What if... Vermont decided to radically revamp its school system to match 21st century expectations so that our graduates would be readily employable in the healthy private sector we believe we want.
Then, market the daylights out of the change Vermont has embraced and demonstrated it can produce. To make Vermont attractive to nimble, bright entrepreneurial companies will require a workforce from an education platform that has shown itself to be equally nimble and far-sighted.
Same old, same old gets us nowhere. No-brainer across-the-board-cost cutting without radical change won't deliver what we need. We require transformation of our K-12 education paradigm while simultaneously reducing costs. But the inertial forces (think VTNEA and various interest groups invested in resisting change) work against a new, vibrant vision.
Such a transformational change demands leadership and vision, both of which are sorely lacking in Vermont's political class. Or, if it's present, I haven't seen or heard it.
Next week we'll know more when the Legislative Interim Committee on "Financing and effectiveness of the Vermont education system in the 21st century" charged to "examine potential improvements to the structure and funding of the Vermont educational system in light of the state's limited financial resources.
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