Governor Scott Has Signed The Education Reform Bill - What Happens Next?
Here is a multi-year roadmap to transformation on what will certainly be a rocky path forward.
After a legislative session marked by deeply fractured debates and last-minute compromises, Governor Phil Scott has signed H.454 into law, launching the most profound and contentious overhaul of Vermont’s public education system in a generation. The 155-page act fundamentally rewrites the state's nearly 30-year-old education framework, setting Vermont on a multi-year path toward a future of fewer, larger school districts, a state-controlled funding system, and a completely new property tax structure.
The bill's passage was not a moment of consensus, but rather the result of an unusual and strained bipartisan coalition. Its journey through the Statehouse exposed fundamental divisions about the future of local control, the sustainability of education spending, and the very character of the state's small communities.
With the ink now dry, the question on the minds of parents, taxpayers, and educators across the state is no longer if the system will change, but how, and what happens next. The answer is a complex, multi-stage process laden with potential political landmines and what some have called legislative "off-ramps."
A New Blueprint for Vermont's Schools
At its core, H.454 is designed to address Vermont's demographic reality: a shrinking student population distributed across a large number of small, locally-controlled school districts. The law seeks to achieve economies of scale and greater equity through a three-pronged approach:
Governance Consolidation: The bill initiates a move away from Vermont’s 119 school districts toward a system of significantly larger, regional districts, each with a target size of 4,000 to 8,000 students. For perspective, only the Champlain Valley School District currently meets this minimum threshold.
A Financial Overhaul: The legislation scraps the current school funding system and replaces it with a "foundation formula." Starting in 2028, the state will provide a base "educational opportunity payment" of $15,033 per pupil, with additional weighted funding for students with greater needs. This marks a historic transfer of power over education spending from local voters to the state.
A Restructured Tax System: H.454 repeals the widely used income-based property tax credit, a cornerstone of Vermont's tax policy for decades. In its place, it establishes a new homestead property tax exemption for households with annual incomes of $115,000 or less.
The bill also mandates new minimum class sizes, re-establishes a state aid program for school construction, and imposes stricter rules on independent schools seeking to receive public tuition dollars.
The Great Debate: Two Competing Visions
The fight over H.454 pitted two fundamentally different visions for Vermont against each other.
Proponents, including Governor Scott and a bipartisan group of legislative leaders, argued that the status quo is fiscally unsustainable. They championed the bill as a "once-in-a-generation opportunity" to stabilize soaring property taxes, bend the cost curve of education spending, and ensure a student's educational opportunities are not dictated by their zip code.
"We cannot adjourn this legislative session without a bill that sets us on the course to accomplish these goals," Governor Scott stated during the legislative process, emphasizing the need for a final product that "costs less than it does today" and reduces administrative overhead.
Arrayed against them was a broad coalition of the Vermont-NEA teachers' union, school boards, superintendents, and rural advocates. Their most potent argument was the feared loss of Vermont’s cherished tradition of local control. They warned that the bill would lead to the closure of beloved community schools, replacing a democratic, local process with a top-down system that fails to address the true cost drivers of education, such as rising healthcare and special education expenses.
Many critics, like Harwood Unified Union School District Superintendent Dr. Mike Leichliter, argued the bill would inflict devastating cuts on some districts while forcing tax hikes on others, calling the process a "deeply flawed start to a challenging bill."
What Happens Next: A Multi-Year Roadmap to Transformation
The signing of the bill is not an end, but the beginning of a complex and potentially fraught implementation process. The entire reform hinges on a series of interdependent steps.
Summer 2025: The Task Force Convenes The immediate focus now shifts to the newly created School District Redistricting Task Force. This 11-member body, composed of six legislators and five retired school administrators, is charged with the monumental task of drawing the new educational map of Vermont. It is set to become the epicenter of the state's education debate.
December 2025: The Maps are Delivered By December 1, the Task Force must submit up to three options for new, larger school district boundaries to the legislature. This process will inevitably ignite intense battles as communities lobby to protect their schools and local identities.
2026 Legislative Session: The Critical Vote The entire education overhaul faces its biggest hurdle in the 2026 legislative session. The major financial and tax reforms are entirely contingent on the legislature approving one of the proposed district maps. A vote to approve a map is a vote for the entire H.454 package to proceed. A failure to pass a map effectively scuttles the bill's core reforms.
This vote will take place in a high-stakes election year, with every lawmaker accountable to constituents who may be facing unwanted school district mergers. The fragile, cross-party coalition that passed H.454 will be severely tested.
2027-2028: The System Goes Live If a map is approved, the transformation continues. November 2027 would see special elections for the new, regional school boards.
The full system is scheduled to go live on July 1, 2028. On that day, the new districts would officially take responsibility for students, and the new foundation funding formula and homestead tax exemption would take effect.
The path forward is guaranteed to be rocky. Even if the legislature passes a map, Vermonters can anticipate years of conflict over potential school closures, local backlash in towns facing state-mandated tax increases, and the strong possibility of legal challenges. The passage of H.454 did not resolve Vermont's education debate; it has simply opened a new, and perhaps more intense, chapter.