Debate on Vermont House Bill 483 concerning funding for independent schools that accept public tuition has been very active, and a vote in the full house has been pushed until this Wednesday. House members have received a lot of input and resistance from advocates of school choice in tuitioning towns. Some proposed amendments have softened a few of the provisions, but overall the bill remains a big threat.
Let's keep the pressure on... we need to push back against policies that threaten schools like Compass.
It seems that some in the legislature and in the public debate are grouping schools like Compass (which have open, nondiscriminatory enrollment, special education, and a high level of low income families) with private schools that tend to be selective and serve higher income families.
We need our legislators to hear about the ways Compass provides an important educational choice in our region, and how we need to refrain from creating policies that will squeeze out schools like Compass.
We invite all in our community to reach out immediately to our House legislators and urge them to vote "no" on H483:
You can use the following tool to look up your representative(s) and click on their names to view them in the state’s legislative directory.
You can also leave messages for individual lawmakers by dialing the Statehouse switchboard at 802-828-2228. Give the lawmaker’s name, say you are a constituent and ask for your message to be delivered to them.
Eric Rhomberg
Director
Compass School
www.compass-school.org