By Angelo Lynn As advocates of small schools and those supporting school consolidation come to terms with declining enrollments and rising costs, here’s the conundrum both face: consolidation is the right short-term answer to cost-cutting to contain higher and higher […]
Category: Op – Ed
Op - Ed, Opinion
Youth protest climate change
Editor’s note: This commentary is by Lili Platt and Evelyn Seidner, Vermont Youth Lobby organizers and students at Harwood Union High School, Montpelier High School and Burr & Burton Academy respectively. Despite our state’s green reputation, Vermont has not made […]
Op - Ed, Opinion
The philanthropy challenge in higher education
By Dan Smith Nationwide, approximately 50% of all students pursuing higher education attend community colleges. But only about 1.5% of total private donations for higher education directly support the mission of community colleges. This occurs despite many compelling factors at […]
Op - Ed, Opinion
Transparency is part of government’s job
By Jay Diaz “The liberties of a people never were, nor ever will be, secure when the transactions of their rulers may be concealed from them,” said Patrick Henry. The Vermont Supreme Court recently affirmed that government officials cannot require […]
Op - Ed, Opinion
Beat the dead horse harder
National standardized test scores drop By William J. Mathis The latest round of flagellation of dead horse flesh has been provoked by the release of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores. After 20 years of overall progress, many […]
Op - Ed, Opinion
Hunting dogs: Finding a solution won’t be easy
By Angelo Lynn The story of two hikers and their small dog being attacked by a pack of hunting hound dogs while hiking in the Green Mountain National Forest near the Goshen-Ripton border is as shocking as it is frightening. […]
Op - Ed, Opinion
Money alone won’t solve Vermont’s child care problem
By Rebecca Holcombe Vermont now spends tens of millions more dollars on child care and prekindergarten markets than it did only three or four years ago. Yet, a Joint Fiscal Office study recently found Vermont now has about 1,693 fewer […]
Op - Ed
Bernie’s revolution: Is the magic there a second time?
By Angelo Lynn Sen. Bernie Sanders launched his second run for president this past Tuesday with an appeal to continue the revolution he started in 2016 when he had the audacity to challenge the presumed Democratic designee Hillary Clinton. He […]
Op - Ed
New jobs, new markets require new leadership
By Emerson Lynn What passes for economic development in Vermont is largely ineffective and not suited for the 21st century, according to Peter Stromgren and Bill Schubart who co-wrote a recent op-ed that was widely circulated. They are correct in […]
Op - Ed
‘ A, my name is Alice ’
By Lawrence Zupan “A, my name is Alice, and I come from Arlington, Vermont, and we sell… abortions.” The above variation on the children’s innocent alphabetical song game might well become reality if a bill currently under consideration by the […]