Martha Heath: Local control is key to public education success

Editor’s note: This commentary is by Martha Heath, of Westford, who is a longtime school board member and a former member of the Vermont House.
Twenty years ago Vermont made a firm commitment to retain local control of decisions about school spending. This carefully considered choice came in the wake of the Brigham decision in 1997, when the Vermont Supreme Court ruled the state’s education funding system was unconstitutional. The decision made it clear the state had the ultimate res