Op-Ed: It’s not too late for a team approach to education reform

March 7, 2025  |  By Elaine Haney

March Madness is almost here and that got me thinking. 

Just like in basketball, success in government comes from a tight team, strong players, good communication, trust in leadership, and a common goal.

I’m a big fan of the team approach to solving complex problems. While it’s natural to want to hand off a problem to a single player, they can’t carry the whole team. It takes teamwork to craft strong, durable solutions. But it’s never easy, and it takes time.

Reforming education in Vermont is a complex problem that demands a team approach. Most Vermonters agree that our common goal is to fix our broken education system and make it more affordable. Our coach is the governor and our team captain is the legislature. We’ve got a deep bench of talent and expertise. But the game plan is flawed.

Teams will often go back and watch footage of earlier games to see where they can improve. Similarly, our Agency of Education – a key player – commissioned reports on topics including pupil weighting, special education, and spending levels. Having accurate, recent, and comprehensive data about the problem being solved is crucial. 

Equally important is a deep bench of stakeholders with expertise and experience. Last year’s Commission on the Future of Public Education in Vermont, whose charge was to “make recommendations for a statewide vision for Vermont’s public education system,” should have provided that. They could have been a key player, but they didn’t come off the bench.

The governor’s current education reform proposal is his game plan. But how do you win a game if you play only part of the bench? How do you build trust and accountability on a team if you exclude most of the members?

The commission was composed of an alphabet soup of education stakeholders: the State Board of Education, the Vermont Principals Association, the Vermont NEA, and many more. Commission membership came from all kinds of schools, and from teachers and school leadership, all of whom represented Vermont children and families—the stakeholders of our education system.

But for some reason (time constraints?), the commission did not provide any suggestions for improving Vermont’s education system. Their report includes just two recommendations: to affirm the purpose of the commission’s existence and to ensure substantive community engagement. 

This means the governor’s sweeping education system reform proposal is based primarily on studies and has very little input from the actual stakeholders who use and benefit from that system: Vermonters. It’s hard to get team commitment when most of the team isn’t able to contribute. The less commitment, the harder and messier the execution.

Another crucial aspect of a strong game plan and successful team is timing. It may seem like progress means getting to the goal as quickly as possible. But when you rush to the basket, that’s often when the ball gets dropped, shots are missed, and fouls are called. Pacing, building momentum, time outs, and patience are required to win. In this case, the urgency of the property tax situation and the need for reform are being used to rush to the most expedient fix possible. 

The governor provided an enormous draft bil – which doesn’t even address the biggest driver of education budget increases, health insurance – for lawmakers to review, debate, amend, and act on almost halfway through the legislative session, right before the weeklong Town Meeting Day recess. There has been talk of extending the session, but even that will likely not be enough time to make substantial progress on such a far-reaching proposal. 

The legislature disagrees with some components of the governor’s proposal and is understandably hesitant to approve such a controversial plan with so little time for serious consideration. If past behavior predicts future performance, in the rush to the end of the session we will likely see accusations flying back and forth of lack of support and unwillingness to work together. (For a more acerbic take on this situation, check out The Vermont Political Observer.)

Education reform will not be achieved with a last-second shot from half court. We must take a team approach to this crucial conversation. Limiting ourselves to the broad strokes of a wide-ranging plan discussed mainly between the governor and legislature leaves out stakeholders and draws unforced errors – with the end result that Vermonters will continue seeing unsustainable education tax increases and no plan to address them. A more thoughtful, concentrated effort may take longer, but will get us to our common goal. 

The Town Meeting week break is happening now. If this were a basketball game, it would be halftime. The coach would help the team reset, adjust the plan, and move forward with a renewed focus on the original goal. 

Put us in, coach. Bring the whole team together. Let’s roll up our sleeves and play the long game. Let’s be honest about the challenges and make difficult decisions based on data and expertise and experience, together. Let’s be willing to acknowledge reality and have the courage to take risks. 

The stakes have never been higher and Team Vermont needs the win.

Elaine Haney is a Vermont’s Democratic National Committee member, the executive director of Emerge Vermont and a city councilor in Essex Junction.