In terms of the bill S. 209 that passed the Senate, my testimony today is about protecting children/students in our schools and making sure school employees know what they can and cannot do. (Full Written Testimony)

On behalf of the Vermont School Boards Association (VSBA), the Vermont Principals Association (VPA), and the Vermont Superintendents Association (VSA), thank you for the opportunity to testify on draft bill 26-0802, an act related to the provision of publicly funded prekindergarten education.

Full Written Testimony

VPA School Leaders of the Year Awards Announcement:

The Vermont Principals’ Association (VPA) is pleased to announce the 2026-2027 School Leaders of the Year recipients. These leaders will be honored at the VPA Leadership Academy awards banquet on August 5, 2026.vThe honorees were selected by the VPA Executive Council from written submissions to the VPA.

The National Association of Secondary School Principals Vermont Assistant Principal of the Year is Karyn Stannard . Ms. Stannard is the Assistant Principal at Mill River Union High School in North Clarendon.

The National Association of Secondary School Principals Vermont High School Principal of the Year is  Jason Gingold. Mr. Gingold is the principal of Montpelier High School.

The Robert F. Pierce Vermont High School Principal of the Year is Michael Ruppel.  Mr.Ruppel is the principal of Otter Valley Union Middle High School in Brandon.

The National Association of Elementary School Principals Vermont Elementary School Principal of the Year is Thomas Walsh. Mr. Walsh is the elementary principal at Bellows Free Academy, Fairfax.

The Henry Giaguque Vermont Elementary Principal of the Year is Vernita Vallez . Ms. Vallez is the principal of Morristown Elementary in Morrisville.

The Vermont Career Center Director of the Year is Nancy Wiese. Ms. Wiese is the Director of the Windham Regional Career Center in Brattleboro. Please join us in congratulating all of these outstanding school leaders!

Dear Senate Pro Tem Baruth and Esteemed Members of the Vermont Senate, The Vermont School Boards Association, Vermont Superintendents Association, and Vermont Principals’ Association write in response to your work and vote on S.220. (Full Senate Letter) (Full House Letter)

The Education Mid-Session Legislative Report is now available. This information was current through 3/15/26. There are 21 summaries of education related discussions and/or bill proposals from the Vermont 2026 Legislative Session. View Report Here

Thank you for your work on S.206 and your attention to Vermont’s early childhood workforce. The VPA supports the goal of strengthening this workforce and ensuring high‐quality care and education for our youngest learners. Our concern is that, as drafted, S.206 creates two parallel licensure systems with overlapping titles that do not reflect the very different levels of preparation behind those titles. Full Written Testimony (Sent to both The Senate Committee on Health and Welfare & The Senate Committee on Government Operations)

VERMONT-NEA/VERMONT SCHOOL BOARDS ASSOCIATION/VERMONT SUPERINTENDENTS ASSOCITION/VERMONT PRINCIPALS’ ASSOCIATION

March 2, 2026

For Immediate Release

Contact:

Darren Allen, Vermont-NEA, 802-839-8618

Jay Nichols, Vermont Principals’ Association, 802-782-4629

Chelsea Myers, Vermont Superintendents Association, 802-318-1814

Sue Ceglowski, Vermont School Boards Association, 802-275-8666

Public Education Advocates Decry Scott’s Anti-School Board Rhetoric

Governor’s rejection of his town’s budget is counterproductive political stunt

MONTPELIER – Organizations representing educators, principals, superintendents, and local school boards condemned Gov. Phil Scott’s years-long practice of announcing how he will vote on his local school budget, calling it a political stunt with serious consequences.

“Given the influence your words carry across Vermont and especially within your hometown, I am concerned about the impact of your statement,” said Flor Diaz Smith, chair of the Washington Central School Board and president of the Vermont School Boards Association. “Your comments focused primarily on property taxes, without reference to the academic, social and emotional needs of our students and families.”

Diaz Smith’s comments were echoed by the Vermont Superintendents Association, the Vermont Principals’ Association, and the union representing the majority of public-school employees.

Scott’s very public repudiation of local school boards and the tough decisions they balance when preparing budgets is in service of an agenda that would significantly shift decision-making away from local communities, impose sweeping arbitrary consolidation, and further hamstring funding without addressing the root causes driving costs, according to Don Tinney, a high school English teacher who serves as president of the 13,000-member Vermont-NEA.

“There isn’t a single school board in Vermont that doesn’t carefully craft budgets that meet the needs of their communities’ children,” he said. “By very publicly denouncing the efforts of the school board in his own community, he is clearly hoping other voters go along with him.” Tinney said that while the governor – like all Vermonters – has the right to vote as he wishes, his very public “no” vote does nothing to serve the needs of Vermont’s students.

Superintendents – who, among other responsibilities, carry out the policies of school boards – also condemned Scott’s all-but tacit call for all Vermonters to vote down their budgets tomorrow.

“Our focus remains where it always has been — on students,” said Amy Minor, president of the Vermont Superintendents Association. “School boards and superintendents engage in months of thoughtful, transparent discussions to balance student needs with fiscal responsibility.

“It is difficult to square repeated calls for fiscal restraint and economic growth with a pattern of public criticism unaccompanied by meaningful, collaborative solutions. After nearly a decade in office, Vermonters deserve leadership that advances those goals in partnership with local communities. Strong schools are essential to strong communities and a strong economy.”

The principals’ association said the governor’s remarks are disappointing and counterproductive, especially coming days before Vermonters head to Town Meeting on Tuesday. “Vermonters support local school budgets because they trust their teachers, principals and school board members. This trust is built on relationships forged in doing the hard work of providing our systems with the resources we need at a price that local communities can afford,” said Chris Young, president of the Vermont Principals’ Association. “It is disappointing and counterproductive for the governor to use his considerable power to divide communities and the state at a time in which school board members, superintendents, principals, and teachers are working so hard to address the increasing needs of Vermont students.” 

The groups noted that the governor has already admonished lawmakers that he will cast future “no” votes if they don’t put the state’s public education system on the path he prefers. During his budget address, he made it clear he will veto the state budget and the annual school spending bill if they don’t contain all the elements of his “reform” roadmap.

“As people who care deeply about the success of Vermont’s students and the strength of Vermont’s communities, we all would prefer that the governor work alongside us to ensure that all students get the free, quality public education guaranteed by our Constitution,” Tinney said.

The organizations call on the governor to lead by example, to bring Vermonters together rather than deepen divisions, and to work in true partnership with the legislature and local communities.

# # #

Darren M. Allen (he/him)

Communications Director | Vermont-NEA

802.839.8618

@vermontnea

The first point I’d like to make is that if we are going to have a conversation about 1752 the proper venue for that would be the House Education Committee. A change of this magnitude should not occur as an amendment to a bill that has nothing to do with public education. There are valid points on both sides of the issue on whether teachers should be required to fulfill contractual obligations as well as whether school districts should be required to fulfill those same requirements. (full written testimony)

February 10, 2026 – First 2026 Legislative Session Report 

Thank you for the opportunity to testify on the initial map draft presented by House Education Chair, Peter Conlon, last week. I want to first of all, thank Representative Conlon for putting out a thoughtful map for his committee (and obviously many other Vermonters including Senate Education) to consider. It is hard to tell where we are going to end up in terms of governance constructs related to Act 73; and, I’ve heard many times, including from members of this committee, that maps have to come before other aspects of the transformational change. Although I am not sure that is necessarily the case, having a map to react to certainly is a place to start. (Full Written Testimony)