MONTPELIER, Vt.

Vermont’s new Republican governor outlined plans for major changes to the education system Tuesday, asking lawmakers to pass laws requiring local school districts to not increase their budgets this year and teachers to pay more for health insurance.

Gov. Phil Scott, who also proposed that the state general fund budget not be increased next year, said the state’s shrinking school populations and declining number of working-age Vermonters require the changes that he acknowledged would be hard.

“I’m not asking school districts for anything more than what I’ve asked from state government,” Scott said during his speech to a joint assembly of the Vermont Legislature at the Statehouse in Montpelier. “We will be tightening our belts in Montpelier and rethinking every program and service at every level — looking to reduce overhead costs and to streamline services across all agencies and departments.”

Here are some of the details of Scott’s budget proposal:

Education

Scott proposed requiring that teachers pay 20 percent of their health insurance costs, up from an average of about 15 percent. He said the change would save about $15 million a year.

The governor also is asking that school districts not increase their budgets this year, and he wants to require towns to hold their school budget votes on May 23 to give school boards more time to prepare their budgets. Many towns vote on school budgets on Town Meeting Day, the first Tuesday in March.

Taxes, fees and savings

Scott says his budget proposal does not increase fees or taxes. He says it will be paid for through a variety of savings across state government.

Increased spending

Scott called for a variety of spending increases for a number of state programs, including child care, opiate abuse prevention and education programs.

They include a $4 million increase for the Vermont State Colleges and $1 million for the University of Vermont. He also called for $500,000 in spending for scholarships for members of the Vermont National Guard.

To help alleviate housing shortages, he called for $35 million in bonding for housing for everyone from homeless populations to home ownership for the middle class.

Corrections

Scott called for the closing of the Vermont prison work camp in Windsor. He said the state could save more money by increasing the use of electronic monitoring and home detention programs.

Renewable energy

The governor reiterated his commitment to seeing the state reach a long-term goal of getting 90 percent of its power from renewable sources by 2050. But he reiterated his campaign pledge to not build more industrial wind turbines on the state’s ridgelines.

Reaction

Lawmakers in the Democrat controlled state Legislature said they would look at the governor’s proposals.

“We will kick the tires on these proposals, but our first (task) will be to fully understand these proposals,” said state Sen. Tim Ashe, a Democrat-Progressive and president pro tem of the state Senate.

The Vermont Democratic Party was more blunt.

“Vermonters deserve a state that continues to support them and we are heartened by some of the proposals stated by Gov. Scott today,” said a statement from Democratic Party spokeswoman Christina Amestoy. “However, we also recognize that these must be funded in a way that protects the vital areas, like public education, already in place. We cannot have a budget balanced on the backs of our students and educators through a top-down mandate.”

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