Vermont school districts struggled more than usual to convince voters to approve budgets this spring as they faced double-digit property tax increases.
The increase was estimated , ultimately whittled down to 13.8%.
It all came to a head three months ago when Vermonters in nearly a third of the state鈥檚 school districts voted down their school budgets.
Two districts 鈥� Enosburgh Richford and Barre Unified Unified Union School District 鈥� still haven鈥檛 passed their budgets.
Because Vermont鈥檚 education funding is statewide, individual budget cuts don鈥檛 translate into comparable savings for taxpayers, putting school districts in a bind.
鈥淔or every dollar we cut from the school budget, St. Johnsbury saves about 20 cents. The state keeps the rest and uses it to lower taxes in other towns,鈥� said St. Johnsbury School Board Vice Chair Peter VanStraten in a letter to voters before a third (successful) budget vote. 鈥淭his is not a vote on what is happening in Montpelier. Please keep that for November.鈥�
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