News conference statement by John McClaughry, EAI President Montpelier, July 17, 2001

I am delighted to be able to release today the Ethan Allen Institute's new study, Schoolchildren First. It describes a system, partly old and partly new, that is a worthy replacement for Act 60.

Vermont parents want high quality education for their children.

They want and they deserve the opportunity to choose an education that gives their children the skills to be productive and secure in a rapidly changing world economy. They want an educational system that builds character and moral values, and equips young people to be contributing citizens in their communities.

The goal of this report is to expand high quality educational opportunity for all of Vermont's children.

To achieve that goal, this report proposes to shift the focus of education policy from "schools" to "schoolchildren". It would for the first time empower all the parents of all of Vermont's children to choose the kind of education that they believe is best for their children.

Everyone's child is different. Some thrive in a disciplined environment. Some do better with student-centered learning. Some prefer traditional subject matter. Some prefer a curriculum built around a theme, such as art, music, science, community service, or work opportunities. Some want moral and religious values integrated with their schoolwork.

When parents can make the choices for their children, they will become more involved in their children's education than if those choices are made for them by the government.

For 132 years parents in 90 Vermont towns have had a choice of schools for their children to attend. In those towns parents can send their children to any public or independent school, in or out of the state, except for sectarian schools.

Schoolchildren First proposes to expand that educational choice system to all parents and all children in all towns of the state. It also proposes a tax credit mechanism that will generate private contributions to underwrite scholarships for pupils wishing to attend faith-based schools not now eligible to receive public tuition payments.

Schoolchildren First proposes no major departure in school financing. There is no magic pot of money that will allow the repeal of the state property taxes. The report does propose to eliminate one of the two present state property taxes - the so-called sharing pool - by increasing the other state property tax. Much as the Ethan Allen Institute would like to reduce the dependence on the property tax for the support of education, there appears to be no feasible way of doing so. This plan will undoubtedly cost less over time than Act 60, but probably not a lot less.

What about "local control"? "Local control" in education means to most Vermonters that local taxpayers vote local taxes to pay for local education. The Supreme Court put an end to that era with its Brigham decision. Never mind the accounting methods; the fact is that all the funds for education are now levied by the state, and disbursed by the state. Act 60 is leading the state into creating One Big School System, with 100,000 kids scattered over 9200 square miles. Managing such a system is possible, but it would not be good for Vermont's kids.

Schoolchildren First recognizes that the state will continue to levy all the taxes to support education. It proposes that instead of the state paying out the funds to 251 captive local school districts, the state pay the funds out to parents to enable them to choose the educational opportunities they think are best for their children. It replaces the disappearing "local control" at the town level with real "local control" at the family level.

Why all this now? Because as the report describes, Act 60 is steadily running aground. Without the annual $36 million sharing pool subsidy (voted by the legislature in each of the past three years), support for Act 60 will steadily dwindle. The current business slowdown, plus the escalating fiscal demands of the Medicaid program, mean that there is not likely to be any surplus to bail out Act 60 in years to come.

It's time for Vermonters to find a replacement for Act 60. Schoolchildren First is a well-conceived replacement. It does not, and can not, take us back to the pre-Brigham era. It does offer a plan that will be better for children, better for parents, better for enterprising educators both public and independent, yet not more expensive than Act 60. Ten years after implementing Schoolchildren First, I believe Vermont's new education system will be an envied model for the nation.

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