Why Gov. Phil Scott’s Policies Don’t Work for Me
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Party Member Perspective
I’m a member of the Vermont Progressive Party because, in addition to advancing issues of economic and social equity and justice, the Party identifies with issues that affect everyday working people (like me).
Choosing to live in Vermont seemed like a natural choice, given the proximity to family and community whom I care deeply about being near. In my adult life, I’ve lived in very rural areas of the country and major, bustling cities. But now, I live in a very rural part of Vermont and have for over a decade.
At the moment, the things that keep me up at night including the fall of our republic and a mouse that makes far too much noise to continue being a housemate – I am literally writing this at 3:30am – are the impacts of S. 73 school closures and redistricting and Gov. Phil Scott’s “Return to Office” mandate that’s going into effect on December 1 for Vermont state employees. Why?
I’m a single parent who for years spent two hours a day attending to school drop off and pick up in a district that does not bus students. In other words, the current set up is already a challenge for working families who need to pick up students at school at 2:45pm. Further local school closures and the elimination of choice for middle school and high school would limit my family’s ability to work and participate in our local community and other treasured extra curricular activities. The current maps indicate that people in my community may have to send students to a regional school that is 45 minutes away. How is it conceivable that a student could participate in family life and sports? Or come home after school for a snack and attend theater rehearsal as a high school student? The longstanding options for middle and high schools include an option – a “choice” – that will be stripped from people living in my community as part of redistricting. Why would families move to my community or choose to stay when the state, in their effort to generate cost-savings, is making the very notion of living in a rural community impossible. Let me be clear – this entire, forced school redistricting is NOT about the students and student-outcomes. What Gov. Scott may not realize is that these measures will fundamentally change not just how education is delivered in Vermont; it will erode the sense of belonging in our joyful, local communities – the essence of Vermont that has made living here something people have sought after for generations.
There are pockets of Vermont where jobs are plentiful – think the Upper Valley, Burlington, Montpelier, etc. But as someone who lives in a rural community where jobs are not plentiful, people’s testimonials about how the “Return to Office” mandate will affect their lives deeply resonate with me. I found myself jobless at some point in the past few years, and spent a considerable amount of time looking for a new one. I interviewed in three different states and for dozens of high-quality jobs (I should note, none that would have made me a Vermont State employee) in every corner of Vermont – and none that were less than an hour and a half from my rural community. Those potential employers wanted me to move to their community to become an employee. But, I didn’t move to Vermont for that job – I moved to Vermont to live where I live. Just as the education reform plans are blind to the issues of working people, so is the “Return to Office” mandate. In a state with the terrain such that it is, where you could drive three or four hours from one area to another, it’s a challenge for a lot of people to find jobs that match their interests and educational background in communities close to home. What’s the saying – “Home is where the heart is.” Heart is not necessarily in Waterbury or Montpelier for many working families. Which is why the remote options that materialized during the pandemic offered the flexibility rural, working families in Vermont need – flexibility that I need. I stand with Vermont State employees who oppose Gov. Phil Scott’s thoughtless mandate.
I want to live in a Vermont where the state makes policies that are not indifferent to the needs of rural Vermonters and do more good than harm. Is that too much to ask?