by Greg Hughes, BethelA Friend of Vermont Public Education Over the past ten years I have watched the theory of school webs manifest itself here in the White River valley. I live in Bethel, part of the ten-town White River Valley Supervisory Union. Four of our towns closed their small high schools: Bethel, Chelsea, Rochester and Royalton.…

Vermont has imposed some kind of broad-based wealth tax since before it became a state. Our beloved constitution of 1777 put the burden of supporting public services squarely on the shoulders of every Vermonter: every member of society hath a right to be protected in the enjoyment of life, liberty and property, and therefore, is…

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a WOOF. WOOFs are Well Off Old Folks. We’re the fastest growing demographic group in Vermont. There are now more of us than there are students in school. Vermont attracts people like us. We have enough money to buy the expensive houses that working families can’t afford.…

Some would have us believe that if we just made our school districts larger, the cost of educating students would be less. But the facts do not support this speculation. In fact, in Vermont today there is no connection between the size of a school district and how much is spent per student. Some of…

or, how we got our school district borders Remember the pizza they served in the school cafeteria? Roughly rectangular in shape, with ragged edges, and sliced into squares. That’s where our Vermont town and school-district lines originated. First the Creator rolled out our dough of bedrock: sedimentary slate, metamorphic marble, and grainy granite. Then sifted…

To explore ideas for a better approach to reorganizing, improving, and funding Vermont schools, today marks the launch of a new website where Vermonters may learn, suggest, and discuss ways to make our schools better, less costly, and more connected with their communities.