Burlington, Vermont - Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin wants voters to strike down any school budget they don't see fit on Town Meeting Day.
School district leaders say they're worried Shumlin's words may ruin the work they've done to craft a fair budget.
Governor Shumlin says voters can't afford any more tax hikes.
But the Burlington School District is calling his bluff.
They say, just last year, he raised property taxes to fund education by three cents at the local level.
The Governor would not return our calls Friday but in an interview with Vermont Public Radio this week, Shumlin made some controversial statements.
"If local school boards come in with budgets that are too high, I think they should be rejected because Vermont taxpayers can't afford to pay higher property taxes. I urged them to level fund their budgets. They must do so. I'm sending the clearest message I know how," says Shumlin.
"To do that now is pretty unfair and disrespectful to the educated tax payer," says Superintendent of Burlington School Jeanne Collins.
Collins says the Governor should have made these statements when the budget was being built, not a month before Town Meeting Day.
"It's a one size fits all approach," explains Collins.
She says different districts have different needs and that should be represented in the budget.
"Burlington is a district that has increasing enrollment," says Collins.
She says the Governor raised property taxes just last year when he cut roughly $30 million from the general education fund resulting in a tax increase.
"He raised property taxes on behalf of the school and the school had no choice," adds Collins.
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