The Barre City Elementary and Middle School seen on Tuesday, August 8, 2023. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerAll of Vermont’s school districts have now approved budgets for this year, after voters in Barre finally signed off on a school spending plan Tuesday.But already, officials throughout the state are bracing for another rough annual budget cycle, with health insurance premiums for staff and other fixed costs driving up the price of education. As school boards drafted spending plans this past year — with spending increasing by 10, 20 or even 30% in some communities — roughly one in three school budgets failed on Town Meeting Day, a historic rejection of what tend to be widely supported plans. The cost of education dominated conversations in Montpelier, and lawmakers ultimately approved legislation that raised the average education property tax bill by 13.8%.So when Barre voters passed their school budget Tuesday by a vote of 1,802 to 1,321, it marked not just the end of one difficult chapter, but the beginning of another. With school boards already working on 2025-26 school year budgets, Gov. Phil Scott and statewide education leaders are warning that the next cycle could prove equally challenging, with fixed costs fueling another potential spike in education spending. “To help avoid another round of historic property tax increases next year (fiscal year 2026), my Administration is taking the unusual step of engaging in the earliest stages of your budget development process,” Scott wrote in a letter to school leaders last week, “to express our commitment to collaboration; to share what we know; and to offer additional technical assistance.”He cautioned that expected insurance price increases and the likely loss of one-time funds used last year alone could cause a 7% increase in education costs even if budgets otherwise remain flat. “I acknowledge some feel frustrated by the attention I’ve put on the issue of property taxes and affordability,” Scott continued. “But please know, I recognize many factors contributing to this challenging situation are outside of your control, and we can’t expect school boards to address it alone.”The governor encouraged school officials to seek the support of Vermont’s Agency of Education, which would provide technical assistance, he said. In his letter, Scott cited a memo from the leaders of the Vermont Superintendents Association, Vermont School Boards Association and the Vermont Association of School Business Officials to their members, which similarly warned of budgetary pressures.“Without successful efforts to significantly reduce the rate of increase in school district spending proposals for (next year) as compared to (this year), more budgets could fail, leading to statewide proposals designed to suppress spending rather than address costs,” those association officials wrote. They warned in their memo that if health insurance premiums for school staff were to rise 17%, that would cost about $42 million statewide. They also noted that special education costs were predicted to increase $40 million this current school year, a trend that could continue. Inflation and ailing school infrastructure only add to the burden.Amid the financial strain, the association officials predicted that conversations will ignite regarding school consolidation as a way to cut costs.“Great care must be taken to involve your community, understand the specific processes unique to your district around reconfiguration or school closure, and put student learning first,” they wrote.Those conversations have already begun in Washington Central Unified Union School District, where a proposal to close elementary schools in Calais and Worcester drew opposition this summer.Read the story on VTDigger here: As last unapproved budget passes, school officials brace for another year of financial pressure.