Gov. Phil Scott’s highly anticipated “bold” plans to reform the education property tax system were revealed on Jan. 22 — the most notable among them to completely redesign the funding formula and condense Vermont’s 52 school districts and supervisory unions into just five regional districts.

During the almost 50-minute presentation, Secretary of Education Zoie Saunders and Tax Commissioner Craig Bolio pitched the ambitious proposal as a way to make Vermont’s infamously complicated and expensive property tax system more affordable, transparent and predictable, while also improving education quality and equity.

Scott’s proposal comes after years of historic property tax increases, which hit a tipping point last year with an almost 14% jump, Saunders said. In response, an unprecedented 33% of school budgets failed to pass in 2024, especially in less wealthy areas of the state. Vermonters also showed their frustration when they voted in November to reduce Democrats’ legislative power from a supermajority to a slim lead in both the House and Senate.

“There is an urgency to act,” Saunders said.

Scott’s plan received initial positive reactions from House Speaker Krowinski (D-Burlington) and Senate pro tempore Phil Baruth (P/D-Burlington), who in a joint statement thanked the governor for his proposal and said committees in both chambers would pour over it and listen to community feedback in the coming weeks.

The Vermont-National Education Association (NEA), however, criticized the governor’s plan as “big on rhetoric but short on the details.”

“It doesn’t explain how these changes would be better for students,” the NEA said in a statement. “It doesn’t simplify an overly complex school funding system. And it doesn’t provide immediate and ongoing property tax relief for middle-class Vermonters.”

How would this change local school districts?

Scott’s plan seeks to simplify the governance structure of Vermont’s public school system — paring 52 school districts and supervisory unions down to five regional districts — which both Saunders and Bolio say would reduce redundancy, improve efficiency and free up funds for higher priorities, such as increasing teachers’ salaries.

Under the five-district model, each regional district would have one school board with elected members serving in paid part-time roles. Every district would have one central office with “robust” staff, Saunders said.

To maintain local influence under the new model, each school would have a school advisory council comprised of caregivers, educators, staff and students.

What are the five education regional districts?

Vermont’s five regional districts would be divided into the Champlain Valley district, Winooski Valley district, the Northwest region, the Southwest region and the Southeast region.

Each district would support between 10,000 to 15,000 students, except for Champlain Valley (where Chittenden County is located), which would support just over 34,000 students.

How does Scott think this will make schools more equitable and affordable?

Saunders said that Vermont’s current system fails to provide “equitable education for all,” especially for children who are economically disadvantaged, English learners, and children with special needs. But there are also disparities in Vermont’s system based on geography, with schools in poorer areas fielding fewer courses, credits and experienced staff members than wealthier areas, which in turn impacts performance outcomes, Saunders said.

Under the current property tax system, voters decide how much funding their individual communities need and the state raises it through statewide taxes, a system that does not incentivize voters from wealthier areas (who can afford higher taxes) to trim bloat from their budgets, Bolio said.

“The worst part is the lowest-spending, highest-needs communities struggled the most to pass their budgets,” Saunders said.

The new proposed funding formula, called a foundation formula, would put the legislature in charge of setting a base spending rate for each student, with added weights to balance the needs of traditionally disadvantaged students. If some districts want to spend more than what the state proposes, they can do so on an individual level.

“The biggest takeaway is the ability for us to ensure our students receive the same level of resources to meet their needs regardless of geography,” Saunders said.

How much that base rate will be has not been publicly released yet, but will be “very generous” in comparison to other states, while also affordable, according to Saunders.

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

Long-time Burlington resident and philanthropist Lois Jean Howe McClure died Sunday at 98.

“She has personally enriched our cultural life in Vermont and furthered our understanding of Vermont history. These are good deeds that will be felt, undoubtedly, for many generations,” Jane Osborne McKnight wrote in a 2006 nomination for McClure to be selected as Vermonter of the Year. She earned the honor in 2013.

McClure and her late husband, J. Warren “Mac” McClure, donated tens of millions of dollars to Vermont-based organizations throughout their lifetimes including more than $16 million through the J. Warren and Lois McClure Foundation. The couple started the foundation in 1995 with a focus on improving access for Vermonters to higher education and life-long learning.

“She outlived most of her generation and is best known to contemporary Vermonters as the namesake for buildings, scholarships, a replica canal schooner, and for the charitable foundation that she and Mac created in 1995 to continue their legacy of support for Vermonters and for Vermont,” reads an excerpt of her obituary.

The couple met after McClure had separated from her first husband Merton Ricker, with whom she had three daughters. J. Warren “Mac” McClure had come to Burlington for a leadership role at The Burlington Free Press, which was owned by her extended family.

“Mac was a tireless promoter of the newspaper and the greater Burlington area and Lois served as a constant sounding-board for his ideas while managing the household, entertaining extended family members and business associates, operating a home-based news service, and volunteering in the community,” reads the obituary by her family and the foundation.

The couple spent some time living outside of Vermont. In 1971, they moved to Rochester, NY, when J. Warren “Mac” McClure worked as Vice President of Marketing for Gannett Newspaper, the new owners of the Burlington Free Press. A few years later the McClures moved in Key Largo, Florida, where she chaired the board of the local medical center, co-managed a furniture resale shop, typed Mac’s speeches for his consultancy, according to her obituary.

What organizations did Lois Jean Howe McClure volunteer with

Among her other volunteer and philanthropy work, McClure volunteered with the American Cancer Society; work she started after the death of her daughter Judy in 1961after extended treatment for kidney cancer.

She also served as a hospital trustee, like her father and grandfather before her. In later years, McClures donated to the University of Vermont Library, named for Lois’ father David Willard, and a building for a new wing for what is now the UVM Medical Center.

The were founding members of Shelburne’s Wake Robin community.

McClure and her husband also worked to “preserve the unique history of Vermont and Lake Champlain Basin with both dollars and sustained enthusiasm.” The Lois McClure is, a now retired, full-scale replica of an 1862-class sailing canal boat, based on two shipwrecks located in Lake Champlain. It was part of a project envisioned by the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum and crafted on the Burlington waterfront by volunteers.

She, along with her husband, received honorary doctor of letters from the University of Vermont in 1983 and the Ira Allen Award in 1988.

McClure also began to donate to the Shelburne Museum in memory of her husband after his death in 2004. The money supported half-price admission for Vermonters. She also began to advocate for eldercare in an effort that ultimately created the UVM’s Center on Aging. She was the lead funder for the Bee Tabakin-Lois McClure Hope Lodge that opened in 2008 and for the Homes Forever campaign of the Champlain Housing Trust.

“When health concerns began to curtail her activities in 2015, Lois’ final personal philanthropic leadership gift was a collaboration with Bobby and Holly Miller to fund the McClure-Miller Respite House in Colchester, dedicated in 2016,” reads her obituary.

BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – One woman is dead after falling off a balcony in Burlington.

Multiple tips and calls alerted WCAX to the Depot St. location, and according to police, someone called dispatch saying there was a dead woman at the back of the building in front of the apartment’s garages.

Police Chief Jon Murad says it happened Saturday morning when 67-year-old Susan Griffin died after falling off of her balcony. Police believe she fell from the upper floor.

The Burlington Police Department will provide additional information when or if the investigation develops.

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