Rep. Emilie Kornheiser, D-Brattleboro, chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, speaks as the committee is briefed on the proposed 2026 state budget at the Statehouse in Montpelier in February 2025. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger Vermont school districts are more than $480 million in debt f rom the costs of renovating school buildings, according to data from the State Aid for School Construction Advisory Board. That might sound pretty steep, but experts say it’s not necessarily a bad thing. Vermont has some of the oldest school building stock in the country. That debt means that at least some districts have started investing in school renovation projects that, with current inflation rates, may have been far costlier had they started today, Michael Gaughan, the head of the Vermont Bond Bank, told lawmakers last month. Lawmakers might consider themselves lucky — until they look at the several billion dollars needed to bring the rest of the state’s building stock into the 21st century. Not to mention how districts might feel about taking on debt their voters never authorized. “So, the good news is, we have very little debt,” Sen. Seth Bongartz, D-Bennington, the Senate Education Committee chair said last month during a committee meeting. “The bad news is, the buildings are fully depreciated.” Lawmakers this session are tasked with twin problems: how to merge existing school district debt amid district consolidation plans, while devising a way to tackle the deluge of construction costs school buildings will need in the coming years. Statutory language proposed this week by Rep. Emilie Kornheiser, D-Brattleboro, the House Ways and Means Committee chair, starts that conversation. Under her proposed language, districts that have existing debt would have 100% of their debt service covered via state grants. “You can think of this as a wiping-the-slate-clean kind of approach,” Jon Gray, a legislative attorney, told committee members Tuesday. Future construction projects that meet eligibility requirements under Act 73, meanwhile, would also have 100% of their debt service covered. That’s a change from language passed in Act 73, which called for reimbursing anywhere from 20% to 40% of a district’s construction costs. The legislation also proposes removing a section in state law that would prohibit school construction aid from flowing to projects that arose “in whole or in part from significant deferred maintenance.” Kornheiser cautioned that the language was preliminary. “The word ‘draft’ is not drafty enough for what this is,” she said. “It’s just a conversation starter about a way we can structure a solution, but it is not the solution.” Asking debt-free districts to merge with districts holding debt might also be a tough ask. Consider residents in the relatively debt-free Stowe and Elmore-Morristown school districts, part of the larger Lamoille South Supervisory Union. Under the proposal put forward by Rep. Peter Conlon, D-Cornwall, the House Education Committee chair, Lamoille South would merge with the Lamoille North School District, which holds well over $10 million in debt, according to data from the Vermont Bond Bank. Ryan Heraty, the Lamoille South Supervisory District superintendent, said there would “have to be some really clear benefits” to a merger like that. “You’d have to really say, ‘What are the wins here?’ for people to get behind it,” Heraty said. “If you’re going to say, ‘Well, just trust us,’ I think people are going to say, ‘We’re hesitant. Because we’ve trusted you in the past, and it hasn’t always worked out.’” While Kornheiser’s language means the state would cover 100% of those costs, it sets an unspecified annual cap of funds to distribute each year. It’s also a mystery whether the Legislature and Gov. Phil Scott will agree on an eventual allocation for school construction aid. What happens if — or when — the need exceeds the hypothetical funding cap? Will districts be able to bond for those repairs outside of the new finance system? And what comes first, paying off existing debt for projects completed or underway, or tackling projects in the queue? “I think there’s tension here, is what you’re identifying, and there’s lots to be resolved,” Gray said. Kornheiser said the committee will be returning to the issue. “This is so far from a finished proposal on the table,” she said. “This is really just like a ‘Let’s work through the problems.'” — Corey McDonald In the know Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Baruth said Friday that he won’t run for reelection this year, bringing an end to what will be a 16-year tenure in the chamber. The Democrat/Progressive from the Chittenden Central district, which includes his hometown of Burlington, delivered the surprise news in remarks on the Senate floor that he plans to retire following the end of this year’s legislative session. Baruth was first elected to the Senate in 2010, and his colleagues chose him to be president pro tempore in 2022. An author and University of Vermont English professor, Baruth made a name for himself before running for office as a political blogger and a radio commentator. He previously served as Senate majority leader and chair of the chamber’s Education Committee.  “When the next biennium begins this coming January, I will be turning 65 years old,” Baruth told his colleagues on Friday. “To my mind, at least, there’s only one good thing about turning 65. Only one good thing. And that is you don’t need any other reason to lay down some of your work, and some of your tools.” Baruth said he is “absolutely ride or die” until his current term expires at the start of 2027, but at that point, he plans to return to teaching and writing. He will not be endorsing a replacement, he continued, either for his Senate seat or the pro tem role. In the meantime, “we have many difficult decisions still ahead of us,” he said.  Read more about Baruth’s decision here. — Shaun Robinson On the move The Senate advanced H.545 Friday, a bill that broadens the state’s power to purchase vaccines from sources beyond the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and issue state-level immunization recommendations. Earlier this session, Health Commissioner Rick Hildebrant and others in his department testified in support of the bill.   The Senate also voted to amend H.545, so the bill will return to the House should the Senate ultimately pass it.  — Ethan Weinstein PR.4, a proposed amendment to the Vermont Constitution, is advancing in the Senate. The proposed amendment would guarantee equal treatment under the law regardless of “race, ethnicity, sex, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or national origin.” The proposed amendment must sit on the Senate notice calendar for seven days before it’s up for a vote.  Vermont’s constitutional amendment process is convoluted and arduous, requiring both chambers to back the amendment in two different bienniums, followed by a statewide vote. PR.4 received the Legislature’s approval in 2024.   — Ethan Weinstein Read the story on VTDigger here: As Vermont lawmakers work to consolidate schools, how will they handle school district debt?. ...read more read less