The Vermont legislature on Wednesday gave final approval to H.165, a bill that would make school breakfast and lunch permanently free for all public school students. But it remains unclear whether Gov. Phil Scott will sign it.

In a statement to Seven Days, Scott's spokesperson Jason Maulucci said the governor is concerned that the proposal — which comes with a cost of $29 million a year — "would increase property tax pressure, and therefore potentially rents."

That's because the money for the universal meals program would come from the state Education Fund, which gets its money, in part, from property taxes. A surplus in the Education Fund would pay for the program this year, but it's uncertain how long that money will last.



"This approach could disproportionately impact lower income Vermonters in order to essentially provide affluent families support that they do not need," Maulucci wrote. He said that over the next few days, as lawmakers pass a flurry of bills ahead of adjournment for the session, the governor will evaluate "the cumulative impact of the legislature’s many initiatives that carry high price tags" to determine which ones he can support.

Scott's administration had already come out against the proposal. Earlier this month, interim secretary of education Heather Bouchey submitted testimony to the Senate Appropriations Committee, writing that "current resources should be devoted to the highest need, and we must ensure that our education system remains sustainable into the future."

Since 2020, school meals in Vermont have been free for students, initially due to federal pandemic relief funds. State legislation passed in 2022 extended the program for one year.
Advocates for universal meals point to data from the past several years as proof of the program's success.

Before the pandemic, 11 percent of students who were eligible for free school meals — meaning their families were below 185 percent of the federal poverty level, or made $51,000 annually for a family of four — didn't complete the paperwork to receive those meals, according to Anore Horton, executive director of Hunger Free Vermont. Of the 31,000 students who were enrolled in the free meal program, around 32 percent weren't eating those meals.


Now, Horton said, more kids than ever — of all income levels — eat meals provided by their school. The biggest increase has been among students who are eligible for free lunch, she said.

Around 25,000 school-age children in Vermont are in families with incomes between 185 percent and 317 percent of the poverty level — a group Horton refers to as "the missing middle." While they are not eligible for free lunch under federal guidelines, their families still struggle to pay for school meals, she said.  Kathy Alexander, a veteran food service director for Addison Northwest and Mount Abraham Unified school districts, said she's seen a significant increase in participation in the school meal program since it became free for all students.

"I think, in general, we've changed the culture," Alexander said. "There's no stress around food access. Kids don't have think about it anymore. Everyone gets a meal."
Before the pandemic, Alexander said, she'd have to undertake the stressful task of trying to collect unpaid school meal fees from families. At Mount Abraham Unified School District, she said, there was typically around $30,000 worth of unpaid lunch debt each year. She would usually recoup some of that money, but much of it ended up coming out of the school district's budget.