Innovation required
The toughest of times can throw the door wide open for innovation, as unprecedented problems call for unprecedented solutions. Vermont’s higher education landscape is up against such a moment.
In Vermont, the state college system recently took the spotlight amid a controversial plan to close three campuses because of COVID-19’s financial impact. On Sunday, legislative leaders asked the college system’s board to postpone its Monday vote on the plan, which it did on Sunday evening. Its next meeting is on April 27, giving officials a week to consider next steps.
Legislative leaders’ request included several ideas such as creating a “one-year bridge budget” that would keep those campuses in Lyndon, Johnson and Randolph open for the 2020-2021 year, while using that time to craft a plan for the future of those sites.
“While we recognize that change must come, an abrupt vote to close three campuses, with three days notice, without a public plan for what comes next for the students, faculty and staff, and the host communities is not appropriate, especially in this era of unprecedented unknowns,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Tim Ashe and House Speaker Mitzi Johnson in their statement.
Also on Sunday by video statement, Gov. Phil Scott expressed his disagreement with the closures and said a taxpayer-funded bailout of the college system was not the answer, either. Instead, Scott directed the Legislature to work with him on not only saving the state colleges, but undertaking a reform of Vermont’s entire education system. Working together, he said Vermont could, even now, progress toward having one of the nation’s best education systems.
“We all know that change isn’t easy, and that difficult decisions will need to be made, but if we want to be the best, we can’t continue to do things the way we’ve always done them,” Scott said.
Obviously, the severe impact on the lives of students, workers and impacted communities are the chief concerns here. Over the weekend, opposition to the three campus closures surged quickly around the state. Hopefully, delaying the board’s vote will allow room for innovative, less disruptive ideas that could move the campuses forward and help preserve this long-struggling college system.
With so much focus on the widespread move to online instruction in this crisis, many have pondered the potential impact on the future of public education. Groundbreaking ideas have emerged from our darkest hours before. This could be the time for innovators to shine, in an era when constructive creativity is — and will continue to be — sorely needed to revive the economy.
No one has the answer for these campuses today, but it’s clear that old approaches can’t be the solution. New ways of thinking will make the difference, and if any state can summon that much-needed innovation, Vermont can.
— Gareth Henderson
This post has been updated to reflect the delay in the vote by the Vermont State Colleges Board of Trustees.
