On March 27, 2017

Windsor state senator challenged on education

Dear Editor,
In his recent commentary in the Mountain Times, “Something to Write Home About,” Windsor County state senator Dick McCormack opines about “respecting the education fund.” He claims that he would never  raid the education fund for other purposes, due to his strong support for Act 60.
Contrary to his present-day promise, McCormack fully supported then Governor Shumlin’s $27 million raid of the education fund in 2011—a move that the Democrats claimed needed to happen to balance general fund overspending.
The senator admitted as much at the 2012 Cavendish legislative candidate forum.  He states “I did support a bill that included shorting the education fund after Governor Shumlin very cleverly realized we could short the fund and use federal money to cover that loss.” Here is a link to the video: https://lpctv.org/legislative-candidate-forum-cavendish-0).
As usual, everyday Vermonters suffered at the hands of Montpelier’s reckless spending and the hypocrisy of our supposed representatives. In the town of Cavendish alone, McCormack’s raid drove up our education property taxes by 11 percent even though the school board level-funded the budget that year.
If I had a dollar for every time that I’ve heard the false accusation, “Republicans are anti-education,” I would very likely be a millionaire today. Perhaps, I would have even accumulated enough to replace the $27 million stolen by the Democrats from the education fund and the Vermont taxpayer in 2011.
Einstein said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” I would like to ask Windsor County voters—why do you choose Dick McCormack given his proven record of duplicity?
Stu Lindberg,
Cavendish

Do you want to submit feedback to the editor?

Send Us An Email!

Related Posts

The magical mythical equalized pupil

May 15, 2024
By Tom Evslin Editor’s note: Tom Evslin, of Stowe, is a retired high-tech entrepreneur. He served as transportation secretary for Gov. Richard Snelling and stimulus czar for Gov. Jim Douglas. The Vermont Legislature is playing an expensive shell game — and planning worse. The “equalized pupil” is the shell under which the pea is hidden.…

Tell the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to protect the Connecticut River

May 15, 2024
Dear Editor, It has been 12 years since the relicensing process began for five hydroelectric facilities on the Connecticut River, and until May 22, there is an opportunity to comment to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).  The last time these hydro facilities were licensed was in 1979, and once the new licenses are issued,…

UVM, don’t punish student protesters

May 15, 2024
Dear Editor, As a pastor, I feel it is my professional and moral responsibility to speak to the crisis of conscience facing our nation and state. As of this writing, the civilian death toll in Gaza stands at around 34,654 according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health. A third of these casualties are children. I do…

H.289: Good intentions on renewables but one big flaw

May 8, 2024
By David Bittersdorf Editor’s note: Dave Blittersdorf is the president of All Earth Renewables in Bristol. The Vermont General Assembly — in attempt to move the state to 100% renewable energy — is making changes to how the state’s utilities buy energy. Within the next couple of weeks, the Senate Natural Resources Committee will consider…