This commentary is by Ken Fredette of Wallingford. He is a member of the steering committee for Friends of Vermont Public Education.In early spring this year a small group of longtime school board members — most former, one current — got together to talk about pushing back against the prolonged attacks on our public schools. We decided to start a grassroots effort called “Friends of Vermont Public Education.” Our mission is clear: “to ensure that the distribution of public money for education in Vermont is done in a manner that is consistent with our state and federal constitutions. All schools that receive public funding must agree to comply with the state’s public school rules and regulations.”A challenge, of course, is that the fairly recent ruling from the Supreme Court of the United States — Carson v. Makin, 2022 — bumps up against the compelled support and common benefits clauses of our state constitution. More and more tax dollars for funding education in Vermont are being siphoned from our public school budgets to support private institutions — which do not necessarily provide benefits common to all — and now religious schools have been added to the drawdown.Take the non-secular Mid Vermont Christian School. When in early 2023 the head of the school signed the Vermont Public Accommodations Act, an anti-discrimination law which public funding is tied to, she added a caveat typed below her signature, stipulating that the school “has a statutory and Constitutional right to make decisions based on its religious beliefs, including hiring and disciplining employees, associating with others, and in its admissions, conduct, and operations policies and procedures.”READ MORE So Mid Vermont Christian won’t sign off on being open to all, whether it be employees or students, but it will gladly take our tax dollars — violations of both clauses referenced above.Our organization sent a three-question survey to candidates who hope to get elected in November’s to Montpelier’s city council to represent us regarding use of public funds for private schools. You can find candidate responses at savevtpubliced.orgSee where your candidates stand. Or if they didn’t respond to our survey, ask them why not. While our position on the issue is transparent, as evidenced by our mission statement, we at Friends are not endorsing any candidate — we want voters to be able to make informed choices.The upcoming legislative session will be dynamic as our lawmakers look to balance providing a “free and appropriate education” to all Vermont children with how to rein in tax rates. An obvious first step regarding the latter would be promoting taxpayers’ understanding of how their dollars are being spent. This means the same financial transparency from all schools that receive public dollars — not just public schools, as it currently stands. Then and only then can voters base their decisions on all of the available information, and let their local representatives and senators know how they feel.At Friends of Vermont Public Education we will continue to follow the work of the Commission on the Future of Public Education in Vermont, which will be making recommendations to our legislators for short- and long-term changes to our education system. The early focus for the Commission is on property tax relief, but that can and must go hand-in-hand with student achievement.So please stay informed, and vote.Read the story on VTDigger here: Ken Fredette: Stay informed about Vermont public education.