That kept things quiet, until the state broke the promise. The towns turned their ire toward the land in current use. Nothing could be farther from the truth, of course. People with kids had long ago shifted the burden of educating those kids onto summer folks and farmers. Now school costs are coming home to roost, back to the houses with the children, often strapped houses, struggling houses, houses that can't bear a property tax increase.
Similar decisions are in the works in New Hampshire, Ohio, and maybe the nation as a whole.
The federal court once decreed that black kids and white kids have a right to equal education. It makes sense that the same should be true, in a land of supposed equal opportunity, for rich kids and poor kids. So Vermont has to rethink its school funding and property tax system, leading the way for the rest of the nation. It's a wonderful opportunity, though it doesn't feel that way. I look at Vermont out my window, but I don't live there, so I can only offer a few unpopular but unquestionable truths to keep in mind, as Vermonters, in whom I have great faith, work through this problem.