (Electrical)
Nolan Howrigan – BP Construction
Lexie Lemieux – Downtown Cuts
Brayden Rooney – Engineers Construction Inc.
Hunter Gagne – Engineers Construction Inc.
Nicholas Boomhower – Engineers Construction Inc.
Quinton Nicholas – Handy Toyota
Natalie Powers – Hayward Tyler
Kaleb Bocash – Hazelett
Damien Callan – Husky
Hailey Carey – Jubilance Salon
Hallie Robtoy – Jubilance Salon
Ryiah Gaudiaso – Lake Shore Hair
Kris Mumert – MEI Electrical Contractors
Logan Little – Milton CAT
Alisa Freighberger – Nail Nook
Jonas Wagner – Omega Electric
Collin Langevin – PC Construction
Vernon Ouellette – PC Construction
Brandon Murray – RPM Engines
Wyatt Blake – United Ag & Turf
Edan Peters – VHV
Owen de Jesús López – VHV
Grace Robert – Villa Rehab Center
“We are incredibly proud of these students and the opportunities they have earned,” said Lisa Durocher, assistant director at Northwest Career & Technical Center. “This event highlights the value of career and technical education and the strong partnerships we have with local employers who are investing in the next generation of skilled professionals.”
The Northwest Career & Technical Center, located in St. Albans, provides career and technical education opportunities for high school students and adult learners throughout northwestern Vermont. Programs include automotive technology, building trades, cosmetology, culinary arts, digital media, electrical, engineering technologies, human services, medical professions, outdoor technology and public safety and law enforcement.
This story was created with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing process. Learn more at cm.usatoday.com/ethical-conduct.
The 2026 individual Vermont High School tennis tournaments concluded on Sunday, May 31 with a quartet of first-time winners.
Both girls match-ups went to a third set tiebreak with Essex senior Hannah Knickerbocker capturing her elusive title. Burlington High School swept the boys singles and doubles tournaments becoming the first school to accomplish that feat since St. Johnsbury did it in 2019.
Read on below for a recap from both tournaments’ finals.
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Hannah Knickerbocker upsets top-seed in final; while Stowe’s freshman tandem wins doubles
In the last two individual tournaments, Hannah Knickerbocker advanced to the semifinals before her run ended there. This past offseason, Knickerbocker spent a lot more time honing her tennis skills. With a stronger tennis IQ, Knickerbocker cruised into the finals with a trio of straight set wins.
“Consistency and shot choice,” Knickerbocker said. “I think I improved with knowing when to go for a win and when not too.”
There Knickerbocker earned a match with No. 1 seeded Anna Dauerman from Champlain Valley, the 2024 champion and last year’s runner-up. The match was competitive with Knickerbocker winning a three-set thriller 6-4, 4-6, 10-8, becoming the first female Hornet to win an individual title since 2007.
The skills Knickerbocker worked on in the offseason paid off in her match against Dauerman.
“Anna’s a really hard fighter so a lot of balls come back and if you go for too much on the wrong one then she would beat you,” Knickerbocker said.
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This is Knickerbocker’s fifth state title overall after winning the Division I girls volleyball championships all four years of high school. The 2024 Vermont Gatorade Player of the Year in volleyball is pivoting to a stronger focus on tennis. Knickerbocker will be playing Division I tennis at the University of New Haven starting next school year.
While Knickerbocker saw this part of her career end on a high note, the doubles champions of India Freund and Belle Gaines from Stowe hope to usher in a new wave of tennis talent. The freshmen tandem, partnered up for the first time this season for the individual tournament and won three straight matches to reach the final.
Then in the championship, Freund and Gaines took down Champlain Valley’s tandem of Sara DiGuglielmo and Justyna Amblo in three sets, 7-6 (7-3), 0-6, 12-10. The duo built on the momentum they gained from their three-set victory over Essex’s team into May 31’s final.
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“We both like high-pressure situations, so maybe that’s what we needed to play our best tennis,” Freund said.
Freund and Gaines are great friends on and off the court who play tennis together all year around making this a tandem a formidable duo. Freund and Gaines showed maturity after getting crushed in the second set to squeeze out the win in the tiebreaker.
“It was really impressive of us to not get in our heads and it did for a bit,” Gaines said.
Burlington sweeps the boys singles and doubles finals
The boys tennis had some drama with rain forcing an interruption of the matches’ at Leddy Park to drive over to the The EDGE Sports & Fitness in Essex. Still the pause (that was almost two hours for the double players) did not affect the players in the lead.
No. 3 Niah LeMay held a 4-2 lead in set 1 entering the weather related intermission against teammate and top-ranked Oscar Crainich. LeMay did not let the pause phase him or interrupt his momentum.
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“Just a lot of deep breaths and tried not to think about it,” LeMay said. “I turned on the radio and listened to some music.”
The sophomore bested his teammate in straight sets with a 6-3, 7-5 victory. In his run to the title, LeMay knocked off the top-two seeds. The only set he has lost all season came against No. 2 Charles Young from Middlebury in the semifinals. LeMay brought the energy with passionate bursts of emotion after nailing a tough shot.
LeMay becomes the first male Seahorse to win an individual title since 2004. It’s the first time since 2015 that the singles final featured two members from the same school. LeMay and Crainich have been rotating between the No. 1 and No. 2 single spots for Burlington this year after helping the Seahorses capture the 2025 team title.
“I have only beaten him once in the past,” LeMay said. “It felt really good to beat him since he’s one of my main competitors if not my main competitor.”
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The winning for Burlington did not stop at singles. The Seahorses No. 3 ranked doubles tandem of Miles Kenny and Ben Koh captured the championship as well sweeping No. 1 Middlebury Nate Cook-Yoder and Nathan Stefani 6-4, 7-5.
The weather pause came after the Seahorses claimed the first set. It’s the second straight year Burlington claimed the doubles title. This is Kenny and Koh’s second championship this spring after helping Burlington win the 2026 Unified Basketball title earlier in May.
Contact Judith Altneu at JAltneu@usatodayco.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter: @Judith_Altneu.
