THE CHAMPLAIN VALLEY VOTER
Newsletter of the League of the Women Voters of the Champlain Valley
November 2006
CVLWV Board, 2006 - 2007
President Marge Gaskins 802-879-0003
Vice President Irene Wrenner (Voter Editor) 802-879-0011
Treasurer Amy Bond 802-879-0628
Secretary Sue Golden 802-985-9524
Director Barbara Bowen 802-985-9754
Director Mabel Buttolph 802-863-3990
Director Jean Hopkins 802-878-9326
Director Margaret Ottinger 802-985-5896
Director Bonnie Scott (Website) 802-372-9512
Director Keri Toksu (Membership) 802-658-0962
Calendar of Events
We sponsor meetings and events for the public and League members.
Champlain Valley LWV Monthly Meetings
We alternate between noon and evening meetings on the second Wednesday of
each month, September through May.
Campaign Finance Reform: Can We Level the Playing Field?
Repercussions of the recent Supreme Court decision on Vermont's campaign
finance laws are discussed by League members Terry Bouricius and Hardy Machia.
Wednesday, November 8, 2006 Noon
Pickering Room at
Fletcher Free Library
235 College Street
Burlington
Economic Impact of the Aging Vermont Population.
As the population ages, how does that ripple through society and the economy?
What changes can we expect in Vermont?
Wednesday, December 13, 2006 7pm
Speeder & Earl's Coffee
412 Pine St.
Burlington
Dinner and Legislative Preview.
Please join in our annual dinner meeting with elected officials.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007 5 pm - 8 pm
Location TBD -- check next month's VOTER for details.
CIVIC EDUCATION CONFERENCE - Vee Gordon
Sign up now for 2nd annual Conference on Civic Education to be held November
15 at the Statehouse in Montpelier! Free admission. If interested, please
reserve a seat/lunch by calling Vee at 878-5650 or the Vt. Bar at 223-2020.
Here's the conference schedule:
Registration: 8am - 8:45 am, Statehouse Lobby
Session 1: 8:45 am - 9:45 am
Session 2: 10 am - 11 am
Keynote Speaker: 11: 15 am (Terry Pickerel -
Dir. of the Education Commission of the States)
Lunch: Noon - 1:00
Session 3: 1:15 pm - 2:15 pm
Session 4: 2:30 pm - 3:30 pm
18 breakout sessions will be offered in a variety of topics:
Civic Rights Unit - River Project - Student Government - Mock Legislative
Session - Measurable Outcomes of Civic Learning - and more!
Many students will be participating, along with their teachers.
WE'RE LIVE ON THE WEB! Many thanks to Bonnie Scott for creating our
chapter's new website. Our web pages are attractively designed and hosted on a shared
LWV server. Visit us on-line at http://champlainvalley.vt.lwvnet.org/ for
information on meetings, voting and candidates.
CANDIDATE INFO ON-LINE: Get set for Election Day - Tuesday, November 7 - with
an overview of who's running in the Champlain Valley in 2006. See how
incumbent and aspiring Legislators answered our online survey on important issues
for this election (not all have yet responded at press time). Candidates
responded to questions about their views on Healthcare, Energy and Education Finance
at http://champlainvalley.vt.lwvnet.org/candidate-info.html
OCTOBER MEETING: Unresolved Issues in the Legislature: Health Care Costs,
Education Funding, and Energy Needs ... Dozens of members and guests attended our
October 11th monthly meeting, our first to be held at Speeder & Earl's on
Pine Street in Burlington.
Dorothy Schnure of Green Mountain Power Corp. discussed available sources and
costs of energy for Vermont's future. House Rep. Tim Jerman of Essex
Junction offered his perspective on the challenges of education financing. Tim
Palmer of Burlington gave a detailed overview and answered questions about the
Catamount Health Plan.
Plenty of parking, a brightly-painted, spacious room and delightful coffee
aromas made this venue one that we look forward to frequenting for future
functions!
MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE REVIVED! Keri Toksu is chairing a new committee to
address membership retention, growth and diversity. Other committee members
include Gail Feitelberg, Barbara Bowen and Elizabeth Ottinger.
In their first meeting, the committee brainstormed and discussed such issues
as the need for more publicity, member involvement in programming, offering
guidance to members for involvement in community/legislative affairs, and the
need for scholarships.
They also recommended that The Voter be e-mailed to both members and
non-members. (Non-members will not receive The Voter by postal mail.)
The Membership Committee planned to meet again on October 25th to plan
strategic short-, mid- and long-term objectives. If you have ideas to share, please
contact Keri at ktoksu@hotmail.com
FUNDING OUR SCHOOLS - Amy Bond
Why are our school property taxes so high?
Because of sharply increasing property values in Vermont the state grand list
is increasing very rapidly. Ordinarily the tax rate should decrease when the
grand list jumps, but Vermont's school funding law hasn't provided for this
event. There is a fixed tax rate instead of a fixed state education fund
budget. By rights, if the grand list increases by 50%, the tax rate would decrease
by about 37% in order to raise the same amount of tax dollars. In that
event, instead of a tax rate of $1.10 we would have a tax rate of about $0.73 or
so. Also, the non-residential tax rate would be adjusted. (What will happen to
all of the extra tax dollars the state has recently collected?)
Why are school costs rising when enrollments are on a slight decline?
Depending on the size of the school district, we would have to lose 10 to 15
pupils in a grade level in order to eliminate the cost of one teacher for that
grade.
The rapidly rising cost of health insurance is one of the major causes for
rising school budgets. One solution might be to eliminate employer-funded
health insurance in Vermont and go to a single payer system awarded to the lowest
bidder. This would eliminate multiples of administrative costs for all of the
different health care agencies and contracts for state and local government
employees. School budgets would then be reduced by the amount of the savings to
the school districts.
It is a rare school district which hasn't already drastically trimmed its
budgets. When the state of Vermont reduces its support to local school
districts, each school district must increase its tax rate to meet budget demands.
HEALTH CARE REFORM FOR UNITED STATES Network
Are you a League member interested in creating the momentum to achieve real,
positive, health care reform for all residents of the U.S.? If so, please
join the new HCR4US network, HEALTH CARE REFORM FOR UNITED STATES to receive
regular e-mail updates on Network activities. Also, you may choose to help on
short-term or long-term Network projects as they evolve. Participants represent
themselves, although each individual will be encouraged to take information
back to their local and state League. To join, send your Name, Address, Phone
Number, E-Mail address, and League Name to HCR4US@yahoo.com To find out
more, contact Jean Hopkins at seaheidi@earthlink.net
VOTER REGISTRATION: Thank you to everyone conducting voter registration
drives in recent months, including Sue Gordon and Amy Bond who registered voters at
the Lund Center, and Sue and Marge Gaskins who registered voters at
Burlington High School.
SAVE A TREE! Due to the cost of postage and labor, we encourage members to
receive this newsletter electronically. Please let the editor know if you can
make the switch from paper to pixels. Reach Irene Wrenner at imwren@aol.com.
Thank you!
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The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan political organization,
encourages the informed and active participation of citizens in government,
works to increase understanding of major public policy issues,
and influences public policy through education and advocacy.
Membership in the League is open to men and women citizens of all ages.
With more than 86 years of experience and 850 local and state affiliates,
the League is one of America's most trusted grassroots organizations.
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League of Women Voters of Champlain Valley, Vermont. All rights reserved.
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