Vermont Governor Phil Scott criticized a legislative task force this week for failing to deliver new school district maps as required by state law, raising concerns about the state’s long-term education reform efforts and financial sustainability.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Scott said the task force “didn’t fulfill their obligation” under Act 73, legislation that mandated the group to submit one to three district maps by December 1. “They didn’t redraw the lines,” Scott said. “They were supposed to put forward three maps for consideration, and they failed.”
Scott’s remarks reflect a broader frustration as Vermont lawmakers prepare to return to Montpelier in January. Public education reform is expected to be a top issue in the upcoming session, and the Legislature’s progress may hinge on guidance from the task force that, by law, was supposed to establish a foundation for redistricting the state’s 119 school districts.
The task force, composed of 11 members, voted 8–3 on Monday to endorse a proposal that emphasizes voluntary district consolidation and regional coordination over redrawing district boundaries. The nearly 170-page proposal introduces a 10-year plan that would use financial incentives to encourage districts to merge voluntarily. It also proposes the creation of five regional cooperative service agencies, similar to New York’s Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES), to share resources and services across existing districts.
The plan includes only one map, which shows how the proposed regional agencies would overlay the current 119 school districts and 52 supervisory unions. Critics, including Scott and Education Secretary Zoie Saunders, argue that the plan does not adhere to Act 73’s intent, which specified a requirement for concrete redistricting proposals.
Three task force members—Jennifer Botzojorns, a retired superintendent; Sen. Scott Beck, R-Caledonia; and Dave Wolk, the governor’s appointee—voted against the plan. Saunders commented during the meeting that the proposal “did not meet the statutory mandate” of the law.
Task force co-chair Sen. Martine Gulick, D-Chittenden Central, defended the decision not to draw definitive maps. “As we peeled back the layers, as we dug deeper into the complexity of education in Vermont and the complexity of lowering costs and improving quality, we decided it would be irresponsible just to draw lines on a map,” she said in an interview. Gulick added that the regional approach could yield immediate savings through shared services and joint contracting efforts.
An alternative plan developed by Beck and Wolk had proposed creating 13 new districts based on existing career and technical education regions. That approach, while more aligned with the law’s parameters according to Saunders, was ultimately rejected by the majority of the task force. One major objection was the scale of a proposed district in Chittenden County, which would have grouped nearly 22,000 students into a single district—well above Act 73’s guideline of 4,000 to 8,000 students per district. Gulick said such a configuration was not “logistically feasible” and would create unnecessary disruption.
Senate Pro Tem Phil Baruth declined to comment before the task force issues its final report. House Speaker Jill Krowinski reiterated her focus on offering quality educational opportunities at a sustainable cost. “We’ll continue to work with the education community, the Scott administration, and all Vermonters to consider the options before us and next steps to meet our education transformation goals,” she said in a statement.
The task force is scheduled to meet once more on November 20 to finalize its report to the Legislature, which is due in December. Gulick expressed hope that lawmakers would consider the task force’s recommendations when they return for the 2025 legislative session. “I do hope the Legislature looks at what we’ve done,” she said. “I hope they take our recommendations to heart. But there’s no guarantee that that will happen.”
Act 73, enacted in July, was designed to address Vermont’s growing education costs and declining student enrollment by reexamining the structure of school governance. Without a new district map in place, legislators may face added difficulty enacting reforms aimed at long-term cost control and educational equity across the state.
