Voters give school budget passing grade
The Champlain Valley School District did something this year few districts do: cut property taxes. Voters seemed to like that, approving the $102.7 million school budget 4494-1843.
The budget will cut property taxes by approximately four percent in most of its towns. That amounts to a savings of about $80
per $100,000 of assessed property value for most taxpayers. Respectively, taxpayers in Charlotte and Hinesburg will see a decrease of about $30 and $100 per $100,000 of assessed value.
Voters also authorized the school board to allocate its fund balance of $1.7 million as revenue for future budgets, 5155-1148. Throughout the budget process, superintendent Adam Bunting and school board members have reit-
erated the responsibility that they feel towards their taxpayers. After the state’s school funding formula changed last year and the district saw its first budget fail, school officials entered this budget season trying to balance the needs of the students with the means of the taxpayers.
The budget cuts made this year in order to achieve less than one percent increase over current spending are mostly in personnel
spending. The district will eliminate more than 38 full-time equivalent positions for next school year. Those cuts include music teachers at four of the five schools as well as several interventionists and paraspecialists, and making one-off reductions in areas like world languages, computer science or art, depending on the school.
See SCHOOL BUDGET on page 10
Richmond decides not to hire Cambridge
The former Hinesburg police chief will not lead the Richmond Police Department, despite earlier being hired for the job.
Anthony Cambridge was slated to begin work as Richmond’s police chief Tuesday, but the selectboard reversed that decision Monday night.
In a statement to The Citizen, Richmond town manager Josh Arneson wrote, “We will not be going forward with Anthony Cambridge’s employment with the Town. I am not going to comment on any details based on it being a personnel matter.”
The board’s decision came after Cambridge’s start date was already delayed twice, according to a report by The Citizen. Additionally, two weeks ago, VTDigger reported allegations that Cambridge shredded documents and deleted camera footage before quitting his position in Hinesburg weeks before he was originally set to move to Richmond.
Cambridge has maintained that this information is part of a smear
See CAMBRIDGE on page 4
PHOTO BY LIBERTY DARR
More than 250 Charlotte residents gathered Saturday for the first Town Meeting Day in person since 2019, and voted to keep the traditional meeting intact. Story, page 10.
BRIANA BRADY STAFF WRITER
BRIANA BRADY STAFF WRITER
Hinesburg Community School launches new mentor program
IAN KREINSEN COMMUNITY NEWS SERVICE
First, a global pandemic. Then, a devastating flood. For Everybody Wins! Vermont, expanding its childhood literacy program to Hinesburg has been a long journey.
Hinesburg Community School applied to the program before the COVID-19 pandemic, but it took until January to launch its reading mentorship program. The initiative pairs students with local community members for an hour of one-on-one reading each week.
“For a community like Hinesburg, where the community is small, the school is kind of the home,” said Janet Gray, site coordinator at Hinesburg Community School. “Everybody Wins! gives the opportunity for people who might not regularly be in this school because they’re not parents, or their kids are older, to come in and see sort of what’s happening in the school.”
Since 2000, Everybody Wins! Vermont has partnered with schools across Vermont and New Hampshire. However, the pandemic forced the program online, disrupting in-person mentor relationships and delaying its intended expansion to towns like Hinesburg.
“We’re building back up,” said Kelly Bouteiller, the program manager for the western half of Vermont.
On top of the pandemic, the non-profit’s home office in Montpelier flooded in July 2023, further postponing the non-profit’s intended expansion into Hinesburg.
“It’s been a lot of work for everybody involved — our staff, but also our community members — to get our programs back up and running at capacity and growing,”
Bouteiller said. “To get another program up and running in this area was really exciting.”
The expansion comes amid steady declines in Vermont students’ reading scores
since COVID-19. Traditionally, Vermont students outperform their peers nationally, but last year, fourth grade reading scores fell below the national average.
Only about 31 percent of the students surveyed scored at or above proficiency in reading, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress.
Everybody Wins! Hopes to reverse this decline by building years-long mentorships between individual students and adults.
The program has more than 400 pairings across the state ready to help raise Vermont’s literacy scores. In Hinesburg, however, only about ten mentors have signed up, leaving many children still on a waiting list.
“It’s hard to find the people,” Bouteiller said, referring to potential volunteers. “It’s just kind of figuring out who are the people in the community, how do we reach them and then get them to apply?”
Gray said mentors in Hinesburg come from all walks of life. Many work from home and seem interested in engaging with the wider community.
“Once you get through that process, I feel like people (think), ‘Oh, this isn’t all that.’ It’s not as heavy of a lift as I think it sounds.”
Despite the difficulty of finding mentors, Gray believes the program will fill a void for community members left by the pandemic.
“Post-COVID, it’s been really hard to find opportunities” to engage with the school, she said, “So this provides an avenue to get in and just get a vibe of what is going on in the school and see the good work that’s being done there.”
Gray believes the community will rally behind the program, ensuring lasting impact.
“That’s the best thing within Hinesburg, the more people that get excited about it, and tell their friends about it,” the more volunteers will come, she said. “Even if somebody thinks that they don’t have the time to do it, if they can think about the people in their lives who might be willing and spread the word,” that would be helpful.
Prospective mentors should email Gray at hinesburg@everybodywinsvermont.org.
“I do feel like that background check and kind of the interview process is the most rigorous part of being a mentor,” Gray said.
Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship, on assignment for the Hinesburg Citizen.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF JANET GRAY
Left: Elise Shantoja, left, mentee and Adam Moore, right, mentor for Everybody Wins! Vermont program at Hinesburg Community School in February.
Right: Daniel Spencer, left, mentee and Lee Chasen, right, mentor at the Everybody Wins! Vermont program at Hinesburg Community School in February.
Hinesburg Artist Series presents spring Concert
The Hinesburg Artist Series will present its 27th annual concert on Sunday, March 16, at 2 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. at St. Jude Catholic Church in Hinesburg.
The South County Chorus and Hinesburg Artist Series Orchestra, under the direction of Rufus Patrick, will perform the inspiring Faure “Requiem” and selections from Parts II and III of Handel’s “Messiah.”
“We performed the Faure ‘Requiem’ in 2013, and the response was incredibly positive,” said Rufus Patrick, music director and founder of the Hinesburg Artist Series. “We are very excited to share the joy of this spectacular music with the community again this year.”
The chorus and orchestra will also present “Sky-Born Music” from “Sing Evermore!” by Gwyneth Walker, and “Lord Make Me an Instrument of Thy Peace” by Mary McDonald.
As a special treat, the Hinesburg Artist Series welcomes guest artist baritone David Rugger for his first performance with the orga-
nization, and Amy Frostman, who has been a featured vocalist in several concerts.
Tickets are $25, free for children under 12, and available at the door or at hinesburgartistseries. org.
Baritone David Rugger specializes in oratorio, early music, and ensemble singing. He is an alum of the American Bach Soloists Academy and was a Virginia Best Adams Fellow at the Carmel Bach Festival. Rugger currently lives in southern Vermont in an old farmhouse nestled on the western face of the Green Mountains with his spouse, dogs, cat, and chickens.
Amy Frostman grew up in Moretown, where she attended Harwood Union High School. While there, she performed in numerous school musicals and choral festivals. She began her career teaching general music at Orchard Elementary School in South Burlington, where she can still be found sharing her love of music with children. She has sung with numerous local groups, including Counterpoint, Simple Gifts, Oriana, the Vermont Symphony Orchestra Chorus, South County Chorus, and In Accord.
Community Notes
Brooke Carleton studied flute and saxophone at Skidmore College, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in Music Technology, which culminated in the designing of a computer program for the music department to help students with ear training. She is trained in teaching flute through the Suzuki method and has a small studio at her home in Huntington, VT.
Chris Bohjalian talks live at Middlebury theater
Join Vermont Public and Vermont Book Shop for a live taping of Vermont Edition featuring Vermont author Chris Bohjalian, Sunday, March 9, 4-6 p.m., at Town Hall Theater, 76 Merchants Row, Middlebury.
Host Mikaela Lefrak will talk with Bohjalian about his new book, “The Jackal’s Mistress,” a Civil War Romeo and Juliet story about the wife of a Confederate prisoner of war and a Yankee officer from Middlebury. Doors open at 3:30 p.m. After
the discussion, there will be a Q&A and a book signing and sale. This event is free, but tickets must be reserved in advance.
Bohjalian is the New York Times bestselling author of 25 books. He writes literary fiction, historical fiction, thrillers, and, on occasion, ghost stories. His goal is never to write the same book twice. “The Jackal’s Mistress” comes out March 11.
Bohjalian lives in Vermont with his wife, the photographer Victoria Blewer.
Poetry comes to the Charlotte Grange
The Charlotte Grange will continue the “Poetry at the Grange” program throughout the year, every second Thursday from 1-2:30 p.m.at the Grange Hall in East Charlotte.
Each month a local poet will be invited to share about themselves and recite several poems. Participants are then invited to recite their own poetry, read poetry of their choosing, or just listen.
Prizes will be offered to those who can recite their poems from memory. All Charlotters and residents from neighboring communities are invited to attend.
On March 13 the guest poet will be Bethany Breitland. Born in northern Indiana, her people are cult members, truckers, doctors, child-mothers and business tycoons. She has lived, studied, and taught on the West Coast, the South, and New England. Breitland earned her undergrad degree from Pepperdine University, and her MFA from Vermont College. As an educator and activist, she has worked for over 20 years for women’s rights and the LGBTQ community.
The new “Poetry at the Grange” program, co-hosted by the Charlotte Grange and Charlotte Library got off to a great start despite the wintry weather on Thursday, February 13. Nine poetry enthusiasts and poet-curious participants convened in the
David Rugger
Amy Frostman
continued from page 1
campaign against him.
New information outlined in a memo sent by Front Porch Forum owner and founder Michael Wood-Lewis to the Hinesburg and Richmond town managers in 2023 may give context to tensions that have been rising between Cambridge and the town for years.
“In May 2023, the Front Porch Forum (FPF) team identified a group of FPF member accounts that appeared to be connected by shared IP address, device identity, and browser cookie data,” Wood-Lewis said in the memo. “Several of these accounts submitted postings weighing in on local political issues, stating that they were new to town. The accounts were particularly vocal around policing and racial equity issues.”
Front Porch Forum found that some of the accounts were created on the same device and in the same browser session as an account registered under the name and home address of Amy Cambridge, the wife of Anthony Cambridge.
Though only five accounts are linked directly through that browser session and device, in total, the memo links 13 different accounts under eight different names, seven of which are registered as Amy or Anthony Cambridge. All 13 were found by Front Porch Forum to be active through the same IP address.
While Wood-Lewis did not go so far as to claim that these accounts were definitively created by one of the Cambridges under false names, he did write that “given the potential implications of this situation, FPF feels ethically obligated to report the information below to the Town Managers in Hinesburg and Richmond.”
Over email, Cambridge denied that he had any involvement in the accounts.
“I don’t control my wife’s social media, or anyone else’s,” he wrote. “I certainly don’t keep tabs on her opinions and how she chooses to voice them. I’ve never posted anything on Hinesburg or Richmond FPF that did not have my name attached.”
Cambridge said the matter had been resolved in 2023 and was also discussed during his hiring process in Richmond. He said the release of this information now is a continuation of a smear campaign against him and his family.
Of the accounts listed in the Front Porch Forum memo, one account stands out. It is registered under the name Monique Jackson and associated with an address on Jourdan Street in Hinesburg — Cambridge lives in Richmond. While the other postings Wood-Lewis provided in the memo were not published because of suspected false names,
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those made by the Jackson account were.
According to the memo, the first post under Jackson’s account appears on Apr. 2 in 2022, claiming that she had just moved to town and had some boxes available — an innocuous post for Front Porch Forum, where neighbors are often offering up items. The next post on Apr. 9, only a couple weeks after Jackson had purportedly moved to town, is much longer.
“I also watched my first selectboard meeting the other night and I can’t help but feel like as a Black woman, with 3 children, 2 that will be enrolled in school next year, that maybe I have moved my family to the wrong community,” the posting said. “I saw attacks on both the board members and the police.”
While the poster is critical of meeting commenters, the tone is much different when it comes to the police, specifically Chief Cambridge:
“Then I heard the Chief speak and oh my word, if you didn’t hear him, you need to. Everything he said was raw and real and if he cares about the community as much as he cares about his officers, this is one lucky town.”
According to the meeting minutes from the Apr. 6 selectboard meeting in 2022, there was a Monique Jackson attending remotely over Zoom. However, Jackson is not recorded as having spoken at all during the meeting. Her name appears on the remote attendance list for three more consecutive selectboard meetings.
The name stops appearing after May 2022.
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According to an email statement from Amy Cambridge, this account was run by a friend the Cambridges had staying at their house at the time.
“She was a person of color and disappointed by the implications she was reading about people of color in Front Porch. She was respectful and felt she could simply offer some of her perspective as not only a person of color, but with a family in law enforcement,” Cambridge wrote.
Following the police killing of George Floyd in 2020 and into 2022, Hinesburg had debates over policing and race in their community, especially as it pertained to the budget.
Monique Jackson and another account attributed directly to Amy Cambridge.
“I don’t control my wife’s social media, or anyone else’s.”
While a post submitted by Baker promoting the idea that Anthony Cambridge should be put on the committee to search for a new police chief in Richmond was never published, the name does appear in the minutes for three different selectboard meetings in Richmond from December 2022 to May 2023. In each, Baker is not listed as having vocally participated but is active in the Zoom chat.
— Anthony Cambridge
The memo from Wood-Lewis shows that between Apr. 12 and May 25, 2022, Monique Jackson’s account posted on Front Porch Forum an additional nine times, always either promoting the police budget or critiquing the Hinesburg racial equity group — not to be confused with the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Board that would be established by the town in 2023.
Amy Cambridge has not provided the name of her friend, and The Citizen has been unable to contact the friend She said when she initially signed up for Front Porch Forum, she was unaware that it was unusual to use an alias or false address.
Another account, set up under the name Jenna Baker, was registered in April 2023 in the same browser session that included
On May 1, 2023, Jenna Baker is quoted in the minutes commenting on the police chief hiring process, “The lack of transparency and quite frankly the judgement overseeing this process from the town manager is concerning.”
According to the property owner of the Richmond address associated with Jenna Baker’s FPF account, he has never rented to anyone with that name.
Amy Cambridge said that, at the time, the town managers only seemed concerned with whether then-chief Cambridge was liable in the accounts. According to her, they checked his devices and were satisfied that he himself was not using false accounts to promote the police budget.
“Once they were satisfied it wasn’t him, it was over,” she said. Both Hinesburg and Richmond’s town managers have declined to comment on the matter.
Total incidents: 17
Feb. 25 at 12:42 p.m., an officer assisted South Burlington Detectives with an investigation on Hollow Road.
Feb. 25 at 4:19 p.m., police investigated a motor vehicle complaint on Route 116.
Feb. 25 at 7:14 p.m., police investigated parking issue on Commerce Street.
Feb. 26 at 3:13 p.m., police assisted a resident on Kelley’s Field Road with a civil issue.
Feb. 26 at 9:30 p.m., police investigated a motor vehicle complaint on Commerce Street.
Feb. 27 at 11:44 a.m., an officer investigated suspicious
activity reported on Haystack Road.
Feb. 27 at 12:47 p.m., an officer responded to a single vehicle crash on Lincoln Hill Road.
Feb. 27 at 1:10 p.m., an officer assisted another agency with an investigation on Silver Street.
Feb. 27 at 5:16 p.m., policed investigated a report of theft of property from a residence on Jourdan Street.
Feb. 27 at 5:56 p.m., an officer responded to a single-car motor vehicle crash on Route 116. Mary Fortune, 45 of South Burlington, was arrested for DUI.
Feb. 28 at 12:21 p.m., police investigated a report of prop-
erty theft from a vehicle on Route 116.
Feb. 28 at 10:09 p.m., police investigated a report of fraud on Blackberry Hill Road.
Mar. 2 at 3:30 p.m., police investigated an alarm activation on Weed Road.
Mar. 3 at 7:35 a.m., police assisted a resident on Route 116 with a disabled vehicle.
Mar. 3 at 5:03 p.m., officers responded to Charlotte Road for the report of a domestic dispute.
Note: Charges filed by police are subject to review by the Chittenden County State’s Attorney office and can be amended or dropped.
Hinesburg Police Blotter
COMMUNITY NOTES
continued from page 3
Grange’s cozy upper chambers, utilizing that historic space and stage for the first time in many years.
Amy Allen, Shelburne’s Poet Laureate, inaugurated the program by describing her trajectory into writing and poetry, and providing insights into the challenging world of publishing.
Director brings ‘Stranger’ to Ferrisburgh Town Hall
The Friends of the Union Meeting Hall in Ferrisburgh will host a special screening of Jay Craven’s award-winning 1997 film “A Stranger in the Kingdom,” based on the novel by Howard Frank Mosher. The film stars David
Lansbury, Martin Sheen, Ernie Hudson, Henry Gibson and Jean Louisa Kelly. Director Craven will introduce the film followed by a post-screen Q & A.
The screening will take place March 8 at 7 p.m. at the Ferris-
See COMMUNITY NOTES on page 12
COURTESY PHOTO
A scene from the 1997 film “A Stranger in the Kingdom,” which screens this weekend in Ferrisburgh.
OPINION
Some women who should be included on the National Mall
Guest Perspective
Elayne Clift
In his final week in office, President Biden signed important legislation that would allow a monument dedicated to American women to be placed on the National Mall. It would honor women’s suffragists who, after seventy years of trying, would finally be recognized for what they achieved in 1920: the right to vote.
The Women’s Suffrage National Monument was approved on the eve of Donald Trump’s second term. Preceded by the Vietnam nurses’ 1993 monument, it will be the Mall’s first large scale monument dedicated to American women’s history. The site has yet to be determined and there is no design yet or competition announcement for sculptors.
from home.
Some Rosies received a bit of recognition at the Capitol last spring when they received Congressional Gold Medals for their efforts. But that’s not a lasting memorial that everyone can see.
As one of them, Mae Krier, said at the Capitol, “Up until 1941, it was a man’s world. They didn’t know how capable us women were, did they?”
Thanks to an endearing poster that has a woman in a bandana flexing her muscle, we know about these women, but we have very little information about who they were and what they did, unless you’ve seen the documentary about them.
The important thing about Rosie and her legacy isn’t just about breaking barriers and women’s war efforts. It’s about what she stands for.
Given the current situation in Washington, where neither women nor art are respected, it will take time before the Suffragists are on the Mall and even more time for Rosie the Riveter or the 6888th Postal Batallion to show up, but it’s about time women representing their wartime labor is recognized in a place of memory and respect
We have Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Colo., to thank for the Suffrage monument. He introduced legislation for it to be created in 2020 and his bill passed in the House. Unfortunately, it has remained stalled in the Senate until now.
Still, it’s not too soon to start advocating for another group of women to be honored on the Mall.
“Rosie the Riveter,” representing women who labored in America’s factories during World War II, deserves to be there too along with the all-women 6888th postal regiment. The Rosies filled critical wartime factories and the 6888 restored morale among exhausted soldiers who had waited for mail
is, they were wives, moth ers, daughters and girlfriends whose men were fighting in the war. With little reservation, they quickly became heads of house holds while learning demanding skills and holding down vital jobs in America’s factories to help the war effort.
By 1943, “Rosie the Rivet ers” were known and respected, but few people realized that one out of five defense workers were women, or that the largest employers of women during WWII were airplane manufacturers and companies like Chrysler, Goodyear and Ford. Nor did they know just after the war that more women worked in the labor force than during the war.
to convince them that their real place was in the home as wives and mothers. They suffered mass layoffs as vets took their jobs, but some of them proudly expressed the pride they had taken in their work.
More than 310,000 women worked in the U.S. aircraft industry in 1943, making up 65 percent of the industry’s total workforce, compared to just 1 percent in the pre-war years. The munitions industry also heavily recruited women workers, as illustrated by the U.S. government’s Rosie the Riveter propaganda campaign.
Sadly, when Johnny came marching home again, the Rosies, who’d been admired for their skills and work ethics when they
One of them was Arlene Crary, who lived in Wisconsin but went to work for almost two years at a Boeing factory in Seattle, where she was paid $1.48 an hour.
Eva Chenevert lived in Detroit. A year after graduating high school, she was hired by Chrysler to make skins for airplanes. She was faced with misogyny and racism as a Black woman.
Still, these women and others like them soldiered on.
As the National Park Service
ing cry for the women’s rights movements of the 1960s and 1970s, inspiring legislation like the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Today, Rosie continues to inspire advocacy for gender equality and representation in fields like science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
Illustrator Norman Rockwell deserves our thanks for an early image of Rosie the Riveter that appeared on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post in the 1940s. Soon, other images followed, including the iconic one we all know that appears on various items and shows up at women’s marches.
The important thing about Rosie and her legacy isn’t just
words, “We Can Do It!” continues to encourage young women to challenge limitations, pursue their ambitions, celebrate their achievements, and work for a future in which all women are recognized and respected for the work they do.
Surely Rosie the Riveter, and all that she stands for, along with the 6888, deserves a monument on the Mall. It’s long overdue for her to stand alongside other pioneering women like Vietnam nurses, Suffragists, and Eleanor Roosevelt, all of whom took risks that helped us move toward an egalitarian future. There should always be space for that.
Elayne Clift is a Vermontbased writer.
Challenge ourselves to create an even better town meeting
From the House
Rep. Chea Waters Evans
I was talking to a colleague in the State House last week and she commented on how I’m always smiling, and another colleague who was standing there with us said, “She’s smiling, but she doesn’t take any s--t.”
I just wanted you all to know that that’s the energy I’m bringing to work on your behalf: smiling and not putting up with any baloney. (This is also, by the way, how I approach parenting teenage boys and also dating as a 50-year-old.)
PTO and the Senior Center and at our churches, who strive daily to maintain connections and create new ones among our neighbors.
I urge you to find a place where you feel comfortable, get involved, stay connected, and maybe we can all work together to come up with a good solution that keeps town meeting but makes sure that everyone can vote.
I’m happy to help any way I can.
programs, commissions, departments, or other government initiatives that might not be accomplishing what they’re supposed to. The hope is that by identifying programs that are missing the mark on their intended purpose or their financial goals, we’ll be able to save time and more importantly, money, by reporting whether or not they should keep going or maybe just go away.
It was lovely to see people at town meeting on Saturday. I know some are upset that the switch to Australian ballot voting didn’t go through, and I know that some are relieved. I have mixed feelings on the issue: the more people who vote, the more our collective decisions reflect the will of people in town. But town meeting is such a nice tradition, and the ability to work on our budget as a community is special and empowering. So maybe we challenge ourselves, before next year, to come up with a better way to do it. How can we get more people active and interested in town issues? How can we get more people to participate in selectboard meetings, on voting day and on all the various committees and boards that keep our town running? How do we help people feel like they have a voice, and that their opinions matter?
There are wonderful people at the Grange, and who work on recreation, at the library and in the
We’re on break from the legislature this week —conveniently scheduled for working parents the week after school break — so there’s a small reprieve from the chaos, but we’ll be back at it next Tuesday for crossover week, where everyone tries to cram their bills through at the last minute and we’re eating trail mix for dinner at 9 p.m. and my feet hurt because I’m too vain to wear comfortable shoes.
So far, I have a 100 percent success rate with legislation for which I’ve been the lead sponsor, mostly because I only had one bill: setting up an animal welfare department last biennium. I hope to continue my record, but I’m really stepping it up this year and I’m the lead sponsor for two bills.
H.67 is a bill relating to government accountability and oversight, and I’m sure many of you remember from my reporter days how obsessed I am with transparency and accountability. This bill creates a Government Accountability Committee that’s made up of legislators from all political parties and both sides of the chamber.
The committee will have the responsibility to identify
H.244 is a bill that compels the state, in not all but in certain advertising and marketing efforts,
to spend our money on Vermont ad and marketing agencies and advertise mostly with local news outlets. A robust local news presence is shown to keep municipal budgets lower, increase voter participation, increase public trust in government, and as a bonus, this legislation will funnel much-needed funds to local outlets instead of giving it to big tech companies like Meta and Google.
I love local news and I love voter participation and I’m confi-
dent that this, like the accountability bill, will move forward with bipartisan support. You know, because I’m always smiling at people, so hopefully they’ll all be cool with my bills.
Thank you all so much for your continued engagement and please be in touch at cevans@leg. state.vt.us or 917-887-8231.
Chea Waters Evans, a Democrat, represents Charlotte and Hinesburg in the Chittenden-5 House district.
The hidden cause of rising property taxes: Vermont’s housing crisis
From the Senate
Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale
If you ask Vermonters why property taxes keep rising, you’ll likely hear about school budgets, state mandates or even the way we fund education. But one factor isn’t getting enough attention: our housing shortage.
For years, Vermont has struggled with a lack of housing. The pandemic only made things worse, driving up demand while construction lagged behind. The result? Higher property values, higher reappraisals and, ultimately, higher property taxes.
When towns reassess property values, they base them on current market conditions. If housing is scarce, home prices skyrocket. When home prices go up, tax bills follow — because our tax system spreads school costs across fewer, more expensive properties.
This isn’t just an issue for homeowners who have seen their tax bills spike. It also puts pressure on renters, as landlords pass increased costs onto tenants. Fewer homes mean higher property values and more financial strain on Vermonters.
The solution is simple: build more housing. More housing means more taxpayers sharing the cost of education and services, which reduces the burden on any one homeowner. Expanding our housing stock grows the grand list — the total taxable property value in a town — helping to stabilize tax rates.
Here’s how we can make that happen:
• Build “missing middle” housing by investing in homes that working families, young professionals and retirees can actually afford.
• Fix permitting rules — streamline approvals to get new
housing built faster.
• Use targeted tax incentives to help towns fund projects that boost the local economy and housing supply.
• Repurpose underused buildings by converting excess school or commercial space into housing.
Vermonters shouldn’t have to choose between staying in their homes and funding our schools. By expanding housing, we can grow our economy, reduce the tax burden, and strengthen our communities.
Let’s talk about the real drivers of rising property taxes, and do something about them.
Kesha Ram Hinsdale, a Democrat from Shelburne, serves the towns of South Burlington, Shelburne, Charlotte, Hinesburg, Burlington, St. George, Underhill, Jericho, Richmond, Williston and Bolton in the Legislature.
Rep. Chea Waters Evans
Burlington ushers Redhawks to an early playoff exit in hockey, hoops
LAUREN READ CORRESPONDENT
ton in the Division I boys’ hockey playdowns on Saturday.
Jesse McCray finished with 14 saves.
Boys’ hockey
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No. 8 Burlington 4, No. 9 Champlain Valley 1: Champlain Valley mounted a furious offensive effort in the third period but could not find a way past Burling-
CVU peppered Burlington goalie Sam Collins (36 saves) with 17 shots in the third period but two late goals from the Seahorses clinched the win.
Jameson Yandow had the lone goal for the Redhawks, while Shamus Phelan added the assist.
COURTESY PHOTO
The Vermont Principals’ Association has produced a new sportsmanship video, “Be the Change Vermont,” featuring the voices of student-athletes from across the state, including Lamoille Union High School basketball players. “Sportsmanship isn’t just about competition — it’s about respect, leadership, and lifting each other up. This inspiring video captures the heart of Vermont athletics, reminding us all that every game is an opportunity to lead by example,” VPA assistant executive director Lauren Young said. To watch the video: vimeo.com/1060573232/366413d9e7.
CVU finished the season with a 7-14 record.
Boys’ basketball
No. 1 Burlington 41, No. 8 Champlain Valley 36: Champlain Valley came oh-so-close to knocking off top-seed Burlington on Friday in the Division I high school boys’ basketball quarterfinals.
The Redhawks stayed close to Burlington throughout the game, coming within one point in the fourth quarter, but could not complete the upset bid.
Luke Allen led CVU with 16 points and the Redhawks wrapped up the season with a 9-13 record.
If it’s important to you or your community look for it in The Citizen.
PHOTO BY AL FREY
The CVU boys’ hockey team in action at home last week against Rice in the last game of the regular season.
Good sports
The Redhawk girls’ hockey team also played the last game of the season at home last week, against Spaulding.
Redhawks have high hopes in hoops, hockey
LAUREN READ
CORRESPONDENT
Girls’ basketball
Division I quarterfinals
No. 4 Champlain Valley (13-7) vs. TBD, Saturday, March 8
For the first time since 2012, the Champlain Valley girls’ basketball team will not be the No. 1 or 2 seed entering the Division I state tournament. Despite that change, the Redhawks still earned the No. 4 spot in the postseason and a bye in the first round
of the playoffs.
CVU will await the winner of No. 5 Essex vs. No. 12 Rice, who played in the first round on Tuesday.
The Redhawks have a 1-1 record against the Hornets this season, losing in the first matchup but winning the second 42-39.
CVU beat Rice by 20 points or more in both of their meetings in the regular season.
Girls’ hockey
Division I quarterfinals
No. 7 Champlain Valley-
Mount Mansfield (7-12) at No. 2 BFA-St. Albans (12-5-3), Tuesday at 5 p.m.
The Champlain Valley-Mount Mansfield co-op girls hockey team took on No. 2 BFA-St. Albans on Tuesday in the D-I quarterfinals. The game was played after press time.
If the CougarHawks could pull off the upset, they would face the winner of No. 3 Spaulding/Northfield vs. No. 6 Kingdom Blades in the semifinals.
CVU-MMU fell to the Comets in both regular season matchups.
PHOTOS BY AL FREY
Charlotters keep Town Meeting Day tradition
Herlihy, Krohn coast to selectboard seats
LIBERTY DARR STAFF WRITER
Charlotter Emily Raabe summed up the idea of Town Meeting Day on Saturday afternoon in a packed gymnasium at Charlotte Central School as more than 250 residents gathered for the first in-person annual event since 2019.
“Being in-person and being able to communicate with one another, being able to have respectful debate, is a vanishing art in our country,” Raabe said.
The meeting, lasting more than four hours, won’t be the last one. Voters chose 151-101 to keep town meeting an in-person affair
Saturday, some of the most heated dialogue centered around whether to nix the in-person meeting altogether and move solely to Australian ballot votes.
For nearly an hour, more than 250 Charlotters made full use of the democratic process to debate the democratic process.
“We are lacking in our ability to provide community events, even forced community events,
ones where I get to see the people who write on Front Porch Forum here today, and they’re not as awful as I might think they are,”
Brandon Tieso, a 27-year-old Charlotte resident and member of the town’s Development Review Board, said as the room erupted in laughter. “I really like everyone here. It’s much better than social media. It’s far better than Front Porch Forum.”
More than a dozen comments regarding the issue raised a several points, from inclusivity to the pragmatism of Vermonters in general.
While Charlotters decided the future of their annual meeting, they also approved the town’s $4.3 million municipal budget without a single “no” vote heard.
Recreation commissioner and resident Robin Reed made a motion to add $5,000 to the budget for a beach manager but later rescinded the move after some debate with her neighbors.
The budget adopted this year
See CHARLOTTE on page 11
Hinesburg passes budget, but cannabis measure up in smoke
Hinesburg voters Tuesday approved a $5.47 million town budget, $4.4 million of which will be raised through property taxes.
The ballot broke down the major line items and departments into separate votes. The breakdowns are as follows:
• Government ($1,945,915): 927-341
• Highway ($908,323): 1067204
• Police ($864,669): 901-360
• Fire ($693,775): 1083-183
• Library ($256,200): 1057219
• Capital Transfers ($767,472): 856-314
• Various social services ($41,550): 1003-242
A ballot measure to approve retail cannabis in town failed by six votes: 626-620.
Though proponents had argued that passage would make
SCHOOL BUDGET
continued from page 1
Hinesburg one of the only towns in the vicinity to allow retail weed, voters ultimately erred, however slightly, on the side of keeping things as they are.
In elections, Keith Roberts was reelected to a three-year term on the Champlain Valley School Board, Heather Roberts was reelected to the Peck Estate Trustees, Tom Giroux was reelected to the cemetery board, and Frank Twarog was reelected as town moderator.
Hinesburg saw one upset in the race for three seats on the Carpenter-Carse Library board of trustees.
Despite the popularity of the Carpenter-Carse board of trustees — six people were running for three positions — leading up to voting, the library race was a mostly quiet affair. In the results, however, sole incumbent Mari-
Champlain Valley Union High School will be reducing its staff by at least one full-time equivalent in most of its core subject areas.
Though they are facing losing a significant number of their colleagues, Emily McLean and Christopher Hood, the president and vice president of Champlain Valley Education Association, voiced their support for the budget.
“It’s nearly 80 positions over the two years, and as educators on the inside, we’ve seen the impact of those reductions. Going forward, students will, unfortunately, also see the impact of some of those reduc-
See HINESBURG on page 11 Please
tions through reduced program offerings and so forth. So, it’s imperative that we pass this budget,” Hood said in February. Despite the cuts, students have been vocal about their hopes that the budget would pass.
“The only thing that I hope for is that this budget passes.”
Zoe Epstein, a student at Champlain Valley Union, spearheaded a group of students in an effort to inform their peers about the budget: how it works and what it means for the services the school can offer.
— Zoe Epstein
While the presentations the group gave didn’t seek to influence student opinions about the budget, the students involved were vocal about their own support, worrying that if the budget failed there would be further cuts.
“At this point, the only thing that I hope for is that this budget passes,” Epstein said a week before town meeting.
The voters, it seems, answered her hopes.
PHOTO BY LIBERTY DARR
Charlotte selectboard members were all smiles on Town Meeting Day, taking time to pose for a photo.
BRIANA BRADY STAFF WRITER
CHARLOTTE
continued from page 10
is roughly .6 percent greater than the current one. Nearly $2.5 million of the new budget will be paid for by property taxes, with the remaining $1.7 million offset by other non-tax revenues.
Unlike past years, the Charlotte Volunteer Fire and Rescue budget was not a separate budget item and instead was baked into the total municipal spending plan. That budget represents a roughly 3 percent increase in spending over last year to nearly $1 million.
In addition to municipal and school taxes Charlotters also approved $62,000 to be allocated to the Charlotte Trails Fund and $40,000 to be allocated to the Recreation Capital Fund for the purpose of developing a new bathhouse at the Charlotte Town Beach.
In addition to the articles warned for the Town Meeting Day ballot, a few residents had some notable resolutions of their own.
Former House Rep. and Charlotte resident Mike Yantachka proposed a resolution that the citizens of the town stand behind and support the continued efforts of Ukraine to maintain its independence and urge the United States to continue to provide military and financial aid to the country. The vote on that resolution, which will be sent to the state’s Congressional delegation, also passed.
Tom Hengelsberg proposed an advisory motion asking the Charlotte Recreation Commission to stop its plans to build a non-ADA-accessible ramp at the town beach and instead make the ramp accessible to all residents. That vote also passed.
Ballot measures
JD Herihly, former vice chair of the town’s Development Review Board, beat incumbent Kelly Devine for a two-year seat on the selectboard, 786-260. Lee Krohn was unopposed for a three-year term on the board.
In other elections:
• Auditor, three-year term: Richard Mintzer
• Cemetery Commissioner, three-year term: Jessie R. Bradley
• Cemetery Commissioner, two years of a three-year term: Peter Demick
• Cemetery Commissioner, one year of a three-year term: Lisa Hauenstein
• Library trustee, five-year term: Hylah Patton
• Delinquent tax collector: Mary Mead
• Road Commissioners: Hugh Junior Lewis
Voters also approved a charter proposal that would ensure all future changes to land use regulations be voted on by ballot. That vote passed 694-335.
HINESBURG
continued from page 10
anna Holzer was beat out for the three open seats by new candidates Katie Bailey Martin, Victoria Burns, and Paula Haskell.
Mike Loner and Dennis Place were both reelected to the selectboard, Place for a two-year term, Loner for three. Unlike Place, who ran unopposed, Loner faced a challenger in Todd Portelance.
In the weeks before the election, both Loner and Portelance sought to differentiate themselves, politely, in a few postings on social media.
Both candidates, in their public statements, focused on the issues Hinesburg residents find most pressing: housing, traffic, flood management, business development, and clean drinking water for those affected by the leachate from the old town landfill.
In a post introducing himself on the Hinesburg Facebook page, Portelance wrote, “The biggest challenge facing Hinesburg is the impending impact of residential development. Currently over 200 new residential units are planned on two sides of Route 116. These will change the look, demographics, and possibly the spirit of this town -- not necessarily in a bad way, potentially in a very positive way.”
Portelance went on to describe how that growth might put more pressure on Hinesburg’s services such as fire and rescue, potential-
ly prompting the town to expand services in the future.
In contrast, Mike Loner highlighted his commitment to seeking out possible avenues for regionalization.
“Another item I plan to work on is the sharing of municipal
services with neighboring towns. Sometimes called ‘regionalization,’ sharing municipal services can help two or more towns save money by avoiding a duplication of services while not reducing overall services to the communities,” he wrote.
As they sought to differentiate their viewpoints, the candidates continually commented on the importance of meaningful civil discourse in democracy, each thanking the other for the respect they showed the process and each other.
PHOTO BY LIBERTY DARR
Jim Faulkner watches over the 250-person Charlotte Town Meeting Day crowd for the last time as chair of the town selectboard.
PHOTO BY IAN KREINSEN
Hinesburg residents in line to vote on the school budget during Tuesday’s town meeting.
Hinesburg voters share thoughts on school budget
IAN KREINSEN COMMUNITY NEWS SERVICE
Taxes versus student needs took center stage as Hinesburg residents voted on the proposed new budget for Champlain Valley School District.
The district projects an average 3.8 percent decrease in property taxes for residents if the budget is passed. Many in Hinesburg remain skeptical, as last year, property taxes for schools increased by approximately 20 percent.
“The thing that stood out to
me was last year, our taxes were astronomically raised in the town of Hinesburg,” Eileen Kelly said, adding she voted yes on the school budget. “This year it’s projected to go down, so I’m hopeful that that will stay. Skeptical, but hopeful.”
School board member Bill
COMMUNITY NOTES
continued from page 5
burgh Town Hall, 3279 Route 7.
The film tells the story of a small Vermont town whose veneer of peace and tranquility is shattered when a Black minister arrives as the town’s new pastor and, soon after, finds himself charged with adultery and the murder of a French-Canadian waif passing through town on her way to pursue her Hollywood dream.
Young rascal lawyer Charlie Kinneson, the local favorite son, tricks the young Canadian girl into town under false pretenses but he decides to defend the minister, placing himself at odds with family, friends, and a vanishing way of life. The film, and Mosher’s novel, were inspired by the true events surrounding the infamous 1968 “Irasburg Affair.”
Tickets are $12 in advance and are available at unionmeetinghall. org/programming-and-events.
Vermont Farm Show to host information session
Farmers of all scales and types — farm workers, agricultural students, educators, and professionals, farm service provid-
ers, and anyone who supports Vermont’s food system and working landscape — are invited to join the Vermont Farm Show Board for an in-person conversation about the future of the Vermont Farm Show.
This gathering is the last of five to occur across the state this winter and is taking place at the UVM Extension office in Berlin on Tuesday March 11 from 1:30-3:30 p.m.
Attendees will connect with others, engage in facilitated conversation, and can offer their input on what kind of Farm Show can best serve Vermont’s changing agricultural needs. Snacks will be provided.
For more information visit, www.vtfarmshow.com.
Ski photographer holds ski museum talk
The Red Bench Speaker Series presents “Celebrating 60 Years of Stratton Photography with Hubert Schriebl,” Thursday, March 13 at 6:30 p.m. at the Vermont Ski and Snowboard Museum.
Born in Austria, Hubert Schriebl was a ski and mountain guide
Baker doubts this minor adjustment will adequately address the district’s priorities. He voted against the budget proposal.
“We’re spending more on less students with poorer outcomes,” Baker said.
Baker believes the budget has strayed from what should be its core priorities.
“I think the leadership of the schools has lost a focus on what the primary rule of the school is,” he said, which he characterized as the basics: math, science, reading, writing, and history.
Vicky Gelber voted in favor of the budget increase. She described her decision as “painful because our taxes are so crazy high.”
Still, she felt it was important to support the school.
“The school board did what they could to moderate the increases as much as possible,” she said.
Other residents were less concerned about spending and believe the budget will allow the district to keep providing quali-
ty education. According to U.S. News, the school ranks second in Vermont.
“Nobody does what CVU does,” said Sue Johnson. “They’ll offer any class. If somebody wants to have a class, only if there’s a couple of people, they make a club and they support it.”
Some residents supported the budget in response to possible Trump Administration budget cuts to the Department of Education. Kathleen Bruce believes the proposed budget will keep the school “afloat.”
“We’re going to need all the help we can get,” Bruce said.
Janice Nadwonry also voted yes, saying, “I want the town to spend its money wisely and provide every child with a thorough and complete preparation for life.”
Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship, on assignment for the The Citizen.
Scott’s ‘education transformation’ bill hits the Legislature
working for the Austrian Alpine Club before he was hired by fellow Austrian Emo Henrich to teach at the Stratton Ski School. Arriving in Vermont on Christmas Eve of 1964, Hubert immediately embraced the Green Mountain State as his home. It wasn’t long before his talent for photography was recognized, and in 1968, he became Stratton’s official photographer.
Hubert’s work at Stratton spans six decades. Through his lens, he has documented not only the ski industry’s growth but also iconic winter sports moments and everyday mountain life. His work has been featured in numerous publications including, SKI, Skiing, GEO, Time, Newsweek, Sports Illustrated, Vermont Life, and Stratton Magazine.
In 2009, the Vermont Ski and Snowboard Museum recognized Hubert’s outstanding contributions to the ski industry with the Paul Robbins Journalism Award.
Event admission is $10 and helps support the Museum’s mission to “collect, preserve, and celebrate Vermont’s rich skiing and snowboarding history.”
ETHAN WEINSTEIN VTDIGGER
For the first time last week, Gov. Phil Scott and his team released their education reform proposal in bill form, all 176 pages of it, for lawmakers’ consideration.
Among the key takeaways: significant restrictions on private schools eligible for public money, class size minimums and a mandated 3 percent spending cap for school districts next year.
The plan, dubbed by Scott as the “education transformation proposal,” charts a colossal restructuring of Vermont’s education governance and finance systems. Scott and Education Secretary Zoie Saunders have already announced some of the package’s boldest ideas, like consolidating Vermont’s 52 supervisory unions into only five regional school districts, paying for education using a foundation formula and stripping the State Board of Education of many of its powers.
“We can’t just make small tweaks,” Saunders told lawmakers in the House and Senate education
committees last week. “We must redesign our system.”
The proposal arrives following last year’s tumultuous school budget season, as voters faced double-digit education property tax increases and rejected about a third of all school spending plans. The cost of education defined 2024’s legislative elections, fueling a Republican wave in Vermont’s House and Senate. As pitched, the governor’s proposal seeks to save money by consolidating school districts and reducing the number of staff, all while increasing educational opportunities, according to its proponents. Scott has proposed using more than $70 million in state revenue to buy down property tax rates as the state begins transitioning to his new system. Currently, state analysts expect that without a buy down, education taxes will rise just under 6 percent next year given preliminary school budget information.
Now written as legislative language, the proposal’s more complete form may ease lawmak-
COURTESY PHOTO
One of the many images captured by longtime snow sports photographer Hubert Schriebl.
CLASSIFIEDS
CHARLOTTE DEVELOPMENT REVIEW BOARD
Will hold a public hearing at Town Hall, 159 Ferry Rd., Charlotte, VT on the following application during its regular meeting of Wednesday, March 26, 2025.
7:05 PM DRB-25-16-CU/SP Darlings Boatworks – New boat yard with 7,560 building at 735 Ferry Rd.
A site visit for this application will be held March 12th at 4:30 PM at 735 Ferry Road.
For more information, contact the Planning & Zoning Office at 802.425.3533 ext. 208, or by email at: pza@townofcharlotte.com.
2024 AND 2029 NOISE EXPOSURE MAPS (NEMS) PREPARED FOR PATRICK LEAHY BURLINGTON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (BTV) ARE AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD
The City of Burlington is announcing that the FAA has determined that the year 2024 and 2029 Noise Exposure Maps (NEMs) prepared for Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport (BTV) were developed in accordance with the procedures outlined in Appendix A of Title 14, Part 150 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
The NEMs may be downloaded using the links on the website below. For further information, please contact Larry Lackey, Director of Planning, Engineering and Sustainability at 802-338-8106. Visit www.btvsound.com for the 2024 and 2029 Noise Exposure Map.
To advertise in the service directory email: Advertising@thecitizenvt.com or call 802-238-4980
Town of Hinesburg Planning Commission Notice of Public Hearing March 26, 2025
The Hinesburg Planning Commission will hold a public hearing at the Town Office on March 26, 2025 at 7 pm to receive public comment on proposed changes to the Zoning Regulations and Subdivision Regulations. The purpose is to create Residential 4 district, rename Rural Residential 2 district to Rural District, eliminate Rural Residential 2, and make various technical changes throughout to correct references and clarify language. The new zoning districts and boundaries intend to better reflect different landforms, patterns of development, and land use priorities.
Copies of the proposed revisions, as well as a report on how the proposed changes comply with State Statute and the Town Plan, are available on the Town web site (www.hinesburg.org), and/or by contacting Mitch Cypes (Hinesburg Development Review Coordinator) at mcypes@hinesburg.org or Maya Balassa (Planner at Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission) at mbalassa@ccrpcvt. org. A list of the affected section headings follows, as required pursuant to Title 24, Chapter 117 V.S.A. Section 4444 (b).
Zoning Regulation Sections:
1.1 – Zoning Districts
1.3 – Lots in Two Zoning Districts
2.3 – Special Uses
2.4, Table 1 – Area/dimensional requirements
2.5.5 – Multiple Structures and Uses
2.9 – Village Growth Area Density Bonus
3.1.1 – Village Growth Area
3.1.7 – Inclusionary Zoning
3.1.8 – General Design Standards
3.2.2 – Residential 3 District
3.3 - Residential 4 District
3.4 – Agriculture District
3.5 - Rural District
3.6 – Industrial District 1 3.7 – Industrial District 2 3.8 – Shoreline District 4.3 – Site Plan Review
4.5 – Planned Unit Development
5.1.3 – Home Occupation, Performance Standards
5.1.8 – Home Occupation, Vehicle Repair
5.3 – Home Occupation Contractor Yard, Location
5.6 – Design Standards for Commercial and Industrial Uses, Exterior Lighting
5.8 – Accessory Uses and Accessory Structures
5.20 – Camping, Camping Vehicles, Campgrounds
5.24 – Rural Area Design Standards
5.25 – Stormwater and Erosion Control
5.27. – Outdoor Lighting
8.5 – Expiration of Permits, Variances and Approvals
9.1 - Amendments 10.1 – Definitions (various)
Zoning District Maps Official Map
Subdivision Regulation Sections:
3.1 – Sketch Plan
6.3 – Outdoor Lighting
6.11 – Design Standards for Village and Commercial Areas
6.12 – Rural Area Design Standards
7.3 – Legal Data
7.5 – Filing of Final Plat 10.1 – Article 9 –
Notice Date – February 28, 2025
continued from page 12
ers growing impatience. As Saunders and Scott released details bit by bit in January and February, some lawmakers had become frustrated with the slow pace.
Still, two months into the legislative session, time is critical, with key deadlines fast approaching.
Some previously shared details, like the creation of an optional school choice lottery system in every district, have drawn ire, particularly from Democrats and the state’s teachers union. But last week’s revelations appear to offer some conciliation to those concerned about an expansion of school choice.
In the imagined future system, every student would be assigned to a public school. High school students would have the option to enter a lottery to attend a “school choice school,” and every district would need at least one of these special public or private options.
The bill proposes more limits on independent schools than previously revealed. To become one of the proposed “school choice schools,” more than half of the school’s student body would need to already be publicly funded as of this summer. In practice, that means the vast majority of existing private schools would be exclud-
ed from public funding in Scott’s system. Instead, only independent schools serving a large number of local students, such as Burr and Burton Academy, would be eligible to still receive public funds.
The legislation also restricts private school choice to only grades 9-12.
Those are huge changes from Vermont’s existing system, which allows students of all grades whose districts don’t operate public schools to attend a variety of private options both near and far. Many of those schools accept only a handful of public students.
As written, Scott’s plan would move the state to a foundation formula by fiscal year 2028, two budget cycles from now. Used in most states across the country, a foundation formula gives school districts money based on the number of students they educate.
Additional money is provided for students who are more expensive to teach, like English learners and those from lower income households, a process known as “weighting.”
Next budget cycle, school spending increases would be capped at 3 percent, according to the bill.
Class size minimums, accord-
Summer Camps
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Vermont Education Secretary Zoie Saunders answers questions at a recent House and Senate joint committee
ing to Saunders, would take effect in the 2026-2027 school year. Grades 4-12 would need average class size minimums of 25, and grades K-3 would have a required 15 student average minimum.
Despite the magnitude of the 176-page proposal, gaps remain. What, if any, exceptions would
be given to new mandates? And how will the imagined future system handle career and technical education and pre-kindergarten students?
“There’s a lot here,” Rep. Peter Conlon, D-Cornwall, chair of the House Education Committee, said at Tuesday’s hearing. But he called
It’s Summer Camp Sign-Up Time!
the timeline “ambitious,” especially considering “the amount of work that still remains.”
Saunders acknowledged that the proposal is a “starting point” destined to change once lawmakers weigh in. Committees will continue walking through the bill this week, with edits to follow.
PHOTO BY GLENN RUSSELL/VTDIGGER
hearing.