Letter to the editor: Rep. Elder explains his bid for Senate seat
My name is Caleb Elder and I’m running to represent Addison County, Rochester, Huntington and Buel’s Gore in the Vermont Senate. For the past six years I have represented four Addison County towns in the Vermont House. In that time I have served on the Education, Ways and Means and Housing committees. Prior to my time in the House, I served on local school boards, and for the past four years I have been the House’s board member for the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation. I think about the Vermont Education system all the time, and I’m acutely aware of the huge challenges we face right now.
One reason I’m focused on our school system is that my oldest daughter is getting ready for her first year in our public elementary school come September. So exciting! And yet, it took three attempts to pass our budget and then it was a nail-biter whether the state would actually be able to set a yield to fund the schools. I voted to override the governor on the yield bill, not because the tax increases are acceptable to me, but because to go past July 1 without a yield is wildly irresponsible governance. With that being said, as I look ahead to the next 12 budget cycles needed for my oldest child to complete high school, I know that we’ll need structural change to get through those years. I am running for state senate, for the opportunity to deeply engage in the work needed to stabilize our entire education system.
Our public education system faces pressures of its own, different from our childcare system, or our colleges and universities. And yet, all of these challenges have related causes and, I believe, related solutions. For too long, we have fragmented our efforts to care for our children while educating them for the life ahead. These fragmented attempts are no longer sufficient, and need to be unified. I’ll provide a few example:
• Since the pandemic, we have seen an increase in social and emotional health needs in our schools. With the retreat of federal monies, these costs are impacting school budgets. Some estimate that this “shift” is around $25 million in FY ’24. Efforts, such as the community school pilot in Vergennes, show us that wrap-around services in schools are a huge support to students and their families. However, these costs can’t be borne by the school budgets alone. We need to redesign certain services under the Agency of Human Services budgets so that they are literally located in the schools. We have the space, but we need more help all under one roof.
• The FY ’24 school budgets saw a one-year increase of $50 million in teacher healthcare, bringing the new total to $300 million per year. This is equivalent to adding a new child tax credit program every year, with no additional benefit. It’s completely unsustainable. Interestingly, this pool of teacher healthcare is actually self-insuring, which means $300 million is the amount actually to be spent statewide. And yet, we have no cost controls to ensure that we’re paying the same price for the same procedure statewide. I believe we can drive some more competitiveness and transparency into the healthcare market by setting standard rates for this pool of money, statewide.
• Traditional higher education is also highly challenged, by some of the same demographic factors affecting preK-12 schools. However, we have some post-secondary programs that are thriving, such as technical degrees in engineering and nursing. Additionally, the value of non-degree programs is growing every year, and this area is so ripe for collaboration with the private sector. From construction, to robotics, to aeronautics, there are so many places to partner with the private sector on technical education while reinforcing exciting careers paths for our kids, made right here in Vermont.
• Finally, I know that we need tax relief. Property tax payers are struggling to keep up with the meteoric rise of school budgets and they require action. One approach I would favor is actually removing education funding from residential property tax bills altogether. This was a recommendation of the Tax Structure Commission from a few years ago. While the idea was quickly dismissed by a joint study committee, I believe that was a mistake. Our current system is already “income based” but is inordinately complex. Additionally, progressivity of this system is capped, arbitrarily, at about $140,000 in household income. If elected, I would push to re-examine this concept since I believe it has merit and could bring real relief to fixed-income homeowners.
It has been my honor to represent the Addison-4 district in the Vermont House for six years. Now, I’m applying for the job of Senator for this great district. Addison County has an important role to play in Montpelier. We have much to be proud of, and to share with the rest of the state. We have a proud tradition of excellent public schools, high-quality early childcare centers, thriving farms and deep connection with our woods, fields and streams. I believe I can represent our people well, and to help animate the notion of what Freedom and Unity can really mean, for us and our children. To quote Gary Snyder, we should, “stay together, learn the flowers, go light.” For with lightness comes joy and possibility, two things we will need to carry with us into our shared future.
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