- In 1987, Gov. Madeleine Kunin proposed a foundation funding plan to equalize Vermont school tax burdens and per-pupil spending across districts.
- In 1997, the Vermont Supreme Court’s Brigham v. State decision ruled the property-wealth-based funding system unconstitutional for creating unequal educational opportunity.
- Act 60 and later updates (Acts 68 and 130) sought to level funding, but costs and outcomes remain problematic, especially for rural districts.
- Vermont now faces pressure to revisit school finance as high spending and staffing coincide with weaker assessment results and rising taxpayer strain.
Read More
The recent WCAX article highlights a recurring theme in Vermont politics—education funding equity—which has been contested land since 1987 when Governor Kunin proposed a foundation funding scheme aiming to decouple quality of education from local wealth. Kunin’s vision laid groundwork for the eventual Brigham v. State lawsuit, which in 1997 determined the existing funding mechanism violated both the Education Clause (Chapter II, § 68) and the Common Benefits Clause (Chapter I, Article 7) of the Vermont Constitution by perpetuating disparity among school districts tied to property wealth.
In response, the Vermont legislature introduced Act 60 in 1997 (formally the Equal Educational Opportunity Act) to restructure property taxes and state aid to better equalize funding capacity among districts; Acts 68 and 130 followed to refine the model. The “foundation plan,” central to these reforms, sets a minimum level of per-pupil spending that the state assists property-poor districts in achieving. However, property-rich districts still exceed that amount, and adjustments (for transportation, special education, debt service, etc.) reduce the equalization effect; disparities persist.
Today, Vermont faces a dual challenge: despite heavy investment per student and historically high staffing levels, learning outcomes (e.g. assessment scores) have declined about 10 percent since pre-pandemic levels. Rural districts, in particular, continue to struggle with funding inefficiencies and cost pressures such as higher transportation and smaller economies of scale. These realities suggest that while constitutional mandates for
Supporting Notes
- MONTPELIER—On Jan. 8, 1987, Governor Madeleine Kunin in her inaugural address proposed a foundation funding plan that would equalize tax burdens and per-pupil spending across Vermont school districts, to address high costs and unequal spending in poorer, rural communities.
- In Brigham v. State (1997), the Vermont Supreme Court said the then current system—with reliance on property taxes and wide disparities in per-pupil spending—violated the Vermont Constitution because the quality of education depended excessively on local wealth and location.
- Post-Brigham reforms included Act 60 in 1997, followed by Acts 68 and 130, designed to improve equity in education funding. Act 60 is also known as the Equal Educational Opportunity Act.
- The foundation funding formula provides financial aid to districts such that they can meet a set minimum or “foundation cost” per student; but property-rich districts can spend significantly more, and adjustments for categorical grants and transportation or debt reduce the formula’s equalizing power.
- A recent report shows Vermont has some of the highest per-student spending and staffing levels in the U.S., but assessment scores are down about 10 percent compared to pre-COVID levels, highlighting a mismatch between expenditures and educational outcomes.
- Another WCAX report estimates that Vermont could cut up to $460 million in education spending through strategies like increasing class sizes, consolidating schools, and reducing administrative overhead—options that raise contentious policy debates.