December 28, 2023

Cowritten Cynthia Stuart, KESD Board Chair and Sean McMannon, KESD Superintendent

The Kingdom East School District (KESD), serving the towns of Burke, Concord, Lunenburg, Lyndon, Newark, Sheffield, Sutton, and Wheelock has an unprecedented opportunity to significantly bolster support for the educational needs of KESD students and the greater community in the upcoming FY25 school year.

BACKGROUND: Vermont’s public education funding formula is unique and complex compared to other states by incorporating a combination of state and local resources. It is also considered one of the most equitable public education funding formulas in the nation. The Vermont State Education Fund is composed of revenue from various sources such as property, sales, meals and rooms taxes. These funds are then redistributed to local school districts based on a formula that considers factors like student enrollment, the district’s education spending, and pupil or student weights. Student weights aim to consider the differences in the cost of educating students with diverse needs. Different students require different levels of resources, and these weights attempt to reflect those variations. For instance, students living in rural communities and/or in poverty might have a higher weight assigned to them to ensure that schools receive adequate resources to support their education. By using weighted student counts, Vermont attempts to distribute education funds more equitably among its school districts, ensuring that schools serving students with greater needs receive appropriate financial support to provide quality education.

Act 127: In 2022, Vermont passed Act 127 that redefines the pupil weights, or how students are counted in Vermont. The more pupil weights applied to a school district’s pupil count, the lower its corresponding homestead property tax rate. With the implementation of the new pupil weights in FY25 under Act 127, some school districts will have increased tax capacity, or more funds available to support local education, while others will have decreased tax capacity. The focus of Act 127 is to redistribute the Education Fund in a more equitable way. This new studentl weighting system introduces the opportunity for increased funding of educational endeavors in the Kingdom East School District (KESD) that can make a considerably positive impact on the district's educational landscape without negatively impacting taxpayers.

The changes in student weights under Act 127, significantly increases the weighting for students of low-income and rural areas like the Northeast Kingdom and for English Language learners. Act 127 significantly increases the amount of funding available from the Education Fund for KESD while limiting the pre-Common Level of Appraisal (CLA) tax impact. In simple terms, KESD has an opportunity to receive a greater percentage of the Education Fund without significantly impacting the district tax rate.

Act 127 includes a five year transition provision that caps the school district homestead property tax rate at a maximum of five percent per year increase for the fiscal years 2025 through 2029. This means that each year, a school district’s tax rate cannot increase by more than five percent before the Common Level of Appraisal (CLA) has been applied. If at any point during the transition that a school district does not qualify for the five percent cap, it will be ineligible for the cap in future years.

This transition provision includes a “Tax Rate Review” to determine if school districts should not be eligible for the tax rate cap. This review only happens if a district’s per student education spending increases by more than ten percent year to year.

STUDENT NEEDS: The impact of COVID-19 on student learning has been significant, multifaceted and continues throughout Vermont and across the country. The disruptions caused by the pandemic led to varied learning experiences, disparities in access to technology and the internet, social and emotional repercussions, heightened mental health issues such as anxiety, stress, and depression, and an overall

decline in learning outcomes. Addressing these challenges requires comprehensive efforts from school boards, school leaders, educators, policymakers, and communities. Strategies being deployed at KESD include targeted interventions for students who fell behind, mental health support, technology access initiatives, and a focus on experiential learning to address individual learning gaps.

The following are specific initiatives and supports KESD introduced over the past few years and would like to continue offering our students with support from Act 127:

• Literacy and Math interventionists to co-plan with teachers, provide individual and small groups direct instruction for students who need more targeted support and assist with progress monitoring;
• Technology: Device replacement cycle, switch and access point updates for high-functioning tech infrastructure;
• Summer Programming: Over 470 students participated in a 5-week summer program for learning recovery that involved 30+ community partners
• Experiential and outdoor learning in all schools through strong community partnerships to foster developmental assets in our students;
• PreK-8 Athletics:
• 482 students participated in fall sports: soccer and cross country running
• 385 students participated in winter sports: basketball and nordic skiing
• 128 students participated in spring sports: track, baseball and softball
• Afterschool Programming: 34% of students attended afterschool programming partially funded with federal grant money;
• Art, music, technology, and world language offered across all schools.

As schools gradually return to normalcy, it's essential to continue assessing and addressing the long-term impact of COVID-19 on student learning and well-being to ensure equitable access to quality education for all students.

STAFF NEEDS: The pandemic significantly impacted Kingdom East School District staffing in various ways, leading to teacher, substitute, and support staff shortages including teacher aides, bus drivers, cafeteria workers, and custodians. The staffing shortages continue to impact day-to-day operations, leading to increased workloads for existing staff and increased stress and burnout. Considering the increased strains on staff, hiring and attracting new teachers to our area and the teaching field continues to be challenging and we need to invest to attract, develop and retain high-quality staff.

FACILITY NEEDS: In addition to addressing the educational needs of our students, the Kingdom East School District is currently assessing the substantial facility needs of our seven schools. This comprehensive evaluation process is being conducted with the assistance of a dedicated Facilities Ad Hoc Committee, extensive community and school-level input, and with the assistance of gbA Architecture.The facility evaluation process aims to understand KESD's facility needs by fostering a transparent and inclusive approach. It seeks to propose short and long-term plans that fulfill not only the functional and safety needs of the district’s school buildings but also envision school facilities that will cultivate inviting and stimulating spaces where students, staff, and the community can thrive.

FY25 BUDGET: As the KESD board and voters consider the district's proposed FY25 budget, it's crucial to recognize the opportunity presented by Act 127 to continue providing engaging learning opportunities and support for our students, start to address the district's facility needs, all without over-burdening local taxpayers. This new opportunity also allows us to remain true to the district's strategic priorities to offer robust academics for all students, focus on our student's character development and strong social and emotional health, maintain strong community connections, and ensure effective and efficient resource management.

We encourage the community to participate in the process, inquire, and join us at budget information meetings. To be successful, it truly requires everyone’s collective collaboration to navigate the complexities ahead for the betterment of our students and communities.