Pelham said Vermont schools are among the best-funded in the nation and have been getting more money and more staff while the number of students continues to decline.
"Vermont's best-in-the-nation spending on K-12 education provides a very reasonable basis to ask the education lobby to temper their exuberant self-interest and to work with others to find a more balanced response to Vermont's current economic and fiscal concerns," Pelham said in a Dec. 29 letter to legislative leaders.
John Nelson of the Vermont School Boards' Association said he took exception to Pelham's letter.
"What I know from talking with board members around the state is that there are truly agonizing discussions going on about this year's budget," Nelson said. "We're aware of the economic climate, but we're also aware of the continuing demand on schools."
State Sen. Peter Shumlin, a Putney Democrat, the senate president pro tem and one of the lawmakers to whom Pelham's letter was addressed, said it was "disrespectful and destructive" to blame school boards for rising costs.
"Clearly, the tone of the letter suggests there is real animosity between the governor, the tax commissioner and hard working school board members. When that spills over into the public dialogue it is a disservice to all Vermonters," Shumlin said.
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