A key Senate committee advanced the Legislature’s landmark education bill Thursday, but not before nearly every committee member vented their discomfort with the legislation.

“I can’t remember ever feeling as bad about a vote as I do on this one, but it will move us forward,” Sen. Ann Cummings, D-Washington, the Senate Finance Committee’s chair, told her colleagues after voting out H.454.

The bill proposes generational changes to Vermont’s school governance and finance systems that would phase in over multiple years, including school district consolidation and a new education funding formula, but leaves open some key decision points for the future. Both chambers of the Legislature and Republican Gov. Phil Scott have made education reform the year’s key issue in response to last year’s double-digit average property tax increases, and all three drafted different versions of wide-ranging reforms.

The Senate Finance Committee ultimately voted 5-2 to move H.454 forward. The entire Senate is expected to vote on the bill next week, and senators have signalled there may be amendments put forward on the floor. If the legislation passes, House and Senate members are expected to further negotiate over differences in a conference committee. The compromise version would then require majority approval in both chambers before being sent to the governor.

Though the Senate’s current version departs from both the House’s and Scott’s packages, both chambers and the administration have broadly agreed the state should transition to a new education funding formula and move toward consolidating school districts. Disagreement has developed over the details and the timeline.

The Senate’s version of H.454 seeks to transition the state to a foundation formula by July 2027, potentially two years faster than the House-passed bill.

A foundation formula is the most common type of education funding system across the country. The approach provides districts money based on the number of students in each district and how expensive those students are to teach.

Disagreement between the chambers has also developed over who should map out the potential new, larger school districts. The House proposed having Vermont public education experts suggest districts with the help of legislators; the Senate wants lawmakers to draw the lines. Both chambers agreed to have the work done over the summer for consideration in the next legislative session.

The Senate nixed class size minimums, a concept in both the House’s legislation and Scott’s proposals, and adopted a different foundation formula. Compared to the House’s version, the Senate’s language also allows more currently operating independent schools to continue receiving public funding in a future, consolidated education landscape.

Organizations representing Vermont’s superintendents, principals and school board members, have come out in support of the House’s draft.

As a Thursday afternoon deadline to vote out the bill loomed, finance committee members voiced their frustration with aspects of the bill ranging from its pace to the details of foundation formula it proposes.

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