MONTPELIER – On the House Education Committee, we’ve been laying out the different paths Vermont could take when it comes to education reform.
This month, we’ll begin exploring possible district maps that would plan for larger, more consolidated systems. At the same time, I will continue to strongly advocate for Cooperative Education Service Agreements (CESAs), as recommended by the redistricting task force.
I believe CESAs offer the best path forward for saving money through shared contracts and services but without disrupting rural communities, disenfranchising local school boards or putting small schools on a path toward closure.
No decision has been made yet, and it would be helpful for our community to weigh in on this debate by following along and writing to members of the House Committee on Education.
We are also discussing broader governance questions, including whether larger, more regionalized districts should operate as supervisory unions or supervisory districts, whether any mergers should be voluntary or mandatory, and if mandatory, how they might be incentivized.
I’m grateful to the many community members who have already weighed in on these important questions.
In January, during NEK Day at the State House, I spoke at the Northeast Kingdom press conference in strong support of our small schools. I was thrilled to see such a strong turnout this year. NEK Day was very well attended, and it truly felt like a powerful moment for the Kingdom.
Beyond education, I am supporting a number of other initiatives this session. I have cosponsored multiple bills aimed at ensuring immigration enforcement in Vermont is legal, ethical and constitutional.
These include legislation to prohibit ICE agents from wearing masks to obscure their identities during arrests; strengthen protections for schools, hospitals, places of worship and other sensitive locations by requiring a warrant for entry; protect private data, including immigration status and help fund legal representation for individuals arrested for civil immigration violations.
The House also passed a resolution (H.R. 12) supporting Governor Phil Scott’s call on our congressional delegation to defund ICE and to address the violence and due process violations caused by unconstitutional immigration enforcement across our country. I truly believe this is a moment to draw a moral line in the sand: whether we lead with compassion and empathy for all people, or continue down a path that undermines our national values and our relationships with former global allies. Only one path is the right choice, and history will remember.
I hope we will all stand together on this.
Affordability remains a major focus for all legislators as well. We continue to work on expanding middle- and low-income housing options that make sense for rural Vermont, and on redesigning our property tax and education funding systems, which are two of the biggest challenges facing our communities right now. Particularly within the Rural Caucus, we are working on updates to Act 250 regulations that are more responsive to the needs of rural communities, as well as examining which unnecessary or outdated regulatory barriers could be amended to enable more rural housing development. Stay tuned.
This week, I will be testifying before the Agency of Natural Resources on the importance of adopting new wake boat rules for small lakes. These proposed rules would prohibit wake boats to a 100-acre zone (it was previously 50 acres), which would prohibit them from operating on Lake Parker and Shadow Lake in Glover, but still leaves other slightly larger small lakes vulnerable to wake boats, and so I remain committed to continuing the fight to protect Caspian Lake in Greensboro. The reality is that most Vermont lakes are too small for wake sports, and many lake communities have invested years of effort protecting their waters from invasive species. I want to keep our small lakes safe for families, children, paddlers, swimmers and wildlife.
Leanne Harple represents Orleans-4 District (Glover, Craftsbury, Albany and Greensboro) in the Vermont Legislature.
Rep. Leanne Harple
Leanne Harple represents Orleans-4, the towns of Albany, Craftsbury, Glover and Greensboro.
