-!With key legislative deadlines -fast approaching, Governor -Scott's administration -unveils their education -reform proposal.

-Vermont's government -structure is complex, with 52 -supervisory unions, under -!which there are 119 districts.

-We can't just -make small tweaks.

-We must redesign our system.

-Plus, a look inside Senator -Bernie Sanders -fighting oligarchy tour, -and why some Canadians -are skipping Vermont -for the next four years.

-All of that and more ahead -on Vermont This Week.

-!From the Vermont Public studio -in Winooski -this is Vermont This Week.

-Made possible in part -by the Lintilhac Foundation -and Milne Travel.

-Thanks for joining us -on Vermont This Week.

-I'm Mikaela -LeFrak in for Mitch Wertlieb.

-It is Friday, February 28th.

-Joining us on the panel -this week is Kevin McCallum -from Seven Days.

-Ethan Weinstein from Vtdigger -and Brittany Patterson -from Vermont Public.

-Thank you all for being here.

-!Town Meeting Day is next week.

-And many of you -probably remember -!last year as Town Meeting Day, -when nearly a third of budget -school budgets failed.

-People all around -the state were concerned -about their rising property -taxes.

-Now, legislators -and the governor -made some short term changes -to the education -funding system, but -they've also vowed to come up -with a longer term fix.

-This week, Governor Phil -!Scott introduced his education -transformation -bill to the legislature.

-Ethan, -!you were tasked with reviewing -all 176 pages of it.

-What stood out to you?

-Well, Mikayla, -this has been -the most anticipated piece -of legislation this year.

-And although the governor and -his team have been releasing -bits and pieces of it -throughout the session, -we got our first -look this week.

-You know, -in, in broad strokes, -the governor wants -to consolidate Vermont school -districts from, -more than 100 down to five.

-And he wants to transition -the state to what's -called a foundation formula.

-!This would be a new way to pay -for education.

-A lot of what we saw in 176 -pages, were things -that we could have predicted, -but, a few of the surprises -or key details, -that I highlighted -were, class size minimums.

-He's looking at, -bringing the size of fourth -to 12th grade classes -to, 25 students at a minimum.

-That's a big change for a lot -of Vermont's small schools.

-He's also proposing, -very strict restrictions -on private schools eligible -to receive public dollars.

-This is a contentious issue -for Democrats and Republicans -alike.

-And, I think those were, -a couple of the the details -that really got people's -attention.

Yeah.

-Can you say a little bit more -about the restrictions -on private schools -that are eligible -for public dollars?

-Because, as you said, -this has been something -that, you know, -when we talk about it -on Vermont Edition, people -feel a lot of feelings -about this one.

-Yeah, it's it's, -it's a bit wonky.

-So, you know, -something like 95 -or 90% of Vermont students -attend public school.

-But there's this, -smaller percentage -who can use public dollars -to attend private school -if their school -district doesn't operate -a public school.

-What Governor -Scott is proposing -is that only schools that -!currently only private schools -that currently enroll -!more than 51% tuition students -would be eligible to continue -receiving public dollars.

-And in practice, -!this means that only something -like 6 or 7 schools, -would be able -to receive public funds.

-And right now, you know, -it's it's dozens and dozens.

-So Governor -Scott has introduced -this bill to the legislature, -which is still Democrat -controlled.

-I want to talk about -some of the responses -that we've been hearing -from Democratic leadership.

-Because there has been -some pushback -specifically around the, -foundation -formula, as it's called.

-Here's Representative Charles -Kimball, -who's a Democrat -from Woodstock.

-We will look at adopting -a foundation formula, but -!we don't think the current way -it's constructed is right.

-And so we're not going -to rush into -just adopting a foundation -formula -for the sake of doing it.

-We want to make sure -the numbers are right.

-We don't think -we can get all that done -in this legislative session.

-It seems -like there's a bit of a time -crunch Democrats are saying.

-Yeah I mean I think as that -clip suggests, there's, -there's consensus that -the state -is probably moving -in this direction.

-The question is, -you know, the ROE, -the agency of education, -they've brought forward -their idea -for a foundation formula.

-And I think that, -Democratic leadership, -they want to have -the opportunity -to work with their own -consultants, -their own experts, develop -a plan in tandem.

-And, you know, maybe find -a, a middle ground -rather than relying -entirely on these -very complicated equations -and modeling performed -by the administration.

-And, Ethan, one last thing.

-As we mentioned, town -meeting day is next week.

-Is, education going to be -your focus?

-Is your you're -talking to voters next week?

-It'll be my focus.

-I know I'm hearing -!a lot of different predictions -in terms of, -whether we'll see something -like last year.

-I think, -you know, -I'm not in the prediction -business, but -but people are suggesting, -they expect fewer school -budgets will fail than last -year.

-Well, well, education -funding has dominated -the conversation -in Montpelier over -these last couple of months, -but it is far from -the only issue that lawmakers -have been discussing there.

-Brittany, -you've been following -some proposed changes -to hunting regulations -in the state.

-What?

What's going on?

-Yeah.

-So these regulations -are coming from, -the Fish and Wildlife -Department in Vermont.

-They were made by -the 14 member wildlife board, -but the agency's biologists, -support them.

-And really, there's a couple -different regulations -on the table.

-Turkey, some moose changes, -a little bit of changes to -how meat is transported -from out of state into state.

-I think the most, -!substantial changes are around -the deer hunting regulations.

-So tell us a little bit more.

-They tried to.

-It sounds like they're trying -to cull more deer.

-Yes.

With the same amount -of hunters in Vermont.

-How do you do that?

-That's exactly right.

-So for the first time in -perhaps decades, Vermont -is proposing to open up -the regular fall season.

-And that's when most we have -the most hunters hunting.

-Currently, -!hunters are only hunting bucks -during that season.

-But the agency -wants to open it up -so that they can hunt doughs -with, rifles and shotguns.

-And the idea really is that -when when you're talking to -!biologists, there are too many -female deers.

-Sometimes called antler -antlerless deers in certain -parts of the state, -and not enough hunters -to to be able -to take care of them -to reduce those populations.

-And so, -the Fish and Wildlife -Department -thinks that by opening up -regular season in this way, -some 20 to 25,000 -additional hunters -who only hunt during -the regular season -!will now have the opportunity, -if they want to, to -shoot a doe, and that could -!have potentially a big impact.

-Okay.

-So potentially my -garden will not be consumed -as terribly as it was.

-Are there other -negative impacts -of having too many deer -in the state -other than, you know, eating -all of my rainbow chard?

-Yeah, absolutely.

-So it's not just your garden -that is, you know, -often times decimated -by our dear friends, -where there is -an overabundance of deer, -we see often certain species -in the forest, -in that forest understory, -especially, -that are over eaten.

-And then that decreases the -overall health of the forest.

-And then that makes it hard -for all of the species -that are in that environment -to be able to thrive.

-And so, -you know, biologists say -the state needs more levers -to be able to control -this deer population.

-And hunting is a big -one of those.

-These rules would also, -if passed, -they would open up our tree -season -during the regular season.

-And in some cases allow some -!hunters to take a second buck.

-and in other news -from Montpelier, -Governor Phil -Scott wants the legislature -to exempt military pensions -from state income taxes.

-Ethan and Kevin, -I know you guys have both, -reported on this a bit.

-Kevin, let's -let's get you in here first.

-What?

-Why is this an issue -that the governor is pushing?

-Well, he's long felt that, -if Vermont did away, -with taxation of military -pensions, -that it would cause -military veterans -to decide to move -here, basically, -that as military veterans -look toward -the end of their career, -where are they going to go -next?

-That they look -at the tax structure and say, -here's here's our options.

-And, Vermont is -one of only three states, -I think, in the nation -that taxes military pensions.

-And so he's long thought -that if you got rid of that, -we would get off on a flood, -but certainly a decent number -of, of, military veterans -moving to the state.

-And he has a very high regard -for military -veterans -in terms of their skills -and their leadership -abilities, -and their work ethic.

-And so we've heard for years -that he wanted -to do away with this.

-!But Democrats have always kind -of viewed it as a tax break.

-Right.

-Where are we going -to give tax breaks -to one -individual group of people.

-But it seems as though, -this idea is gaining -a little more traction -this year, in part because, -he's pushing the labor angle.

-It's like, these are not -!retirees who are done working.

-These are often people -who've got a 20 year -career in the military, -are now in their 40s -and 50s and in the prime -of their working lives.

-And the idea is if, -yeah, if you can get -a military veteran -to move here at the age of 45 -with two kids, buy a house -and join the workforce, -that would be -a perfect opportunity -to boost the Vermont's -workforce.

-So it's a workforce -issue, too, isn't -just what you're here.

-Yeah.

-I mean, as Kevin mentions, -a lot of these folks -retire at an age -when they still really -want to work.

-The governor, as part of his -budget this year, presented, -I think, 13.5 million -in, tax breaks.

-And a bunch of them have been -popular ideas for Democrats, -expanding the child -tax credit, -expanding the earned income -tax credit.

-These are things that -Democratic leadership have, -seemingly bought into.

-And maybe this is the year -we finally see some movement -on this -military pension exemption.

-Oh, well, Brittany, -you recently attended -the Northeast Kingdom -!lobbying day at the Statehouse -in Montpelier.

-I'm curious, -is there -any particular concern -from folks who live in -that part of our region?

-The that they were bringing -to lawmakers -or any of the issues -that we've discussed today -or those, on people's minds?

-Yeah.

-You know, -there was a really good -showing of folks -from all across the Kingdom -for any K day.

-And I think, by and large, -the thing that emerged -as the most, important -!and the one they really wanted -to stress to -lawmakers is concerning -is the idea of losing access -to rural health care.

-So folks are probably -familiar with this file, -the Oliver Wyman report -that came out, -that was commissioned -by the state -and calls -for really big changes -to the way -Vermont's health care system -works in order to make it -sustainable.

-And a lot of those changes -are rural hospitals, -potential closures, -potential cuts.

-And, -both the CEO of the hospital -in Saint Johnsbury -and the CEO of North Country -Hospital in Newport -were at and K day -and had been lobbying -lawmakers -all that week and beyond, -really trying -to push the message home -that if we lose -these hospitals -or if we hollowed them out -to the point where, -you know, it's basically -not something -that where you can get -emergency care, for example, -they're going to lose -the like that's going to be -!the end for these communities.

-Like they're already seeing, -challenges -hiring for the hospital.

-But also in convincing people -to come to the region.

-Because if you can't get good -health care, -you need to drive an hour.

-And it's emergency.

Like, -that's a challenging thing to -to have to to balance.

-Yeah, yeah.

-And I know that you've -also been keeping a close eye -on, the the incoming tariffs -from the Trump -administration on Canada.

-And I can imagine -those would have a, -bit of a unique impact -on the Northeast Kingdom, -maybe on tourism, as well, -being so close to the border.

-Yeah, absolutely.

-I spent the last week -actually reporting out the, -some Canadians are canceling -visits this summer, -especially up -in the Northeast Kingdom.

-I talked to, -someone who owns, -!lodging off of Kingdom Trails.

-Talk to the CEO of, Jay Peak.

-And, you know, up -in the Kingdom and in parts -even of northern Vermont, -we're talking about 30% -or more of the business -being generated -by the Canadian market.

-And so, -I think it could be -a big chunk of, of change -for especially folks -in communities -that are on the border, -to see -some of these Canadians, -you know, -make the hard decision -to to take a step back -and to not frequent Vermont -right now, -because of the rhetoric -!that's coming out of the Trump -administration.

-Ministration, -which includes these tariffs, -which -as of right now are slated to -go into effect next Tuesday.

-Kevin, -you have spent a lot of time -over the last couple of days -reporting -on, some of the unique -overlaps between the Trump -!administration's policies and, -our local leaders -response to those.

-But you weren't in Vermont.

-You went to the Midwest, -I sure did.

-!What were you doing out there?

-!I was following Bernie Sanders -around the Midwest -as he went on his Fighting -Oligarchy tour.

-He has, -gotten back in the saddle, -basically, and decided -that the only effective way -for the left to push back on -some of the policies -out of the white House -is to put pressure -on Republican lawmakers, -to do the right thing -and to stand up to Trump.

-And so what he -and his people decided to do -was to head to the Midwest, -to, Omaha -and also to Iowa City, -to hold really big rallies -and to try to urge people -to call their congresspeople -and say, do not vote -for the budget reconciliation -bill, which was up for a key -vote the other day.

-And so I like we should get -this out of the way first.

-Did it work?

It didn't work.

-It didn't work.

-No.

Only one Republican, -I think, stood up -and, opposed that bill -and he only needed two.

-So it was a very close -and very dramatic vote.

-And frankly, -my story was, ready to run.

-And we had to rewrite -the thing -!because the vote was happening -at like 8:00 -at night on Tuesday.

-And so it was very close.

-It was, you know, people -it was surprising to see -Bernie Sanders -still able to generate -huge enthusiasm -!and huge crowds in the Midwest -when he wasn't -running for anything.

Right.

-He's going there on an issue.

-And so, he didn't -and he was surprised -he his team originally -planned, to hold a rally in a -small to moderate size Union -Hall in the suburbs of Omaha.

-And then they had this RSVP, -you know, -thing on their website about -who wants to come to this.

-And it just went -through the roof.

-And so they had to cancel -their venue, move -to downtown Omaha -into a marriott -to be able to accommodate -what turned out to be 3400 -people who showed up, -many of them -just extremely excited -and gratified to see Vermont -senior senator urging them -on, urging them to fight, -urging them to push back.

-Because, you know, -there's a lot of the people -I spoke with, many of them -have felt quite, hopeless -in the last couple of months -since Trump's reelection.

-And they don't know -what to do.

-It's like, -what am I supposed to do?

-I'm seeing this chaos -out of out of DC.

-I don't agree with any of -the things that he's doing.

-What am I as a voter, as -!an individual, supposed to do?

-Well, Bernie was giving them -a path, right?

-Bernie was saying, here's -what you do.

-You make some calls, -you send some emails, -you push back, you fight.

-And that message -really resonated -with a lot of people.

-So it was a fun trip.

-It was exhausting.

-It was short, but it was, -it was an impressive -showing for Vermont, -you know, Senator, -and you and the senator -caught the same play back -here.

-We did.

-We did end up -being on the same flight out -of, out of Chicago, -back to Burlington.

-And that was interesting -to see, too, -because he, you know, -!if there was ever any question -about his sort of rock star -status, you know, -the guy -walks through an airport and people are like, -can I get a selfie -with you, Senator?

-You know, -I appreciate you, Senator.

-You know, -there's all this sort of -you know, he's -!he's a national public figure.

-And so it's, it follows him -everywhere he goes.

-Well, -he is not the only member -of Vermont's -congressional delegation -who has been pushing back -against some of the Trump -administration's policies.

-The three person delegation -held a virtual town -hall this past week, -and it reported its massive -attendance numbers.

-34,000 -people tuned in virtually.

-Let's take a look at what -that was like.

-We have Vermont farmers who, -with the commitment -of the federal government, -signed a contract -where if they borrowed money -to do -environmentally sensitive -things that are going -to help their farm -and help our climate, -they would get paid back -by the federal government.

-They got emails saying -no, that's on hold, -you're on your own.

-And we hear from farmers -who don't know -how they're going to pay -the bills.

-The concern that I'm hearing -from Vermonters -who are calling and writing -and who -I'm seeing on the street, -that we have a constitutional -crisis in the making.

-You're right.

You're right.

-I know there are quite -a few people in Vermont -!who who supported Donald Trump -in the last election, -and I know I speak -for my colleagues here.

-It does not matter to us -who you voted for.

-What matters to us -is how Vermonters are going -to survive this moment.

-I need you to know -that we represent -so many of our colleagues -who see this as we do -a critical moment -when the democracy -is on the line -and they are going to have -to get through us -to tear this down.

-They're going to have to get -through us to tear this down.

-Kevin, thoughts -on that message?

-Yeah, that's it's it's -tough talk -and it's lofty -rhetoric and it's, impressive -that the three of them, -I think, you know, -got together and presented -!a united front that, you know, -and it was a message I think -Vermonters needed to hear, -but ultimately, right, -the vote, as I already said, -the vote, the other day, -didn't, didn't pan out.

-And so I think there's -this open question about, -you know, -what Becca saying there is -they're going to have -to come through us -to tear down the government -and that it looks -as though they have the votes -to be able to do that.

-And so, I'm not entirely sure -how much resistance.

-Right.

-!The Democrats and independents -from Vermont -or elsewhere in the Congress -are really going to be able -to, to to present -to some of the things -that the Republicans -are up to.

-!Well, we've talked about some, -state level resistance, -!some on the ground resistance, -including from Canadians -who are choosing -not to spend their dollars -in the United States -over the next four years.

-One person who isn't skipping -Vermont, though, is Vice -President JD Vance.

-He and his family -!are coming to Sugarbush to ski -this weekend.

-Local officials -and businesses are preparing -for their family to arrive, -as well as dozens of secret -!Service agents and protesters.

-Now, Governor -Phil Scott issued a statement -today, welcomed the vice -president and his family -!and noted the good ski weather -that we've had this winter.

-He also reminded Vermonters -to be respectful, -even if they disagree -with the vice president -and the Trump -administration's policies.

-Since the vice president -is traveling -with his young children.

-All right.

-There are so many different -ways that the Trump -administration's policies -have, been affected.

-!Vermonters on the state level.

-One thing that was -interesting that I'm hoping -you could help us understand -this change that could come, -lawmakers are thinking -about taking away -authority or taking authority -over partnerships -with federal immigration -authorities.

-Why are they -thinking about doing that?

-Yeah, it's, it's -a little bit wonky, -!but as the law is written now, -we're, President Trump -to declare a state -of emergency at Vermont's -northern border with Canada.

-It would basically open up -the opportunity -for law enforcement, -you know, town -police departments -or sheriff's departments -to enter into agreements -with Ice or Border Patrol.

-We've heard calls from -President Trump, obviously, -for mass deportations -and mass incarceration -and rounding people up -the way the law is written.

-Now, only Governor Scott -would have authority to enter -into these partnerships.

-But, we've seen that -President Trump is willing -to declare states -of emergencies -for things that, many might -not consider emergencies.

-And so Democratic -lawmakers are concerned that, -this could this could be -a problem for us.

-Yeah, yeah.

-And, you know, I thought -it was interesting that, -that the -Democrats initially -pushed to have a say in -whether the governor struck -these deals and allowed, -agreements -to go forward with Ice -because for that exact -reason.

Right.

-They don't want the governor -to be the sole authority -in the state of Vermont -for whether Ice is able -to come and conduct sweeps, -in the state with the -with the assistance -of state law enforcement.

-So they're like, hey, -why don't you come -to us and ask us -if we're okay with that?

-And we can have a combined -jurisdiction over that.

-We can have a shared power -over whether ice, -collaboration -occurs in the state.

-And very quickly, -the governor's people -shut that down.

-They said, look, I'm -the executive.

-!I'm the governor of the state.

-I have the power to do this.

-And it makes no sense -to allow the legislature to -come in -and also have a say in that.

-And so I just think he felt -it was an overreach.

-And so it went away -pretty quickly.

-I don't think that piece -is in the bill anymore.

-There is some desire -to sort of -put some guardrails around -what immigration -officials can do in the state -that are not quite -worked out yet, -but that big picture idea -of lawmakers having a say, -in Ice raids and Ice -in immigration -work in the state is is dead.

-And, Brittney, you again -were reported on the, -NK lobby day.

-You're also planning to -go up to the J area on town -meeting Day, -as this issue of immigration -and border security -come up -in any of your conversations -with with folks -who live in that region?

-Yeah, that's a good question.

-I think we have been hearing -trickles of -people starting to ask, like, -are we headed toward -like a war with Canada?

-What will that mean for these -communities on the border?

-You know, -I think it's -probably far too early -to to go that direction.

-But I think there is -a lot of concern, -especially in communities -where, you know, -the back and forth over -the border is -is something that happens -all the time.

-And concerns over like, -yeah, what, -what that relationship -is going to look like -moving forward.

-You, -you also reported Brittany -on a University -of New Hampshire poll.

-They pulled Vermonters -on their approval ratings -for President Donald Trump.

-What did that study find?

-!I think you won't be surprised -to hear it -didn't find anything -super surprising, -that things really break -down on the Partizan level.

-So, you know, -one third of Vermonters -approve of Donald Trump's -performance so far, -whereas two thirds do not.

-And it was really like -Republicans -giving the support to Trump -and Democrats really not.

-So like if we break -it down for that one third, -and it was 86% -of Republicans thought Trump -was doing a good job -when only 1% of Democrats -did an 18% of independents.

-So it's very much Partizan.

-The University of New -Hampshire Survey Center.

-And they do this quite, -quite often.

-They also looked at executive -orders and, no surprise.

-Still a breakdown.

-Partizan lead -Democrats really disagreeing -with a lot of Trump's -executive orders -early on in his tenure.

-Republicans supporting them.

-Well, there's going to be -lots of change ahead -when it comes to the Trump -administration's -policies and their effect -on this region.

-I'm so glad that -all three of you -are covering it in your own -ways.

-Let's end on some Michaela -related news.

-The greatest -ski racer of all time.

-!At least I'm going to say that -because she's a fellow.

-Mikaela.

-Mikaela Shiffrin has become -the first person ever to win -a 100 World Cup -alpine ski races -in the 58 year -history of the competition.

-She went to Burke -Mountain Academy, -so we like to claim her -as our own.

-And after coming overcoming -!a puncture wound in Killington -back in November, -she went on to secure -this historic win in Italy -this past weekend.

-So congratulations -to Mikaela Shiffrin -and a reminder yet again -that Town Meeting Day -is this coming Tuesday, -March 4th.

-We hope you all have -productive meetings and votes -and maybe a free slice of pie -as well.

-Next week -we are going to recap town -Meeting day -!results will also provide some -through lines and analysis -for you all as well.

-Until then I'm Mikaela LeFrak -and thank you so much -for tuning in.

-That's where we're going -!to have to leave it for today.

-Our panel is Kevin McCallum -from seven days, Ethan -Weinstein from Vtdigger -and Brittany Patterson -from Vermont Public.

-Thank you all -for watching and listening.

-And.