Anne | March 3, 2013
Dear Friends and Constituents: These first few months of this new biennium have been very busy. My committee assignment is once again Government Operations, which considers legislation regarding elections, municipal charter changes, state government operations, pensions, and the regulation of 45 professions, to name a few. Many of you have asked about the process of [...]
Anne | June 7, 2012
Dear Constituents, Friends and Family: What an ending to the 2012 legislative session; at times, fast-paced and frenetic, but in the end, meeting some serious needs of Vermonters. Any bill that is not signed by the Governor by this time will not automatically be carried into 2013; a new sponsor(s) must submit a new bill [...]
Anne | June 24, 2011
The principal-mentoring legislation requires that at the time a school district hires a principal or technical center director who is new to the role, the district’s superintendent, in consultation with the Vermont Principals’ Association, shall work to ensure that the new principal or technical center director receives mentoring support during at least the first two [...]
Anne | June 24, 2011
The miscellaneous education bill addressed dual enrollment, cyber-bullying, technology and energy conservation in our schools. Dual enrollment: Secondary education programs were strengthened to allow students to enroll in college courses and receive high school credit. Known as dual enrollment, this legislation requires that schools implement a system to increase the continuum between high school and [...]
Anne | June 23, 2011
Pre-dating Act 60 and the enactment of income sensitivity, the State of Vermont granted disabled Veterans a $10,000 reduction on the grand list of their home for the purpose of property taxes. This credit was continued when income sensitivity became law in 1997. The State later permitted towns to expand the credit to $40,000. This [...]
Anne | May 27, 2011
S. 53 removes the limits (often referred to as caps) on the number of prekindergarten (Pre-K) children who may be enrolled and funded in quality Pre-K education programs through public schools. Both the Joint Fiscal Office and the House Ways and Means Committee forecast that this legislation will have no impact on towns’ tax rates during [...]
Anne | March 3, 2011
Repeal of Act 82, Sections 5 & 6 A bill that passed the House proposed long-needed changes to Act 82 of 2007. The act encompassed much of the educational statutes enacted that year, but is best known for sections 5 and 6 which dealt with the two-vote or divided question. It was a compromise decision [...]
Anne | March 3, 2011
Concussions Bill The House of Representatives passed H.46, a bill that requires protocols to improve the protection of athletes. This affects public or approved independent elementary and secondary teams or clubs, who a licensed health care provider has reason to believe an athlete, may have a concussion. The bill, which describes the protocol schools, must [...]
Anne | June 8, 2010
Education: Teacher’s Retirement There is a keen awareness that the strengths of our communities are vastly dependent on the quality of our schools. Our teachers are an integral part of the direction in which our youth are heading. With collaboration between the administration, VT-NEA and the Legislature, teacher retirement was under keen scrutiny for savings [...]
Anne | June 8, 2010
Education: Voluntary Merger and others The House passed education bills that focused on educational delivery, graduation, and student health & safety. They will strengthen our communities now and in the future. Independent colleges will now be required to develop harassment policies (H.648); schools will have greater access to funds for nutritional programs (H.408); students on [...]
