Montpelier, Vt. – At Governor Phil Scott’s weekly press conference, the Scott Administration reiterated the need to address education reform this legislative session. Vermonters made it clear they want to fix the education system because our kids are not getting what they deserve from the $2.4 billion we spend – and neither are our teachers or taxpayers. By fixing the system, it will benefit taxpayers and give a high-quality education to all students.

Governor Scott: Good afternoon, thanks for being here.

As many remember, last year Vermonters saw a historic property tax increase with a high of 38% and an average increase of about 14%, which was significant considering inflation in many other areas. I think most Vermonters agreed that the system was broken and wasn’t sustainable.

So, to avoid facing yet another spike, we communicated with school boards throughout the fall and asked them to be disciplined with their budgets to avoid a repeat of last year.

And it appears most school boards did just that, and I want to thank them for their hard work because I know many had to make some tough decisions, which is never easy.

But even with the majority of school budgets passing, which is good news, we can’t declare victory. We have to stay focused and follow through on making our education system more affordable and sustainable while producing greater opportunities for our kids.

In the budget I presented to the Legislature in January, I proposed we use $77 million to buy down property tax rates so communities aren’t faced with another tax increase which was projected to be 6% if we do nothing.

I know many critics will say that using one time money to buy down rates is fiscally irresponsible and short sighted, and I find it hard to disagree. That’s why my plan doesn’t stop there. This year is only a bridge to get us to where we need to be so we can reform the way education is funded without breaking the bank for taxpayers in the process.

The bottom line is, we can’t buy down rates this year without the broader transformation that we must make because we’ll be faced with the same property tax problem next year, with an even larger increase.

As I said, many school boards have done their part to keep spending from growing more than we can afford. And my team has presented a plan to make structural changes, to improve the outcomes for our students, make property taxes more predictable, and create more equitable opportunities for students.

We also need the Legislature to do their part and address education transformation this session because we can’t afford to wait.

At the end of last session, the Legislature passed 70 bills in three days, so I’m confident that if they stay focused, we can accomplish what I believe needs to be done this session.