The Vermont Governor emphasized the importance of summer nutrition and education programs during his weekly press conference today.
Republican Rep. Phil Scott said it’s important to keep kids engaged outside of regular school hours as summer approaches. He noted Vermont funds a variety of programs across the state.
“Keeping young people actively engaged over the summer is one way to minimize learning loss over the summer; simply keeping kids reading over the summer is enough,” Scott said. “We’ve also worked over the last few years to increase the number of after-school and summer programs across the state. The After-School Grants program leverages a variety of partnerships to create affordable programs and help meet the needs of local families. This year’s grants will support 73 partnerships, providing a variety of opportunities for connecting with New Americans, peer mentoring, youth leadership and more.”
Last week, the federal government approved Vermont’s participation in the Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) program, which will help families buy groceries while school is out. Department of Children and Families Secretary Chris Winters said Vermont is one of the first states in the nation to launch a summer EBT program.
“The benefit will be $120 per child for families who meet the income threshold. We estimate that approximately 45,000 children, a little over half of Vermont’s student population, will be eligible for this benefit,” Winters said. “Many families will automatically receive these benefits, but some will need to apply. Families who already receive benefits such as 3-Squares, Medicaid or Reach-Up will be automatically enrolled in the SummerEBT program. Our department will begin issuing benefits automatically starting July 15.”
Governor Scott was asked about several bills the Legislature has passed that are expected to reach his desk, including one that would set the property tax rate at 13.8% to fund education, and Governor Scott said he has made it clear he will veto the bill because he believes the increase is too high.
“I’ve reached out to the House and the Senate, and it seems to me there are two ways to get to where we need to be. Their way could be to simply override my veto. That’s one way,” Scott noted. “The second way is for us to approach it. We have a plan, we have a proposal, we’re willing to talk to them. This is just trying to build a bridge to more structural reform in the future. I think we should get there sooner because this issue isn’t going to go away with a huge impact on property tax payers this year. We’re not going to ease their pain next year. That’s why we need to start on structural reform now.”
