Leadership Matters
Study this chart. It tells a very important story. It plots the key education system metrics of all 50 states on two axes. States with higher spending per student are to the right, lower spending is to the left. Better performance is up, worse performance is down. The size of the circle represents the number of students. Colors indicate geographic location. Upper left is good (high performance at low cost). Bottom right is bad (poor performance at high cost). Vermont is ALONE at the bottom right. We’re not just bad, we’re TERRIBLE!
This is KILLING Vermont. It’s driving up housing costs by driving up property taxes to pay for education. Vermont’s businesses are not getting the skilled graduates they need. Even Vermont’s roads and bridges are suffering the effects of transportation funds being diverted to pay for education. None of Vermont’s other problems can be solved while every available dollar is being absorbed by our failed education system.
The people who put us in the bottom right hand corner of this chart are NOT the people who can get us out of it. Bad leadership puts forth bad policy that destroys organizations. Bad leadership focuses on the wrong things. I’ve personally witnessed bad leadership cause a profitable business to be put on the chopping block and a school with a long history of success to close. And I’ve also witnessed good leadership take those same organizations, with the same people and same opportunities, to reach new heights of success. Leadership matters. Our Vermont education system funding and structure is the direct responsibility of our State Legislature. Over the past 30 years, our Vermont Legislature has destroyed our education system. Leadership matters. It’s time for new leadership. Democrats have held the majority in Vermont’s Legislature for 40 years. It’s time to give the Vermont Republicans the reins.
This session, the Governor and Republican legislators put forth real solutions for education transformation in committees and negotiations. The final result achieved a majority of those goals, but with an additional year delay and further approvals required before the critical cost saving structural changes and foundation formula go into effect in July 2029.
Vermont has problems. Vermont Republicans have solutions.
Stay tuned and stay engaged.
I remain honored to be your Representative,
Rob North
Addison, Ferrisburgh, New Haven, Panton, Vergennes, and Waltham
