1. Unions Struggling with Choice?
2. A Comprehensive Scholarship Plan for Vermont
3. Funny Look at Opposition to School Choice
4. Booklet on How to Choose a School

On September 10, the VT-NEA held its first ever gubernatorial education debate. The three candidates, James Douglas (R), Gaye Symington (D), and Anthony Pollina (I), squared off on the stage of the Chandler Music Hall in Randolph, Vermont. What was surprising was the lack of real substance about education in the debate. Where was the discussion of giving parents the real tools they need to be involved in their children’s education? Where was the discussion of how to help small schools stay open? Why not allow them to open up as charter schools? What about the quality of Vermont's education compared with the rest of the world? Should we have merit pay for teachers? How would the candidates help to get technology into the classrooms? Are teachers being trained for the 21st Century and what would the candidates do to support that? Just how supportive are they of other educational opportunities, such as homeschooling and private schools? Do they support allowing parents to take advantage of school choice? These are the questions that the VT-NEA rarely ever asks and should have been the real focus of the debate. 

The topics that were focused on were the two-vote mandate (Act 82), which they want repealed, which requires two votes of the people in order to raise taxes for school budgets over a certain amount, consolidation of schools, regional or statewide teacher contracts, and No Child Left Behind. These were interspersed with questions about other issues that had nothing to do with education. Never mind children being "left behind." I left wishing I had stayed home. This was a VT-NEA sponsored "education" debate and, while they may not have picked the specific questions, they certainly could have made sure that all the questions were about or closely related to education. It would have been better to advertise this as simply a gubernatorial debate sponsored by the VT-NEA. It was not really about the future education of the children of Vermont.

So what was the debate about? I think we found out with a Burlington Free Press headline that blared on September 12, "Pollina or Syminton? Unions Struggle with Choice" Is the VT-NEA struggling with choice? The headline wasn’t talking about teacher union support of school choice. No, the Vermont-NEA, one of the state’s most prominent unions, "will wrestle with whether to support Symington or Pollina," according to the Free Press article. The debate was to "help" them settle between these two.

Parents and students deserve a real conversation about educational issues that affect THEM. They deserve to know what the gubernatorial candidates think. Do they have a vision for education in Vermont? What do they think it should look like? What changes would they support to bring this about?

Douglas and Symington were the only ones who offered concrete proposals that you can sink your teeth into.  Douglas's proposal included Promise Scholarships which would help kids pay for college. Douglas also stated in his closing remarks that he supported school choice. Symington had a proposal called "Bridge to Opportunity" that would encourage middle school kids to consider college sooner than high school. I do not recall any specific proposals from Pollina, but it seemed he did excite the audience because he was in the middle of the other two... literally. He was placed between the other two candidates on the stage.

The most important thing I carried away from the debate and the most important thing I would like for you to remember about this debate is the following: Douglas was the only candidate to have gone completely through the public school system. Pollina went to parochial schools and then on to public high school, and Symington went to private schools. Interesting factoid - the only one who went all the way through the public schools supports school choice....

So in the end, the VT-NEA’s difficult choice came down to either Pollina or Symington. They chose to endorse Pollina for Governor. If the debate helped them decide this, I am darned if I can understand why.

Retta Dunlap, executive director of VBE

Many Vermont parents, like parents everywhere, struggle to make ends meet. When a local public school doesn’t meet their child’s needs, some parents also struggle with the additional burden of tuition bills for private schooling or the expense of homeschooling. And once kids go off to college, debts can mount up quickly for parents and/or kids alike.

But William Sayre, a former Federal Reserve economist who is now on the board of the Associated Industries of Vermont, has a plan for how to relieve these financial burdens. Sayre has been advocating for some time now something he loosely labels the "Long Term Educational Scholarship Program."

Its key component would be opening the entire Vermont education system up to a wide array of choices, with money following the child.

"We should empower and entrust parents with the freedom to choose," says Sayre. He believes giving parents the money to make meaningful school decisions for their children will have beneficial effects for parents, kids, colleges, schools, and the state in general.

The money he proposes putting in parents’ hands would either be the per-pupil expenditure in Vermont (in some estimates, as much as $13,000) or the state "block grant" money roughly allocated for each public school child in the state (roughly $8500). 

Parents could use this scholarship money, says Sayre, in a variety of ways. They could spend it at the K-12 level on public or private education expenses (including ancillary expenses, such as transportation to and from school) and, if anything remains, bank the remainder in special IRA-type, tax-free accounts that would later be available for college expenses.

Sayre sees this plan as a way to address several problems.

"Not only would we improve the quality of elementary and secondary education," says Sayre, "but we’d also help solve the problem many families have in saving money for college."

Sayre believes, as do school choice advocates, that opening the door to choice will have a positive impact on schools’ overall quality as they strive to attract students to their doors and become more responsive to those they serve. Research has shown this to be the case elsewhere. 

Although his plan has not yet been formulated into a legislative bill, Sayre is happy to talk with potential sponsors or those interested in learning more. He can be contacted at: wsayre1@aol.com. 

For a smile-inducing look at arguments for and against school choice in Great Britain, take a peek at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLDb2V86Ei0

Watch the "prime minister" argue with his secretary over why parents are qualified to raise their own children, including choosing their children’s schools. 

Parents of school-age children often wonder what to look for in a school, how to judge its quality and appropriateness for their children. Do test scores tell the whole story? Does a low teacher/student ratio translate into superior education? What questions should you ask when visiting schools? And what do you do when you encounter problems with your children’s school?

All these questions and more are answered in VBE’s new 27-page booklet, "How to Choose a School in Vermont: A Parent’s Guide." The booklet provides a broad overview of education issues and how they’re handled in Vermont – everything from teacher certification processes to the state’s "framework" for standards and curriculum. It also includes handy lists of web site addresses to get more information on public and private schools, tuition towns, homeschool notification requirements and much, much more. It’s a must-have item for new parents in the state and will be available for a limited time in a bound, printed booklet format.

Yes, I would like the booklet “How to Choose a School in Vermont.”   Send to me at:

Name: _________________________________________________________________
Address: ________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

Number of copies: _______ @ $5.00 (includes postage) each = ____________ Total enclosed (checks should be made out to Vermonters for Better Education).

We do!  Please consider a gift to Vermonters for Better Education, the publisher of the weekly Vermont Education Report, Vermont's ONLY continual source of education news. Send donations to: VBE, PO Box 255, Woodbury, VT 05681. VBE is a nonprofit organization and contributions are tax-deductible.

The VERMONT EDUCATION REPORT is published by Vermonters for Better Education PO Box 255, Woodbury, VT 05681 - 802-472-5491. The Vermont Education Report may be reprinted with the editor's permission. For more information contact: VBE@comcast.net or visit us on the web: http://www.schoolreport.com

VERMONTERS FOR BETTER EDUCATION is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization whose mission is to enlist parents and the public at large in achieving quality educational opportunities for all the children of Vermont by monitoring the state of education in Vermont; promoting the value of educational freedoms for all parents; and giving parents the evaluative tools with which to identify excellence.

Retta Dunlap, executive director
VBE@comcast.net