Lawmakers grapple with $4 million education funding shortfall

Lawmakers raising the revenue for next year’s budget are contending with a $4 million gap in funding, after the Vermont Agency of Education reported an unexpected shortfall this week.

The agency told legislators on Wednesday that it needs about $7 million to cover costs related to placing students in residential treatment facilities, or schools outside of their parents’ home districts.

A large portion of the 1,700 so called “state-placed” students are children living in foster care, and about 200 of them are living in residential facilities. The state pays for the full cost of their education.

The agency says it needs the money to cover $4.72 million in unpaid costs for state-placed students in the current fiscal year, and $2.3 million next year.

Read more: https://vtdigger.org/2019/05/02/lawmakers-grapple-4-million-education-funding-shortfall/