Author: lventriss

VBR Addresses Current State and Future Trends in Education [8.14.14]

Posted on August 14, 2014

South Burlington, VT – At the invitation of Kevin Dorn, South Burlington City Manager, Roundtable President, Lisa Ventriss, addressed state leaders at the Vermont School and Municipal Leadership Conference on Education Property Tax and Funding Reform  on the “Current State and Future Trends: Public Education in Vermont” today.

In her opening remarks, Ms. Ventriss acknowledged that the Roundtable’s Board of Directors convened last year to discuss ways in which to:

  • “Get Unstuck” from our education rut, where there has been a lot of talk, but little action.
  •  Gain traction on comprehensive, system-wide education reforms, and move beyond words to actions,
  •  Create an “Informed and Engaged Public,” which is essential to any major policy change.
  •  That results in improved educational experiences and outcomes for all our career or college-bound students.

Since then the Roundtable has used data to tell the story and convey the “urgency” with which we believe change must happen.

EdFundSustainability
An Issue of Sustainability: Since the passage of Act 60, school property taxes have increased almost 3X greater than the rate of CPI. Source: Vermont League of Cities and Towns

Download Ms. Ventriss’ presentation, “Current State, Future Trends: Public Education in VT.”

Op-Ed: Director Rob Simpson Reflects on Veteran’s Day 2011

Posted on November 11, 2011
Waitsfield, VT War Memorial
Photo Courtesy of Rob Simpson

November 11, 2011 – Veterans Day

by Rob Simpson, CEO, Brattleboro Retreat and Secretary, Vermont Business Roundtable

 I was driving through Waitsfield yesterday after leaving the Vermont Business Roundtable Board meeting when I noticed on my right on Route 100 a roadside memorial made up of small white flags arranged like a cemetery with gravestones honoring the 6,229 Americans who have lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan. The contrast to my meeting with business leaders throughout the state and the juxtaposition of the images on my right and the thoughts in my head were jarring. Minutes before we had been discussing the Roundtable’s strategic initiatives in early childhood education, healthcare reform and supporting the Vermont brand in tourism. Continue reading “Op-Ed: Director Rob Simpson Reflects on Veteran’s Day 2011” →

Roundtable Supports Extension of Natural Gas Services

Posted on May 10, 2011

Chairman of the Roundtable’s Infrastructure Working Group, and President and CEO of PKC Corp., Howard Pierce released a statement of support of the Vermont Gas proposal to extend service to Vergennes and Middlebury communities today.

In a prepared written statement, addressed to the Vermont Public Service Board, Pierce wrote: “The Roundtable supports this proposal for two principle reasons: it improves and expands the mix of energy sources available to both residential and business customers in an important area of the state, and it utilizes a creative and ‘Vermont-like’ approach to solving the challenge of how to finance the building or renovating of infrastructure in our thinly populated state.”

The familiar problemof finding a business model that permits our best public and private entities to bring key services to areas that lack a critical mass of consumers, will always be part of Vermont’s heritage. As federal funds become harder to find and the need for environmental and human efficiency becomes more compelling, every opportunity to spread key infastructure costs across a population of beneficiaries should be tested. Vermont Gas has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to deliver a dependable product at an improving price point. Harnessing one of these improvements in pricing across their existing customer base, in order to better guarantee expanded user base and product volume, seems in everyone’s interest – new customers, existing customers, and the State of Vermont.

The Roundtable’s Infrastructure Working Group supports this proposal We also encourage other key utilities, in particular broadband data and communications, to investigate similar strategies that use small across-the-board discount diversions and usage taxes – in a careful and targeted manner – to overcome the challenges presented by Vermont’s highly valued beauty and deomgraphics.”

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Research on High Effects of High Quality Early Childhood Ed

Posted on April 4, 2011

by Mary Barrosse Schwartz, Executive Director, Pre-K VT

Research on the Effects of High Quality Early Education on At-Risk Children and from Middle Income Backgrounds

Three U.S. longitudinal studies show long and short-term positive effect for children. These programs were of varying intensity and served mainly at-risk children. These studies include the Abecedarian study in North Carolina, Perry High Scope in Michigan, and the Chicago Child-Parent Center in Illinois. All show consistent benefits that persist for many years following the program. Continue reading “Research on High Effects of High Quality Early Childhood Ed” →

Roundtable Elects New Directors for 2011

Posted on February 17, 2011

Rob Adams, Tim Donovan, Pam Mackenzie Photos

South Burlington, VT – Today, Vermont Business Roundtable (Roundtable) President Lisa Ventriss announced that three new directors were elected to the Roundtable Board of Directors at its 24th Annual Membership Meeting on January 13th at Topnotch Resort & Spa in Stowe.

New directors are: Rob Adams, President, Simon Pearce; Tim Donovan, Chancellor, Vermont State Colleges; and, Pam Mackenzie, Area Vice-President of VT/Western New England. Elected to a second three-year term is Howard Pierce, President and CEO of PKC. Continue reading “Roundtable Elects New Directors for 2011” →

Roundtable Releases 5th Quality of Life Report

Posted on January 25, 2011

Vermont Business Roundtable Releases 2010 Pulse of Vermont: Quality of Life Report

Study Represents 20 Years of Trend Analysis on Vermonters Attitudes

At its 24th Annual Membership Meeting held on January 13th at Topnotch Resort & Spa in Stowe, the Vermont Business Roundtable (Roundtable) released the fifth Pulse of Vermont: Quality of Life Survey conducted since 1990. Each of the studies, conducted every five years, was directed by Dr. Vince Bolduc and Dr. Herb Kessel of the Center for Social Science Research at Saint Michael’s College under the sponsorship of the Roundtable. Since the first study in 1990, more than 2,000 Vermonters have been interviewed, allowing for the documentation of numerous longitudinal trends. Continue reading “Roundtable Releases 5th Quality of Life Report” →

CEOs Forecast Improvements for first Six Months of New Year

Posted on January 14, 2011

(South Burlington, Vt.)  The chief executives of Vermont’s leading businesses appear increasingly poised for improvement in all three of the survey’s metrics:  sales prospects, capital expenditures and employment levels for the winter and spring months of 2011, when compared against the previous survey period.  The mood was assessed near the end of calendar year 2010 and released today by Vermont Business Roundtable Chair Bill Stritzler and President Lisa Ventriss. Continue reading “CEOs Forecast Improvements for first Six Months of New Year” →

Ventriss Op-Ed: Investing in Vermont’s Children: The Business Case

Posted on January 14, 2011

Nationally, states compete against each other to lure large employers with elaborate incentive packages. As important as these public investments are for those states, the Roundtable recognizes that Vermont cannot compete with them in supplying an array of expensive economic incentives for targeted business recruitment. However, we can certainly become a business relocation destination for all types of business and industry by building on an existing asset, and creating one of the best preK through higher education systems in the country. Businesses’ first need is a well-prepared and adaptable workforce so, by investing aggressively in our human capital beginning with our youngest children, Vermont can create a positive environment to attract new business and their workers at the same time that we bolster our existing businesses and ultimately create the workforce we need. Continue reading “Ventriss Op-Ed: Investing in Vermont’s Children: The Business Case” →