"Vermont's schools are gaining teachers at a fast rate, losing students at a faster rate and spending money on education at the fastest rate." That's the key conclusion of an insightful article on the condition of education in Vermont.

Between 1998 and 2002, student enrollment across the state of Vermont fell by over 4,200 students while the number of full-time teachers grew by 450. Meanwhile, since 1997--when the Act 60 education funding law was put into effect--state spending has skyrocketed from $600 million to over $1 billion in the next fiscal year. Vermont now has one of the highest per-pupil expenditure levels in the nation at $9000/student and one of the lowest student-to-teacher ratios at 11.4.

Advocates and opponents of increased educational spending should look to use Vermont as a laboratory for testing the relationship between funding, class size and student achievement.