Barre Unified Union School District has found itself in an unenviable position this fall: It is the only district in Vermont that has yet to pass a budget for this school year — which began August 26. Voters in Barre City and Barre Town will go to the polls for the third time on Tuesday, September 15, to weigh in on the latest iteration of the spending plan.
If the budget fails, the district will be forced to pile up debt under a state statute that allows districts without an approved budget to borrow up to 87 percent of the previous year’s. The district would also have to pay as much as $22,000 a month in interest on those borrowed funds.
Barre is already one of the lowest-spending districts in the state. In 2025, voters approved a budget on the first try. But in 2024, the district also started the school year without a budget.
The district serves an especially high-needs population. Nearly half of its approximately 2,100 students are living at or below the poverty line, according to superintendent Emilie Knisley.
On Town Meeting Day, voters rejected a $57.8 million budget that amounted to a 3.36 percent increase in spending over the prior year. A new proposal that cut summer school and used surplus funds to buy down the budget increase to 2.73 percent also failed at a revote on May 12.
The newest budget proposal of $57.1 million represents a 2.11 percent increase from last year, lower than the rate of inflation. Under the district’s labor agreement, no staff could be cut after April 15, according to board chair Garrett Grant. But the budget does eliminate 4.5 positions that are currently unfilled, including several elementary school teachers and a special-education coach.
Under the plan, Barre would be spending $12,648 per pupil, lower than all neighboring districts, Grant said. Education spending varies widely across the state: During the 2024-25 school year, for example, school districts spent between $10,698 and $24,106 per pupil, according to the Vermont Agency of Education.
In “a working-class community like Barre,” Grant said, many are frustrated with how unaffordable things have become and feel like they “can exercise some control” by voting against the school budget.
Others, Grant believes, have been influenced by local and state officials — including Gov. Phil Scott — who have publicly opined that schools are spending too much and property taxes are too high.
Because the governor is originally from the Granite City, Grant said, he believes that people take his message to heart.
At a press conference last Thursday, Scott was asked how he’d advise Barre voters on next week’s vote.
“I think Barre should do what’s right for Barre,” Scott said. “They made some gains, it appears, and I’m hopeful they’ll pass it when it comes to the next vote.”
Scott and Education Secretary Zoie Saunders have asserted that moving to a new funding system known as a foundation formula — in which the state, rather than individual districts, sets the amount of spending per pupil — will result in more equity. Each student would receive the same level of resources regardless of their zip code.
Under current law, that change will go into effect on July 1, 2029 — but only if a number of contingencies are met. Until then, legislators have tried to curb school spending by lowering what’s known as the excess spending threshold. Under legislation passed this year, districts will incur tax penalties if they go over 115.5 percent of the statewide average per-pupil spending next year.
A foundation formula could be a positive development for Barre, in that it would require the district to spend more per pupil. But it is still unclear how an increase in school spending would impact Barre taxpayers.
Regardless, Grant is hoping that voters turn out next week to make their voices heard; just 21 percent of voters took part in the May revote, he noted.
The fact that “one of lowest-spending districts still can’t pass a budget,” Grant said, indicates that “something is wrong with the system.”
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