Good evening friends and neighbors,

Did you see the northern lights this past week? My husband drove us up to Cooper Hill in Dover to check out the show.

I’m really relieved that the federal government shut down has ended, at least for now. If your family was effected and that effect is not resolved quickly, please let me know if you need assistance.

This week I will be holding office hours in Wardsboro at the Library on Thursday at 6 p.m. – please stop by if you live in Jamaica, Wardsboro, Stratton, Somerset or Dover and want to meet.

Messages from constituents and Vermonters about problems with Consolidated/Fidium customer service continue to be forwarded to me. It is very important to report customer service issues. I provided a detailed explanation on how to report in my last update.

At the end of the newsletter you’ll find a link to the Governor’s Ray’s of Kindness nomination page for those quietly spreading kindness throughout our state – please nominate! As we move into the holiday season, I hope you are able to spend time with those who are important in your family and community and that you are able to find joy in our local shared events and traditions. We are looking forward to spending time with all of our children in the next month!

I have a few important updates below:

School Redistricting Update

The Vermont school redistricting task force has voted to recommend voluntary mergers of school districts instead of drawing a new statewide map, even though Act 73 required them to return up to three maps. The majority on the task force argued that forced consolidation would not work and that a long-term, voluntary approach would better support students and communities.

VTDigger: Vermont’s school redistricting task force proposes voluntary mergers instead of new district map

I have heard from parents, taxpayers and board members who are worried about maintaining choice, closing schools, choice degrading the public school system and that elected officials in Montpelier will not take action to address property taxes. Major education reform is always difficult including in Vermont. Families care deeply about their schools. Communities want to protect their identity and traditions. And at the same time, working and middle-income Vermonters are exhausted by rising property taxes and our students need a public education system that is more modern and more accountable.

I voted for Act 73 (my detailed explanation here) because we cannot ignore real inequities and rising costs. But I do not support the Beck and Wolk proposal. Their map is built around preserving school choice and the career and technical education system, which does not serve every student and cannot be the backbone for meeting our constitutional obligation to provide equitable opportunities at a price Vermonters can sustain.

Act 73 required up to three maps. The task force chose not to submit any. The Legislature must now decide whether to change the law, enforce it, or start again. I will be pushing the Governor and the Speaker to keep the process of overhauling our education system moving forward. Vermonters deserve a clear plan that works for students, communities, and taxpayers.

Share your views on Vermont’s education future

The Commission on the Future of Public Education is holding virtual listening sessions. These conversations will help shape proposals coming to the Legislature in 2026. Your voice matters. Upcoming sessions:
• Tuesday, November 18, 5-6 PM register here for Zoom link
• Wednesday, November 19, 12-1 PM register here for Zoom link

This is different then the School Redistricting Task Force work which is tasked with bringing the legislature maps to consider in 2026. 

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Climate and Disaster Readiness

Global greenhouse gas emissions hit another record this year, and that matters here in Vermont where we are already seeing the impacts: storms that drop more water in less time, wildfire smoke drifting into our summer air, and longer dry periods followed by sudden flooding. These patterns are hard on families, farms, and our back roads.

There is some good news. Many countries invested early in wind, solar, and cleaner energy, and that has kept the world off a worse path. Fast growing countries like Brazil, India, and Vietnam are now adding clean energy at a pace no one expected a decade ago because it is cheaper and more stable than fossil fuels. China’s manufacturing scale has driven down the cost of solar and batteries worldwide, helping other countries leap ahead. These shifts show that cleaner energy is becoming the affordable option in much of the world.

This global trend underscores the value of Vermont’s Renewable Energy Standard and emissions goals. They help keep our economy connected to the global shift toward cheaper and more stable energy. Some Vermont leaders who are backed by fossil fuel interests like Americans for Prosperity, are calling to repeal these laws again this year. Rolling these laws back will simply leave Vermont less prepared and more exposed to the higher costs and disruptions we are already seeing.

This national picture raises serious concerns about Vermont’s own disaster readiness. Recent reporting shows our flood-recovery system is strained and losing ground. A FEMA case-management grant that should have lasted two years was drained early, with nearly half the funds going to consultants instead of families trying to rebuild. A separate report shows Vermont now faces delayed or denied federal disaster declarations and stalled hazard-mitigation funds.

Back in April, I wrote directly to the Governor, the Speaker, and the Pro Tem warning that federal disaster support was shifting. I urged action to strengthen local capacity, build regional response hubs, and organize volunteer mutual-aid networks. I also offered to help. There was no response, and no statewide plan that accounts for a reduced federal role has been shared with legislators or the public.

These shifts are also why the Legislature created the County and Regional Governance Study Committee. It was supposed to examine these vulnerabilities and recommendations. Instead, after a leadership change, the work stalled, and the report submitted this month contains no findings, no assessment of readiness, and no plan to strengthen regional capacity.

We cannot wait for the next July storm to expose the same gaps. I will continue pressing state leaders to be clear about what is working, what is not, and what must change. Even with uncertainty in Washington, we still have options. We can strengthen local hazard-mitigation planning, coordinate better with regional partners, and support the volunteer networks that always help pull our communities through. The leading of this work needs to start now.

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Office Hours

Wardsboro: Thursday, November 20, 6–7 PM | Wardsboro Library
Dover: Saturday, December 6, 11 AM–12 PM | Dover Free Library

If you need help with state services, please reach out. I do not have staff and I work year-round, so if you do not hear back in a day or two, please follow up or send a text. If you find my work useful and are able to support it, you can do that here.

Thank you for staying engaged and looking out for one another. That is how Vermont gets through hard times and solves problems.

Rep. Laura Sibilia
Windham-2 District (Dover, Jamaica, Somerset, Stratton, Wardsboro)
Email: lsibilia@leg.state.vt.us
Phone: (802) 384-0233

The best days at the statehouse are when people from our district visit and when students visit. Rep. Carris-Duncan and I welcomed these students last spring. If you can find time to come and visit the People’s House while we are in session January – May, please let me know!