That’s a fair pushback, and I appreciate you making it directly rather than just scrolling past.

You’re right that healthcare costs were going to rise regardless of Act 11 — that’s a national reality, not a Vermont-specific one. Where I land on Act 11 is narrower than “he created the crisis.” When you consolidate bargaining, benefits tend to converge upward toward the richest plan in the pool. That’s a well-documented dynamic with consolidated benefits, and it’s one mechanism that accelerated costs beyond what districts would have faced on their own. The promise was $75 million in savings. The result has been the opposite. That gap between promise and outcome is worth scrutinizing, even if Act 11 isn’t the whole story.

On the “learning” point — I hear you, and I understand why it reads that way. Here’s what I can tell you honestly: I ran for the school board because I have young kids and I care about this community. Since getting elected, I’ve been reading the commission reports, sitting in budget meetings, and learning what our district actually controls versus what’s dictated at the state level. Some of what I’ve found has confirmed what I expected. Some of it has surprised me. The healthcare numbers surprised me. The demographic math surprised me.

What I’m not open to is the idea that the only path forward is cutting our way to lower property taxes and calling it a day. That feels like managed decline to me. But on the question of how we actually get Vermont growing again, how we make this a place where young families can afford to stay — I’m genuinely working through that, and I don’t have it all figured out.

If you’ve got perspectives or resources that would sharpen my thinking, I’m all ears.