State Board of Education chair Jennifer Deck Samuelson has abruptly resigned, citing a constellation of personal reasons. Samuelson, a Manchester lawyer, has served on the board since 2020; her term was set to expire in February 2028.
In comments at the start of the board’s monthly meeting on September 16, Samuelson acknowledged that the decision was an “unexpected” one.
“There’s nothing that happened. There’s nothing going on in my life which, in a way, makes it all the more puzzling,” Samuelson said while holding back tears. “The only thing I can really say is … I give everything to what I’m doing, and I have given a lot of myself to this board for the last six years.”
Her resignation, after four years as chair, comes at a particularly busy time for the board amid the state’s push for an education transformation plan. Most notably, the board is responsible for working with the Agency of Education to craft a framework or rubric for how to evaluate school-district merger proposals.
That work needs to be done soon, Education Secretary Zoie Saunders told the board last week, so that the guidance can be shared with merger committees, which are expected to begin meeting across the state next month. When committees finalize merger proposals next year, the State Board of Education will have the final say on whether to approve or reject them before local voters weigh in.
Within the next year, the board must also finalize statewide high-school graduation requirements, based on recommendations they’ve already received from the education agency.
In her remarks to the board last week, Samuelson indicated that the increase in board responsibilities factored into her departure.
“This one year in particular is going to be extra busy on all fronts,” she said, “and it just seemed like a natural breaking point to step off.”
Samuelson also said that working as an attorney in private practice, wanting to be more present at her younger daughter’s college sports games and planning a wedding for her eldest daughter were some of the things she considered when making the decision.
In her September 15 resignation letter to Gov. Phil Scott, Samuelson wrote that she was proud of the work the board had done during her tenure — including updating rules governing the approval of independent schools and education quality standards, as well as recommending Saunders as education secretary.
“[A]lthough much still remains to be done to transform our state’s education system, the road map has been created and the direction is clear,” Samuelson wrote.
Board vice chair Tammy Kolbe, a special-education policy expert, will serve as acting chair until the next board meeting in October. At that time, a special election will likely be held to select a new chair. At the meeting last week, Samuelson said both Kolbe and Cynthia Stuart — a business consultant from St. Johnsbury who Gov. Scott appointed to the board last year — have expressed interest in the position.
Whoever is chosen as chair might not be there for long: The state board is required to hold another election for chair and vice chair in March.
The 10-member board, which includes two student representatives, will also need a new member. Until recently, the governor was solely responsible for board appointments. But under education-reform legislation passed in 2025, the House and Senate get to appoint one member each to the board, while the governor chooses the other eight members.
In April, House Speaker Jill Krowinski (D-Burlington) appointed former Democratic state representative Kate Webb to finish out the term of former board member Lyle Jepson, who resigned after the governor appointed him commissioner of the Department of Economic Development.
The latest board vacancy will be filled by the Senate’s Committee on Committees, comprised of outgoing Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Baruth (D/P-Chittenden-Central), Sen. Ginny Lyons (D-Chittenden-Southeast) and Lt. Gov. John Rodgers, who is seeking reelection in November. In an email on Monday, Lyons said the committee would review the law and put a timeline and process in place “that reflects any legal requirements in statute.”
Given the education reform underway, “it is important that the Committee act as quickly and carefully as possible,” Lyons wrote.
Board members are volunteers who receive minimal financial compensation: just a $50 stipend for each meeting and mileage costs for travel to in-person meetings.
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