State House: Capacity of the Vermont Agency of Education Reflection

On February 27th, 2019, I attended a Vermont House Education Committee hearing inside the State House in Montpelier. The topic of this hearing focused on the capacity of the Vermont Agency of Education, and in particular, the low staff numbers they currently have working at the agency. In the moments before the meeting, I had the opportunity to meet and speak briefly with Mr. Dan French, Secretary of Education in the state of Vermont. I asked him what the focus of the hearing would be and wanted to get an idea into what his testimony to the House Education Committee would look like. Mr. French proceeded to explain to me how the agency is seriously understaffed, and raised concerns about not only filling those vacancies, but filling them with adequate people for the job. In addition to the lack of employees, Mr. French also shared his perspective on the workload given to the agency by the House Education committee. As initiative after initiative pile up at the agency, the staff begins to feel overwhelmed and people are asked to do things outside of their role, due to their low numbers. Mr French’s testimony and presentation can be viewed here.

One consideration that I took away from the House Education Committee hearing is the idea of filling vacancies inside the agency appropriately. As act 46 has taken place in Vermont, education leaders have been needed at the district level to properly consolidate schools in order to increase student opportunity and achievement. Due to a variety of factors, effective education leaders in Vermont have chosen not to join the agency or made a decision to leave their position at the agency. The mission of the agency is to provide support to people in the field of education, but the reality is that people feel more impactful and fulfilled in their work when they do so in the field, rather than from a state policy position. Recruiting out-of-state candidates has been just as hard, and the agency has faced similar challenges in recruiting employees that has hindered many other job markets in Vermont. As Mr. French pointed out in his testimony, capacity is directly related to the complexity of the work. Through this experience, I have learned that it is imperative for elected officials to be aware and mindful of the makeup and inner workings of the state agencies that work to implement the policy changes they set forth.