CVTSE Executive Director Testifies in front of Task Force

I’m the Executive Director of The Coalition for Vermont Student Equity. We are a non-profit that was formed by a group of Vermont school board directors out of frustration with the lack of progress on the implementation of the recommendations from the Pupil Weighting Factors Report.

VLCT Advocates for Implementation of Corrected Weights

Memo Date: August 27, 2021 To: Taskforce on the Implementation of the Pupil Weighting Factors Report From: Karen Horn, Director, Public Policy and Advocacy Re: Pupil Weighting Taskforce Report Recommendations I am writing to you on behalf of the 246 member cities and towns of the Vermont League ofCities and Towns to urge you to …

State Rep. Selene Colburn

School districts like Burlington and Winooski, along with many rural and low-income districts, have been denied their fair share of education funds for over 20 years. it’s time to fix this glaring inequality.

Equitable distribution; Not higher taxes

Vermonters don’t need higher taxes statewide to pay for targeted aid to struggling districts. There is sufficient money in the system already. How it’s being distributed, however, is inequitable. Districts that need the most help are not being adequately funded.

Winooski Mayor, Kristine Lott to Task Force ‘Implement Recommended Weights’

Burlington and Winooski School Districts have a Message…

CVTSE members Burlington and Winooski School Districts have had their pupils undercounted for the purpose of distributing Vermont education funds for over two decades. This is because they serve many students who are English language learners and many from low-income households. They aren’t alone. A 2019 education research study conducted by UVM and Rutgers also …

Burlington, VT is a Refugee Resettlement City

Implementing the correct student weights would allow the Burlington District to: • Hire more multilingual liaisons and be able to pay them year around for the great demands on their time. • We could increase training and offer stipends for teachers to improve engagement with families, including conducting home visits in the summer and after hours. • We could increase funding for pre-K, so that we could offer more classes with increased staffing. • We could implement our own equitable funding model. • We could add much needed special education teachers, counselors, social workers, EL teachers, paraeducators and specialists to support our students in a more inclusive setting.

WCAX: Education Finance Reform Efforts this Fall

Vermont lawmakers to pick up education finance reform efforts this fall (Video) https://www.wcax.com/2021/07/22/vermont-lawmakers-pick-up-education-finance-reform-efforts-this-fall/ MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – By Calvin Cutler Equal opportunity in education will be on the front burner for Vermont lawmakers in the coming months as they dig into the perennial issue of education finance reform. Funding for public schools is allocated out of …

State Rep. Taylor Small

Our students, across the state of Vermont, all want the opportunity to thrive in their learning environments. But we know that our current pupil weighting system does not allow for equal access to those opportunities.

State Rep. Lucy Rogers

Once the Corrected Weights are Implemented, we won’t have winners and losers, we’ll have equitable education across the board.