Hello friends and neighbors,
The legislature has been very busy with all the new folks getting up to speed and testimony being taken on many subjects, especially education. The governor presented his plan for education reform on Wednesday, Jan. 22, at 3:45 p.m. You can watch it, and all house sessions and committee meetings, on Youtube – just go to Youtube and search Vermont House of Representatives. Past meetings are archived there as well.
Undoubtedly, as is inevitable with big change, there will be parts of the plan that you, me, and others don’t like. We will lose some local control, for one. But the education system is in dire need of reform from both a cost perspective, and an educational quality perspective. Our taxes are too high. Our staff-to-pupil ratio is too low – the lowest in the country. Our system is too complex for people to understand. We have too many schools, districts, and supervisory unions for our geography and pupil population. Our student outcomes do not match our investment.
It is good news that the governor is stepping up and showing leadership on this issue. There is lots of work to do on education over the next few months. Stay tuned.
On a personal note, I did not know what to expect up in Montpelier, and my impression so far is favorable. Almost everyone has Vermont’s best interests in mind; we just differ on some policy issues. The good news for this session is that there is a clear mandate from voters to work on: education reform (including property taxes), health care costs and access, and housing. I am confident you will see tripartisan cooperation on these issues, albeit with robust debate.
My committee is Energy and Digital Infrastructure. We have the all-but-dead Clean Heat Standard, and lots of digital issues to take up over the coming months.
As always, keep in touch,
Representative Chris Morrow
Andover-Londonderry-Weston-Winhall