Notes on Education Fund Report

Goal: This document aims to serve as a guidance when preparing the annual Education Fund report in October.

Sources of Notes

Table 1: Equalized Education Grand List Components
Table 2: No longer produced
Table 3: Relevant Inflation and Other Economic Measures
Table 4B: Tax Base Calculation Inputs for Taxable Education Grand List; replaced Table 4 and Table 4A in October 2025
Table 4: No longer produced
Table 4A: No longer produced

Table 1: What is the source of the first four columns? Jake at Tax Department?
Table 3: Are the forecast values in Table 3 based on the Moody’s forecast adjusted by judgment?
Table 3: FHFA actual values (e.g., 2024) display discrepancies between Table 3 and Moody’s data. Why?

Purpose
- This table displays the equalized (or fair market) value of the Education Tax Base.
- The core data largely originates from the Tax Department.
Total Equalized Education Tax Base * This is the most critical column we estimate. * Estimation is performed using EViews regression based on FHFA data.

Columns	Description	Source	Notes
Year	Normally calendar year		PVR and property tax data starting in April with variations by more than 200 towns
Adjusted Equalized Education Grand List	GL adj. to current market as they are appraised every year	?
Utilities Excluding VT Yankee		Jake (Tax Department)?
Cable		Jake (Tax Department)?
Current use Exempt Value		Jake (Tax Department)?
Tax Increment Financing Exemptions	created as a development tool to attract investment into economically depressed areas by offering tax exemptions	JBC
Total Equalized Education Tax Base	most critical column we estimate	calculation of other columns	EEGL + Utilities + Cable - CU - TIF
*Real* Adjusted Equalized Education Grand List	inflation-adjusted values of the column, “Adjusted Equalized Education Grand List”	calculation of other columns	explained in Table1 Adds Sheet in Property Tax Analysis File
*Real* Total Equalized Education Tax Base	inflation-adjusted values of the column, “Total Equalized Education Tax Base”	calculation of other columns	explained in Table1 Adds Sheet in Property Tax Analysis File

from Moody’s
NIPA Implicit Price Deflator in Column 1 is used to limit education expenditure.
Education expenditure is largely teaching salary and healthcare, and building maintenance.
FHFA in Column 3 is All Transaction Indexes Est. using sales prices and appraisal data.

Columns	Description	Source	Notes
NIPA Implicit Price Deflator	U.S. State & Local Govt, FY Basis; Used to limit education expenditure, which is largely teacher salary & healthcare benefits, and building maintenance	Acutal: BEA Forecast: Moody’s adj. by judgement?	explained in All Econ Inputs Sheet in Property Tax Analysis File
U.S. Consumer Price Index	Urban Consumer, All Items, CY Basis	Actual: BLS Forecast: Moody’s adj. by judgement?	explained in All Econ Inputs Sheet in Property Tax Analysis File
FHFA, Vermont House Price Index	All Transaction Indexes Using Sales Prices and Appraisal Data, CY Basis	Acutal: FHFA Forecast: Moody’s adj. by judgement?	Slightly different from the values in the hard copy? explained in All Econ Inputs Sheet in Property Tax Analysis File
Vermont GDP	Nominal Dollars, FY Basis	Actual: BEA Forecast: Moody’s adj. by judgement?	explained in All Econ Inputs Sheet in Property Tax Analysis File

Categorization
- The process of classifying property as homestead versus non-homestead is not an exact science. The final ratios used for estimation are based on historical data provided by the Tax Department.
Tax Department Property Categories
- Residential/Seasonal: R1 (Primary residence, less land), R2 (Primary residence, more land), MHU (Mobile home, no land), MHL (Mobile home, with land), S1 (Seasonal, less land?), S2 (Seasonal, more land?).
- Commercial/Industrial: COMM (Commercial buildings), CMA (Commercial buildings with apartment), IND (Industrial), FRM (Farm).
- Utility/Other: UE (Utility, electrical), UO (Utility, other), Wood (Woods), MISC, Other.
Homestead Clarification Notes
- In theory, all R1 and R2 properties should be classified as homestead, but the data shows this is not strictly the case in practice.
The column, Tax Base Additions
- This column represents an estimate of new construction that has broken ground.
- The data is sourced from Dodge reports. It does not represent actual real estate values that are ready to be included on the tax list yet.

Columns	Description	Source	Notes
Homestead Value	A homestead is owner-occupied property		explained in Final Sheet in Property Tax Analysis File
NonHomestead Value	A nonhomestead is non-ower-occupied, including rental property, second home, and camp.		explained in Final Sheet in Property Tax Analysis File
Tax Base Additions		Dodge	explained in Table 4 Sheet in Property Tax Analysis File

Categorization * The process of classifying property as homestead versus non-homestead is not an exact science. The final ratios used for estimation are based on historical data provided by the Tax Department.
Tax Department Property Categories * Residential/Seasonal: R1 (Primary residence, less land), R2 (Primary residence, more land), MHU (Mobile home, no land), MHL (Mobile home, with land), S1 (Seasonal, less land?), S2 (Seasonal, more land?). * Commercial/Industrial: COMM (Commercial buildings), CMA (Commercial buildings with apartment), IND (Industrial), FRM (Farm). * Utility/Other: UE (Utility, electrical), UO (Utility, other), Wood (Woods), MISC, Other.
Homestead Clarification Notes * In theory, all R1 and R2 properties should be classified as homestead, but the data shows this is not strictly the case in practice.

The column, New * This column represents an estimate of new construction that has broken ground. * The data is sourced from Dodge reports. It does not represent actual real estate values that are ready to be included on the tax list yet.

Columns	Description	Source	Notes
Homestead Value	A homestead is owner-occupied property		explained in Final Sheet in Property Tax Analysis File
NonHomestead Value	A nonhomestead is non-ower-occupied, including rental property, second home, and camp.		explained in Final Sheet in Property Tax Analysis File
Homestead Value CH		calculation of other columns	(H Value)(t) - (H Value)(t-1)
Homestead New		Dodge	explained in Table 4 Sheet in Property Tax Analysis File
Homestead Ap/Dep		calculation of other columns	(H Value CH) - (H New)
NonHomestead Value CH		calculation of other columns	(NH Value)(t) - (NH Value)(t-1)
NonHomestead New		Dodge	explained in Table 4 Sheet in Property Tax Analysis File
NoneHomestead Ap/Dep		calculation of other columns	(NH Value CH) - (NH New)