Public education in Vermont

K-12 education in Vermont

Education facts

State superintendent: Zoie Saunders

Number of students: 83,534

Number of teachers: 6,761

Teacher/pupil ratio: 1:12.3

Number of school districts: 98

Number of schools: 293

Graduation rate: 85%

Per-pupil spending: $20,838

See also

Vermont Agency of Education • List of school districts in Vermont • Vermont • School boards portal

Public education in the United States Public education in Vermont Glossary of education terms

Note: These statistics are mainly from government sources, including the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Center for Education Statistics. Figures given were the most recent as of October 2022.

The Vermont public school system (prekindergarten through grade 12) operates within districts governed by locally elected school boards and superintendents. In 2022, Vermont had 83,534 students enrolled in a total of 293 schools in 98 school districts. There were 6,761 teachers in the public schools, or roughly one teacher for every 12 students, compared to the national average of 1:16. In 2020, Vermont spent on average $20,838 per pupil. The state's graduation rate was 85 percent in the 2018-2019 school year.

General information

See also: General comparison table for education statistics in the 50 states and Education spending per pupil in all 50 states

The following chart shows how Vermont compares to the national level for the most recent years for which data is available.

Public education in Vermont
State	Schools	Districts	Students	Teachers	Teacher to pupil ratio	Per pupil spending*
Vermont	293	98	83,534	6,761	1:12.3	$20,838
United States	90,323	13,194	47,755,383	2,783,705	1:16	$13,494
*Per pupil spending data reflects information reported for fiscal year 2020. Sources: Education statistics in the United States U.S. Census Bureau, "U.S. School System Current Spending Per Pupil by Region: Fiscal Year 2020" National Center for Education Statistics, "Fast Facts: High school graduation rates"

Academic performance

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Education terms
For more information on education policy terms, see this article.
School board elections portal Glossary of education terms School choice on the ballot Education on the ballot

NAEP scores

See also: NAEP scores by state

The National Center for Education Statistics provides state-by-state data on student achievement levels in mathematics and reading in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The table below presents the percentage of fourth and eighth grade students that scored at or above proficient in reading and math during school year 2012-2013. Compared to three neighboring states (Maine, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire), Vermont had the second-smallest share of fourth grade students who scored at or above proficient in math.

Percent of students scoring at or above proficient, 2012-2013
	Math - Grade 4	Math - Grade 8	Reading - Grade 4	Reading - Grade 8
Vermont	52%	47%	42%	45%
Maine	47%	40%	37%	38%
Massachusetts	58%	55%	47%	48%
New Hampshire	59%	47%	45%	44%
United States	41%	34%	34%	34%
Source: United States Department of Education, ED Data Express, "State Tables"

Graduation, ACT and SAT scores

See also: Graduation rates by groups in state and ACT and SAT scores in the United States

The following table shows the graduation rates and average composite ACT and SAT scores for Vermont and surrounding states during the 2012-2013 school year. All statements made in this section refer to that school year.

In the United States, public schools reported graduation rates that averaged to about 81.4 percent. About 54 percent of all students in the country took the ACT, while 50 percent reported taking the SAT. The average national composite scores for those tests were 20.9 out of a possible 36 for the ACT, and 1498 out of a possible 2400 for the SAT.

Vermont schools reported a graduation rate of 86.6 percent during the 2012-2013 school year, second highest among neighboring states.

In Vermont, more students took the SAT than the ACT in 2013, earning an average SAT score of 1540.

Comparison table for graduation rates and test scores, 2012-2013
State	Graduation rate, 2013		Average ACT composite, 2013		Average SAT composite, 2013
	Percent	Quintile ranking**	Score	Participation rate	Score	Participation rate
Vermont	86.6%	First	23	26%	1540	61%
Maine	86.4%	First	23.5	8%	1380	95%
Massachusetts	85%	Second	24.1	22%	1553	83%
New Hampshire	87.3%	First	23.8	19%	1567	70%
United States	81.4%		20.9	54%	1498	50%
**Graduation rates for states in the first quintile ranked in the top 20 percent nationally. Similarly, graduation rates for states in the fifth quintile ranked in the bottom 20 percent nationally. Sources: United States Department of Education, "ED Data Express" ACT.org, "2013 ACT National and State Scores" The Commonwealth Foundation, "SAT scores by state, 2013"

Dropout rate

See also: Public high school dropout rates by state for a full comparison of dropout rates by group in all states

The high school event dropout rate indicates the proportion of students who were enrolled at some time during the school year and were expected to be enrolled in grades nine through 12 in the following school year but were not enrolled by October 1 of the following school year. Students who have graduated, transferred to another school, died, moved to another country, or who are out of school due to illness are not considered dropouts. The average public high school event dropout rate for the United States remained constant at 3.3 percent for both school year 2010–2011 and school year 2011–2012. The event dropout rate for Vermont was lower than the national average at 2.5 percent in the 2010-2011 school year, and 2.5 percent in the 2011-2012 school year.

Educational choice options

See also: School choice in Vermont

As of June 2015, school choice options in Vermont included a school voucher program, an inter-district open enrollment policy and an online learning program. In addition, about 10.59 percent of school-age children in the state attended private schools in the 2011-2012 academic year, and an estimated 2.67 percent were homeschooled in 2012-2013.

Developments

Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue (2020)

Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue
Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue
Media coverage and commentary
U.S. Supreme Court 2019-2020 term
Blaine Amendment (U.S. Constitution)
Blaine amendments in state constitutions
School choice on the ballot
Education on the ballot

See also: Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue

On June 30, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, which concerned whether the government can exclude religious institutions from student-aid programs. The case related to Article X, Section 6 of the Montana Constitution, also known as Montana’s Blaine Amendment.

In its 5-4 opinion, the court held that the application of Article X, Section 6 violated the free exercise clause of the U.S. Constitution. The majority held Article X, Section 6 barred religious schools and parents who wished to send their children to those schools from receiving public benefits because of the religious character of the school.

The case addressed the tension between the free exercise and Establishment clauses of the U.S. Constitution—where one guarantees the right of individuals' free exercise of religion and the other guarantees that the state won't establish a religion—and the intersections of state constitutions with state law and with the U.S. Constitution.

Vermont is not one of the states with a Blaine Amendment.

Education funding and expenditures

See also: Vermont state budget and finances

Breakdown of expenditures by function in fiscal year 2013
Source: National Association of State Budget Officers

According to the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO), states spent an average of 19.8 percent of their total budgets on elementary and secondary education during fiscal year 2013. In addition, the United States Census Bureau found that approximately 45.6 percent of the country's school system revenue came from state sources, while about 45.3 percent came from local sources. The remaining portion of school system revenue came from federal sources.

Vermont spent approximately 32 percent of its budget on elementary and secondary education during fiscal year 2013. School system revenue came primarily from state funds. Vermont spent a greater percentage of its total budget on public education than any of its neighboring states.

Comparison of financial figures for school systems, fiscal year 2013
State	Percentage of budget	Per pupil spending	Revenue sources
			Percent federal funds	Percent state funds	Percent local funds
Vermont	32%	$16,377	7.1%	88.4%	4.5%
Maine	16.9%	$12,147	7.5%	40.2%	52.3%
Massachusetts	11.2%	$14,515	5.1%	40.2%	54.7%
New Hampshire	23.4%	$13,721	5.7%	35.5%	58.8%
United States	19.8%	$10,700	9.1%	45.6%	45.3%
Sources: NASBO, "State Expenditure Report" (Table 8). U.S. Census Bureau, "Public Education Finances: 2013, Economic Reimbursable Surveys Division Reports" (Table 5 and Table 8).

Revenue breakdowns

See also: Public school system revenues in the U.S. to compare all states.

According to the United States Census Bureau, public school system revenues totaled approximately $598 billion in fiscal year 2013.

In Vermont, the primary source of school system revenue was state funding during fiscal year 2013, at $1.4 billion. Vermont was the only state, when compared to its neighbors, to receive such a large percentage of its total revenue from state sources.

Revenues by source, fiscal year 2013 (amounts in thousands)
State	Federal revenue	State revenue	Local revenue	Total revenue
Vermont	$114,697	$1,431,621	$72,591	$1,618,909
Maine	$196,466	$1,046,527	$1,361,267	$2,604,260
Massachusetts	$818,054	$6,428,534	$8,732,961	$15,979,549
New Hampshire	$163,890	$1,020,089	$1,691,687	$2,875,666
United States	$54,367,305	$272,916,892	$270,645,402	$597,929,599
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "Public Education Finances: 2013, Economic Reimbursable Surveys Division Reports" (Table 1)

Expenditure breakdowns

See also: Public school system expenditures in the United States

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, public school system expenditures totaled approximately $602 billion in fiscal year 2012.

Public education expenditures in Vermont totaled approximately $1.6 billion in fiscal year 2012. Vermont reported the lowest total public education expenditures when compared to its neighboring states.

Expenditures by type, fiscal year 2012 (amounts in thousands)
State	General expenditures	Capital outlay	Other	Total expenditures
Vermont	$1,497,093	$46,008	$25,192	$1,568,294
Maine	$2,330,842	$121,420	$83,940	$2,536,202
Massachusetts	$14,151,659	$1,117,723	$302,920	$15,572,302
New Hampshire	$2,643,256	$159,997	$52,826	$2,856,080
United States	$527,096,473	$48,773,386	$25,897,123	$601,766,981
Source: National Center for Education Statistics, "Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Education: School Year 2011–12 (Fiscal Year 2012)" (Table 5)

Personnel salaries

See also: Public school teacher salaries in the United States

Note: Salaries given are averages for the state. Salaries may vary between a state's urban, suburban, and rural districts and should be adjusted for cost of living. For example, a MacIver Institute study of average teacher salaries in 60 metropolitan areas found that salaries in New York City were the third-highest in absolute figures but 59th-highest when adjusted for the cost of living.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the average national salary for classroom teachers in public elementary and secondary schools declined by 1.3 percent from the 1999-2000 school year to the 2012-2013 school year. During the same period in Vermont, the average salary increased by 1.8 percent.

Estimated average salaries for teachers (in constant dollars**)
	1999-2000	2009-2010	2011-2012	2012-2013	Percent difference
Vermont	$51,600	$52,394	$52,160	$52,526	1.8%
Maine	$48,597	$49,216	$48,126	$48,119	-1%
Massachusetts	$63,656	$73,945	$72,915	$73,129	14.9%
New Hampshire	$51,567	$54,912	$55,079	$55,599	7.8%
United States	$57,133	$58,925	$56,340	$56,383	-1.3%
**"Constant dollars based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), prepared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, adjusted to a school-year basis. The CPI does not account for differences in inflation rates from state to state."

Organizations

State agencies

See also: Vermont Agency of Education

The mission statement of the Vermont Agency of Education reads:

“

The Vermont State Board of Education and Agency of Education provide leadership, support, and oversight to ensure that the Vermont public education system enables all students to be successful.

”

The Agency of Education is led by the Secretary of Education. The Secretary of Education is appointed by the governor from a list of candidates provided by the State Board of Education. The appointment is subject to confirmation by the state senate. Rebecca Holcombe was appointed to he position in 2014.

The State Board of Education is "responsible for the establishment, advancement, and evaluation of public education policy." The board is composed of 11 members appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the state senate. Of these 11 members, two are student representatives (one of whom has voting power, the other of whom does not). The Secretary of Education also serves as a non-voting member of the board.

Unions

In 2012 the Fordham Institute and Education Reform Now assessed the power and influence of state teacher unions in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Their rankings were based on 37 different variables in five broad areas: resources and membership, involvement in politics, scope of bargaining, state policies and perceived influence. Vermont ranked 11th overall for union power and influence, or "strong," which was in the second of five tiers.

The main union related to the Vermont school system is the United Professions of Vermont, an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers. For the 2003 tax period the union had: $733,618 in total revenue, $722,733 in total expenses and $54.758 in total assets. Another statewide union is the Vermont-National Education Association.

List of local Vermont school unions:

• United Professions of Vermont
• Vermont-National Education Association
• AFT Burlington
• AFT Barton
• AFT Brattleboro
• South Burlington Educators Association
• Windham Southeast Education Association
• Colchester Education Association
• Orleans Central Education Association

Government sector lobbying

See also: Vermont government sector lobbying

The main education government sector lobbying organization is the Vermont School Boards Association.

Transparency

The state's official spending transparency website can be accessed here.

Studies and reports

Quality Counts 2014

See also: Education Week survey

Education Week, a publication that reports on many education issues throughout the country, began using an evaluation system in 1997 to grade each state on various elements of education performance. This system, called Quality Counts, uses official data on performance from each state to generate report cards for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The report card in 2014 uses six different categories:

1. Chance for success
2. K-12 achievement
3. Standards, assessments and accountability
4. The teaching profession
5. School finance
6. Transitions and alignment

Each of these six categories had a number of other elements that received individual scores. Those scores were then averaged and used to determine the final score in each category. Every state received two types of scores for each of the six major categories: A numerical score out of 100 and a letter grade based on that score. Education Week used the score for the first category, "chance for success," as the value for ranking each state and the District of Columbia. The average grade received in the entire country was 77.3, or a C+ average. The country's highest average score was in the category of "standards, assessments and accountability" at 85.3, or a B average. The lowest average score was in "K-12 achievement", at 70.2, or a C- average.

Vermont received a score of 86.4, or a B average in the "chance for success" category. This was above the national average. Aside from the "chance for success" category, the state's highest score was in "school finance" at 86.0, or a B average. The lowest score was in "the teaching profession" at 70.6, or a C- average. Vermont had the seventh highest score in the "chance for success" category in the country. The chart below displays the scores of Vermont and its surrounding states.

Note: Click on a column heading to sort the data.

Public education report cards, 2014
State	Chance for success	K-12 achievement	Standards, assessments and accountability	The teaching profession	School finance	Transitions and alignment
Vermont	86.4 (B)	77.3 (C+)	82.7 (B)	70.6 (C-)	86.0 (B)	71.4 (C-)
Maine	78.8 (C+)	72.6 (C)	69.6 (C-)	67.8 (D+)	83.9 (B)	82.1 (B-)
Massachusetts	91.4 (A-)	83.7 (B)	88.4 (B+)	78.7 (C+)	83.5 (B)	75.0 (C)
New Hampshire	88.0 (B+)	78.8 (C+)	76.0 (C)	63.9 (D)	81.4 (B-)	78.6 (C+)
United States	77.3 (C+)	70.2 (C-)	85.3 (B)	72.5 (C)	75.5 (C)	81.1 (B-)
Source: Education Week, "Quality Counts 2014" A full discussion of how these numbers were generated can be found here.

State Budget Solutions education study

See also: State spending on education v. academic performance (2012)

State Budget Solutions examined national trends in education from 2009 to 2011, including state-by-state analysis of education spending, graduation rates and average ACT scores. The study showed that the states that spent the most did not have the highest average ACT test scores, nor did they have the highest average graduation rates. A summary of the study is available here. The full report can be accessed here.

School districts

See also: School board elections portal

District types

Vermont contains multiple types of school districts described below:

• Town or city school district: A school district operated within the confines of a single town or city.
• Joint contract board: A legal mechanism whereby multiple school districts maintain their own school boards but also operate a joint board that coordinates certain educational programs.
• Union school district: A combination of two or more school districts that agree to own and maintain a common group of schools. In this district type, each district maintains a local school board.
• Unified union school district: A combination of two or more school districts that agree to own and maintain a common group of schools. In this district type, participating districts elect representatives to a single school board.
• Interstate school district: A district that serves students in neighboring towns in New Hampshire and Vermont.

School districts employing 40 or fewer teachers are members of supervisory unions, which are overseen by a superintendent of schools.

School board composition

Vermont school board members are generally elected by residents of the school district, although some school board members are appointed to fill vacancies until the next election for the seat is held. Vermont school board elections typically follow one of these two methods, or a mixture thereof:

• At-large: All voters residing in the school district may vote for any candidates running, regardless of geographic location.
• Trustee area: Only voters residing in a specific geographic area within the school district may vote on certain candidates, who must also reside in that specific geographic area.

School board membership ranges from three members to 14 members. Board members serve terms of one, two or three years.

Term limits

Vermont does not impose statewide term limits on school board members. However, terms limits on school board members can still be imposed on the local level.

Elections

See also: Vermont school board elections, 2025

No Vermont school districts within Ballotpedia's coverage scope are holding school board elections in 2025.

Our coverage scope for local elections continues to grow, and you can use Ballotpedia's sample ballot tool to see what school board elections we are covering in your area.

Path to the ballot

To qualify for the ballot as a school board candidate in Vermont, a person must be nominated by a voter in the school district by the sixth Monday prior to the election. The nominating voter must submit at least 30 signatures from district residents to the local elections clerk. A nominated candidate must indicate consent to appear on the ballot by the Wednesday after the nomination was submitted.

Campaign finance

State law requires candidates who have received or spent $500 or more prior to an election to register with the Vermont Secretary of State. A registered candidate must submit campaign finance reports twice before the election and a post-election report two weeks after the general election.

Recent legislation

The following is a list of recent education bills that have been introduced in or passed by the Vermont state legislature. To learn more about each of these bills, click the bill title. This information is provided by BillTrack50 and LegiScan.

Note: Due to the nature of the sorting process used to generate this list, some results may not be relevant to the topic. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation pertaining to this topic has been introduced in the legislature recently.

Education ballot measures

See also: Education on the ballot and List of Vermont ballot measures

Ballotpedia has tracked the following statewide ballot measures relating to education.

1. Vermont Joint School Maintenance by Towns Amendment, Article 41 (1954)
2. Vermont Maintenance of Schools Amendment (1964)

In the news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Vermont education policy. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Public education in Vermont - Google News

See also

• Historical public education information in Vermont
• Vermont state budget and finances
• Vermont Department of Education
• List of school districts in Vermont
• Vermont
• Education Policy in the U.S.

External links

• Vermont Agency of Education
  • Data and reports
• Vermont State Board of Education

Footnotes

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