Gov. Phil Scott on Wednesday allowed H.165, which makes school breakfast and lunch free for all Vermont students, to become law without his signature.
Vermont is now the sixth state that provides universal school meals to its K-12 students, along with California, Maine, Colorado, New Mexico and Minnesota.
In a letter to the general assembly, the governor noted his reservations about the bill, which he said will raise Vermonters’ property taxes and subsidize meals for affluent kids. The measure is expected to cost the state $29 million each year.
“I know a veto would in all reality be overridden, and further distract us from the work we should be prioritizing for our kids, like reversing pandemic learning loss; addressing declining math and reading scores; addressing youth mental health challenges (which inhibit learning); and more,” Scott wrote.
He asked the legislature “to rethink this sincere but regressive policy in the future, so working Vermonters are not paying for the meals of families who could better afford it.”
Since 2020, school meals in Vermont have been free, initially due to federal pandemic relief funds and, this school year, because of state legislation that extended the program. Many school food service directors say free meals have improved the culture in their cafeterias.
“There’s no stress around food access,” Kathy Alexander, food service director for Addison Northwest and Mount Abraham Unified school districts, said in an interview last month. “Kids don’t have to think about it anymore.” Giving free meals to more affluent kids was no reason to end the program, Alexander said.
“In reality, the people who can afford meals every day for their kids is very small,” she said. “If a few people get a free meal who can afford it to benefit everyone else — which is a large percentage — I’m OK with that.”
In an email on Wednesday, Anore Horton, executive director of Hunger Free Vermont, thanked the legislature and the governor for enacting the legislation.
“Our Vermont students, their families, teachers and communities will all benefit from this law,” Horton said. “We are grateful over 80,000 students will have continued access to free school meals.”
This article appears in Jun 7-13, 2023.
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