To the editor: ‘Friends’ group seeks to protect Vermont public schools

Be informed. In early spring this year a small group of longtime school board members – most former, one current – got together to talk about pushing back against the steady attacks on our public schools, which are also longtime. We decided to start a grassroots effort, calling ourselves Friends of Vermont Public Education.

Our mission is clear: “to ensure that the distribution of public money for education in Vermont is done in a manner that is consistent with our state and federal constitutions. All schools that receive public funding must agree to comply with the state’s public school rules and regulations.”

A challenge, of course, is that the fairly recent ruling from the Supreme Court of the United States – Carson v. Makin, 2022 – bumps up against the Compelled Support and Common Benefits clauses of our state constitution. More and more tax dollars for funding education in Vermont are being siphoned from our public school budgets to support private institutions – which do not necessarily provide benefits common to all – and now religious schools have been added to the draw down.

I know of at least one school administration that has openly said it will not comply with anti-discrimination laws or will find a way to dance around them by further blurring the lines between church and state. It won’t sign off on being open to all, but it will gladly take our tax dollars – violations of both clauses referenced above.

Friends sent a three-question survey to candidates who hope to be elected in November to represent us in Montpelier for the next two years regarding use of public funds for private schools. You can find candidate responses at savevtpubliced.org

See where your candidates stand, or if they didn’t respond to our survey, ask them why not. While our position on the issue is transparent, as evidenced by our mission statement, we at Friends are not endorsing any candidate – we want voters to be able to make informed choices.

The upcoming legislative session will be dynamic as our lawmakers look to balance providing a “free and appropriate education” to all Vermont children with how to rein in tax rates. An obvious first step on the latter would be promoting taxpayers’ understanding of how their dollars are being spent.

This means the same financial transparency from all schools that receive public dollars – not just public schools, as it is currently. Then and only then can voters base their decisions on all of the information, and let their local representatives and senators know how they feel.

At Friends of Vermont Public Education, we will continue to follow the work of the Commission on the Future of Public Education in Vermont, which will be making recommendations to our legislators for short-term and long-term changes to our education system. The early focus for the commission is on property tax relief, but that can and must go hand-in-hand with student achievement in the long haul.

So please stay informed, and vote.

Ken Fredette
Wallingford
Member of the Steering Committee of Friends of Vermont Public Education