Deja Vu All Over Again - 2/8/26

“It’s Deja Vu all over again!” 

That’s what Yogi Berra said after Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris hit back-to-back home runs. The Deja Vu of undermining and scapegoating school choice has returned to the statehouse in a big way. Act 73, which passed last session, is the structure for education reform in Vermont. It reduced the number of independent schools to 18 in the entire state, including the traditional “historic academies” like Burr and Burton. Not content to stop there, anti independent school forces are using  the necessary reform process to introduce completely unnecessary legislation to severely hamper the remaining independent schools. 

As I understand it, the newly presented language would effectively eliminate the ability for students to attend the Mountain School, Maple Street, and Long Trail for elementary and middle school using town tuition. And significantly limit which high school students could still attend Burr and Burton and Long Trail using town tuition. Public schools would be the default, and only if there were no public schools in reasonable proximity to the students home, could they attend an independent school. This is just proposed language and the process will be long, arduous and uncertain, but this gives you an idea of what I (and others trying to defend choice) are up against.  

• 4% of Vermont’s students attend a k-12 general education independent school.

• In fiscal year 2024, only 3% ($63 Million) of statewide education spending was used to tuition students to independent schools.

• The increase in statewide spending in FY27 alone will be $115 million. Independent schools are not significant cost drivers of the system. 

If you were turning around a business, would you undermine the 3-4% of your sales that are efficient and effective, or would you look at underperforming and expensive parts of your business to change? The cost drivers in education are 1) the number of people (one of the highest staff/student ratios in the nation), 2) health care costs (which are lower in independent schools who have more flexibility than public schools), 3) special education (which is a mess largely created by the Agency of Education’s poor implementation of a previous reform bill, and 4) capital costs for construction (Burr and Burton has invested over $40 million in privately raised money in capital projects in the last 20 years). Instead of learning from our best performing schools and governance models, powerful forces in the legislature are attempting to diminish them. I will be in touch when the time is right asking for your involvement to help bolster the choice system we so value. 

Health Care -

We have some good news on the health care front. As part of the big, bad bill that Congress passed last year, there was money allocated to rural health care. It was unclear what this meant, but details are now emerging. Vermont has been awarded $195 million for next year (pray that we actually get it). This will be very helpful as we work hard to create a health care insurance and delivery system that works for all Vermonters. I agree with the approach the state is taking, especially the emphasis on primary care.

For an overview slide deck on this effort:

https://ljfo.vermont.gov/assets/Meetings/Joint-Fiscal-Committee/2026-02-06/JFC-RHT-20260205.pdf 

For a more detailed look at potential projects:

https://healthcarereform.vermont.gov/sites/hcr/files/documents/Vermonts-Rural-Health-Transformation-%28RHT%29-Program-Application-Activity-Details-12052025.pdf 

Rural Housing and Permitting - 

In 2024, the legislature passed a long overdue update to Vermont’s iconic and maligned Act 250 which has governed land use in the state for decades. Act 250 has been very good for Vermont on many levels, and it needed reform and updating to allow Vermoters to develop their properties in a reasonable and cost-effective manner - including building much needed housing. Act 181 is dividing up the state into tiers of land - some where restrictions will be lifted and others where restrictions will be tightened. You should be aware of this as it will impact your property and your town. Draft maps are being developed now. It has become apparent already that some tweaks are needed to Act 181 to better protect rural landowners, a short article on this here. The Rural Caucus, of which I am a member, has introduced a bill to slow implementation to some of 181 so we can better assess the impacts on rural Vermonters. 

The Caucus for Vermont’s Economy -

This new caucus, which I am helping to run, already has a robust membership and is being engaged with by advocates and key Vermont organizations quite actively. Last week we held a listing session with the outdoor recreation business community, which brings in over $2 Billion a year to Vermont. Continuing our emphasis on pushing state government to improve its customer service, we heard from the Department of Environmental Conservation on how they are proposing to reform their entire permitting structure over 2026. For any of you who have dealt with DEC on wetlands or wastewater issues, you understand the dire need for this reform. I am pushing hard for them to move from a protection/harassment mindset to a service mindset. Fortunately, the new Commissioner, Misty Sinsigalli, seems to get this need and the plan looks good. Stay tuned.

Please let me know your thoughts,

Representative Chris Morrow

morrowforvt@gmail.com