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Chair of Barstow Unified Union School District Board highlights the need for additional guardrails on tuitioning

A letter to the Senate Committee on Committees

The ethics complaint alleges that Scott Beck used his position to pressure two school districts to consider closing their high schools.

Since our founding, Friends of Vermont Public Education has had one clear mission: to ensure that any school receiving public taxpayer funds adheres to the same rules, regulations, and standards established by Vermont law.

The Council of Independent Schools (CIS) monitors private and independent schools in Vermont.

Editor emeritus Emerson Lynn of the St. Albans Messenger notes that Sen President Pro Tem Baruth has a choice to make with the Senate appointments to the redistricting task force. Beck and Bongartz should not be among them.

Public school advocates worried that in the final days of negotiations about transforming how schools are financed and governed in Vermont, private schools got inordinate attention.

July 1 was a difficult day for public education in Vermont. But this fight isn’t over. Friends of Vermont Public Education will keep working to ensure that any school receiving public dollars follows public rules, serves all students, and answers to Vermonters.

The legislation has sparked debate over its impact on independent schools. Critics, such as Friends for Vermont Public Schools, argue these institutions disproportionately influenced the law.

The complaint alleges that two senators who voted for the education transformation bill, which Governor Scott plans to sign Tuesday, had conflicts of interest.

Geo Honigford, a member of the advocacy group Friends of Vermont Public Education, filed his complaint with the Senate Ethics Panel on Monday. It claims Sens. Seth Bongartz and Scott Beck, who played a key role crafting the sweeping education reform bill H. 454, violated state conflict of interest rules in their advocacy for private schools.

Ethics complaints filed with the Vermont Senate against Sens. Seth Bongartz, D-Bennington, and Scott Beck, R-Caledonia, allege they used their positions on a critical committee negotiating the final form of a wide-ranging education bill to advance provisions that benefited the private schools they are associated with.

More than 300 school districts joined the Vouchers Hurt Ohio Schools lawsuit, which argued that Ohio's system of providing more than $1 billion in funding each year to pay for parents to send their students to private schools was unconstitutional and furthered segregation.

The future of Vermont Public Education may be decided!

Friends board member Ken Fredette joins Dave Sharpe for another edition of Sharpe Takes

Any education transformation must benefit all Vermont students, and thoughtful work must be driven by the shared goals of education quality, equity, efficiency and sustainability, not private interests!

We have two education systems in Vermont. One for public schools and one for private schools.

Three upcoming sessions to provide feedback to the Commission on the Future of Public Education

Friends featured in latest 'Have You Heard' podcast

Our message: "Same Dollars, Same Rules"