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Our Vermont legislators recently commissioned a state-of-the-art study to investigate how best to apportion funds to schools equitably. Unfortunately for the students of Vermont, it detailed serious inequities in school funding. What this study unveiled was an outdated distribution of funds to its districts. For 20 years the tax structure in Vermont has skewed away from fully supporting our most vulnerable students and families. Nearly 60 percent of Vermont schools have had their equalized students undercounted, some by more than 20 percent. This has led to higher tax rates and fewer resources for these schools. This has left lasting scars on our kids, and the deepest scars are in the poorest school districts.
The future of Project VISION might be more secure after the announcement Thursday, during their December meeting, of new leader Mark Stockton, owner of Stockton Security and a public figure known for the âStuff a Cruiserâ food drive and winning the âNewlyâwed Game last year, also to benefit food shelves.
In October, Joe Kraus, who had been the only chairman for VISION since it started, announced he would step down after this monthâs meeting.
VISION is run by the Rutland City Police Department but depends on volunteers in its mission to promote and support Rutland and the Rutland area in a positive way. Formed at a time when the opioid crisis was prominent, including an article in the New York Times, VISION was created by then acting RCPD chief James Baker who wanted to organize volunteers to bring greater hope to the community.