Vermont

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State of Vermont
Flag of Vermont Great Seal of Vermont Nickname(s): The Green Mountain State Motto(s): Freedom and Unity
Official language(s)	None
Capital	Montpelier
Largest city	Burlington
Area	Ranked 45th
- Total	9,620 sq mi (24,923 km²)
- Width	80 miles (130 km)
- Length	160 miles (260 km)
- % water	3.8
- Latitude	42° 44′ N to 45° 1′ N
- Longitude	71° 28′ W to 73° 26′ W
Population	Ranked 49th
- Total (2000)	608,827
- Density	65.8/sq mi  25.41/km² (30th)
- Median income	$48,508 (19th)
Elevation
- Highest point	Mount Mansfield[1] 4,393 ft  (1,340 m)
- Mean	1,000 ft  (300 m)
- Lowest point	Lake Champlain[1] 95 ft  (29 m)
Admission to Union	March 4, 1791 (14th)
Governor	Jim Douglas (R)
U.S. Senators	Patrick Leahy (D) Bernie Sanders (I)
Congressional Delegation	List
Time zone	Eastern: UTC-5/-4 (DST)
Abbreviations	US-VT
Web site	www.vermont.gov

Vermont (IPA: /vɜrˈmɒnt/) is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 45th by total area, and 43rd by land area at 9,250 square miles, and has a population of 608,827, making it the second least populous state (second only to Wyoming). The only New England state with no coastline along the Atlantic Ocean, Vermont is notable for the Green Mountains in the west and Lake Champlain in the northwest. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the north.

Originally inhabited by Native American tribes (Abenaki, and Iroquois), the territory that is now Vermont was claimed by France but became a British possession after France's defeat in the French and Indian War. For many years, control of the area was disputed by the surrounding colonies, notably between New Hampshire and New York. Settlers who held land titles granted by these colonies were opposed by the Green Mountain Boys militia, which eventually prevailed in creating an independent state. Vermont became the 14th state to join the United States, following a 14-year period during and after the Revolutionary War as the independent Republic of Vermont.

According to the 2005 U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis report, Vermont’s gross state product (GSP) was $23 billion. This places the state 50th among the 50 states. It stood 38th in per capita GSP. ^[2][3] The per capita personal income was $32,770 in 2004.

Components of GSP were:^[4][5]

• Government - $3,083 million (13.4%)
• Real Estate, Rental and Leasing - $2,667 million (11.6%)
• Durable goods manufacturing - $2,210 million (9.6%)
• Health Care and Social Assistance - $2,170 million (9.4%)
• Retail trade - $1,934 million (8.4%)
• Finance and Insurance - $1,369 million (5.9%)
• Professional and technical services - $1,276 million (5.5%)
• Construction - $1,258 million (5.5%)
• Wholesale trade - $1,175 million (5.1%)
• Accommodations and Food Services - $1,035 million (4.5%)
• Information - $958 million (4.2%)
• Non-durable goods manufacturing - $711 million (3.1%)
• Other Services - $563 million (2.4%)
• Utilities - $553 million (2.4%)
• Transportation and Warehousing - $484 million (2.1%)
• Educational Services - $478 million (2.1%)
• Administrative and Waste Services - $436 million (1.9%)
• Agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting - $375 million (1.6%)
• Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation - $194 million (.8%)
• Mining - $100 million (.4%)
• Management of Companies - $35 million (.2%)

Contents 1 Agriculture 2 Manufacturing 3 Housing 4 Labor 5 Insurance 6 Tourism 7 Quarrying 8 Taxes 9 Government Finances 10 Transportation 10.1 Major Routes 10.2 Local community public and private transportation 10.3 Airports 11 Media 12 Utilities and Communication 13 Law and government 13.1 Constitutional 13.1.1 The Constitution of the State of Vermont 13.1.2 Executive branch 13.1.2.1 Local government 13.1.3 Legislative branch 13.1.4 Judicial branch 13.1.5 Civil rights and liberties 13.1.6 Federal legislative representation 13.2 Statutory 13.2.1 Medical 13.3 Political 13.4 Taxation 13.4.1 State Lotteries 13.4.2 Town Government 14 Public Health and Safety 15 Education 15.1 Academies and grammar schools 15.2 Educating teachers 15.3 The one-room school house 15.4 Higher education 16 Sports 17 Cultural Pursuits 18 State symbols 19 Notable Vermonters 19.1 Notable fictional Vermonters 20 See also 21 References 22 Bibliography 23 External links

[edit] Agriculture

Agriculture contributes $2.6 billion,^[6] about 12%, directly and indirectly to the states economy.^[7]

Over the past two centuries, Vermont has had both population explosions and population busts. First settled by farmers, loggers and hunters, Vermont lost much of its population as farmers moved west into the Great Plains in search of abundant, easily tilled land. Logging similarly fell off as over-cutting and the exploitation of other forests made Vermont's forest less attractive. Although these population shifts devastated Vermont's economy, the early loss of population had the beneficial effect of allowing Vermont's land and forest to recover. The accompanying lack of industry has allowed Vermont to avoid many of the ill-effects of 20th century industrial busts, effects that still plague neighboring states. Today, most of Vermont's forests consist of second-growth.

Of the remaining industries, dairy farming is the primary source of agricultural income.

In recent years, Vermont has been deluged with plans to build condos and houses on what was relatively inexpensive, untouched land. Vermont's government has responded with a series of laws controlling development and with some pioneering initiatives to prevent the loss of Vermont's dairy industry.

In 1947 there were 11,206 dairy farms in the state. In 2003 there are fewer than 1,500, a decline of 80%. The number of cattle had declined by 40%. However, milk production had doubled in the same period due to tripling the production per cow.^[8]

An important and growing part of Vermont's economy is the manufacture and sale of artisan foods, fancy foods, and novelty items trading in part upon the Vermont "brand" which the state manages and defends. Examples of these specialty exports include Cabot Cheese, the Vermont Teddy Bear Company, Fine Paints of Europe, Vermont Butter and Cheese Company, several micro breweries, ginseng growers, Burton Snowboards, Lake Champlain Chocolates, King Arthur Flour, and Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream.

In 2001, Vermont produced 275,000 US gallons (1,040,000 L) of maple syrup, about one-quarter of U.S. production. For 2005 that number was 410,000 accounting for 37% of national production. ^[9]

In 2000, only 3% of the state's working population was still engaged in agriculture.^[10]

Wine industry started in Vermont in 1985. There are 14 wineries today.^[11]

[edit] Manufacturing

IBM, in Essex Junction, is Vermont's largest for-profit employer. It provides 25% of all manufacturing jobs in Vermont. It is responsible for $1 billion of the state's annual economy.^[12]

[edit] Housing

Vermont is the 17th highest state in the nation for mortgage affordability. However, in 41 other states, inhabitants contributed within plus or minus 4% of Vermont's 18.4% of household income to a mortgage.^[13]

[edit] Labor

As of 2006, there were 305,000 workers in Vermont. 11% of these are unionized.^[14][15] A 2007 survey claimed that Vermonters were the least satisfied with their job in the whole nation and were the most likely to be making plans to leave.^[16]

[edit] Insurance

Captive insurance plays an increasingly large role in Vermont's economy. With this form of alternative insurance, large corporations or industry associations form standalone insurance companies to insure their own risks, thereby substantially reducing their insurance premiums and gaining a significant measure of control over types of risks to be covered. There are also significant tax advantages to be gained from the formation and operation of captive insurance companies. According to the Insurance Information Institute, Vermont in 2004 was the world's third-largest domicile for captive insurance companies, following Bermuda and the Cayman Islands.^[17]

[edit] Tourism

Tourism is the state's largest industry. In winter, the ski resorts Stowe, Killington Ski Resort, Mad River Glen, Sugarbush, Stratton, Jay Peak, Okemo, Mount Snow and Bromley host skiers from around the globe, although their largest markets are the Boston, Montreal and New York metropolitan areas. In the summer, resort towns like Stowe, Manchester, and Woodstock host visitors. Resorts, hotels, restaurants, and shops, designed to attract tourists, employ people year-round.

Summer camps contribute to Vermont's tourist economy. Trout fishing, lake fishing, and ice fishing draw outdoor enthusiasts to the state, as does the hiking on the Long Trail. In winter, nordic and backcountry skiers visit to travel the length of the state on the Catamount Trail. Several horse shows are annual events. Vermont's state parks, historic sites, museums, golf courses, and new boutique hotels with spas were designed to attract tourists.

[edit] Quarrying

The towns of Rutland and Barre are the traditional centers of marble and granite quarrying and carving in the U.S. For many years Vermont was also the headquarters of the smallest union in the U.S., the Stonecutters Association, of about 500 members. Up the western side of the state runs the "Marble Valley" joining up with the "Slate Valley" that runs from just inside New York across from Chimney Point until it meets the "Granite Valley" that runs south past Rutland, home of the Rock of Ages quarry, the largest granite quarry in America. Vermont is the largest producer of slate in the country. Production of dimension stone is the greatest producer of revenues by quarrying.

[edit] Taxes

Vermont stands 14th highest out of 50 states and the District of Columbia for state and local taxation, with a per capita load of $3,681. The national average is $3,447.^[18] However, CNNMoney ranked Vermont highest in the nation based on the percentage of per capita income. The rankings showed Vermont had a per capita tax load of $5,387, 14.1% of the per capita income of $38,306.^[19]

Vermont collects personal income tax in a progressive structure of five different income brackets, ranging from 3.6% to 9.5%.

Vermont's general sales tax rate is 6%, which is imposed on sales of tangible personal property, amusement charges, fabrication charges, some public utility charges and some service contracts (some towns impose an additional 1% Local Option Tax). There are 46 exemptions from the tax which include medical items, food, manufacturing machinery, equipment and fuel, residential fuel and electricity, clothing, and shoes. A use tax is imposed on the buyer at the same rate as the sales tax. The buyer pays the use tax when the sellers fails to collect the sales tax or the items are purchased from a source where no tax is collected. The use tax applies to items taxable under the sales tax. Property taxes are imposed for the support of education and municipal services.

Vermont does not assess tax on intangible personal property. Vermont does not collect inheritance taxes; however, its estate tax is decoupled from the federal estate tax laws and therefore the state still imposes its own estate tax.

[edit] Government Finances

Vermont is the only state in the union not to have a balanced budget requirement.^[20] In 2007, Moody's Investors Service gave its top rating of Aaa to the state.^[21]

[edit] Transportation

Vermont's main mode of travel is by automobile. Individual communities and counties have public transit, but their breadth of coverage is frequently limited. Greyhound Lines services a number of small towns. Two Amtrak trains serve Vermont. The Ethan Allen Express serves Rutland and Fair Haven, while the Vermonter serves Saint Albans, Essex Junction, Waterbury, Montpelier, Randolph, White River Junction, Windsor, Bellows Falls and Brattleboro.

For a more detailed explanation see a List of Routes in Vermont.

[edit] Major Routes

• Interstate 89
• Interstate 91
• Interstate 93
• U.S. Route 2
• U.S. Route 4
• U.S. Route 5
• U.S. Route 7

A 2005-6 study ranks Vermont 37th out of the states for "cost-effective road maintenance." The state fell 13 places in the rankings since 2004-5. The study notes that states heading the list have good roads on a thin budget.^[22]

Federal data indicates that 16% of Vermont's 2,691 bridges had been rated structurally deficient by the state in 2006.^[23]

[edit] Local community public and private transportation

• Addison County has the ACTR (Addison County Transit Resources) out of Middlebury, also serving Bristol and Vergennes.
• Bennington County features the GME (American Red Cross Green Mountain Express) out of Bennington and the YT (Yankee Trails) running out of Rensselaer, New York.
• The RCT (Rural Community Transportation) runs out of Saint Johnsbury and services Caledonia, Essex, Lamoille and Orleans Counties.
• Burlington (home of the University of Vermont) has CCTA (Chittenden County Transportation Authority) and CATS (University of Vermont Campus Area Transportation System).
• Colchester in Chittenden County is serviced by the SSTA (Special Services Transportation Agency).
• The Network (Northwest Vermont Public Transit Network, NVPT) running out of Saint Albans, services Franklin and Grand Isle Counties.
• Stowe, in Lamoille county, is serviced by STS (Stowe Trolley System, Village Mountain Shuttle, Morrisville Shuttle).
• STS (Stagecoach Transportation Services) out of Randolph in Orange County also serves parts of Windsor County.
• Rutland County has the Bus (Marble Valley Regional Transit District, MVRTD) out of Rutland.
• In Washington county the GMTA (Green Mountain Transit Authority) runs out of the capital city, Montpelier.
• Brattleboro in Windham county is served by the BeeLine (Brattleboro Town Bus). Windham is served, out of West Dover, by the MOOver (Deerfield Valley Transit Association, DVTA).
• Ludlow (in Windsor County) is served by the LMTS (Ludlow Municipal Transit System). Windsor is also served by Advanced Transit (AT) out of Wilder and the CRT (Connecticut River Transit) out of Springfield, which also serves parts of Windham County.
• There is ferry service to New York State from Burlington, Charlotte, Grand Isle, and Shoreham. All but the Shoreham ferry are operated by the Lake Champlain Transportation Company.

[edit] Airports

Vermont is served by two commercial airports:

• Burlington International Airport is the largest in the state, with regular flights to Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit, New York City, Philadelphia, Plattsburgh, and Washington.
• Rutland State Airport has regular flights to Albany and Boston.

[edit] Media

See List of television stations in Vermont.

[edit] Utilities and Communication

• Broadband coverage as of 2006^[24]
  • Total Coverage = 87%
  • Cable = 68%
  • DSL = 69%
  • Wireless Internet Service Provider = 24%

(Above percentages are of population, not of land area.)

Cell phone coverage in the state, generally, outside of the major metropolitan areas is weak due to interference from mountains, the attempt to serve a small rural population living in a large area rendering investment in improvements uneconomical, and environmentalists opposition to towers.^[25] Unicel, focusing on rural areas, has better coverage.^[26]

In May 2007 , Vermont passed measures intended to make Broadband ( 3mbits minimum ) together with Cellular coverage Universally available to all citizens with the intention of having the first e-State in the Union by 2010 . A Synopsis of The Extent of this measure

[edit] Law and government

[edit] Constitutional

[edit] The Constitution of the State of Vermont

Provision is made for the following "frame of government" under the Constitution of the State of Vermont: the executive branch, the legislative branch, and the judicial branch. All members of the executive and legislative branch serve two-year terms including the governor and senators. There are no term limits for any office.

[edit] Executive branch

The current governor of Vermont is Jim Douglas, who assumed office in 2003. The offices of the Governor of Vermont are located at The Pavilion in Montpelier, the state capital.

Vermonters elect a state governor and lieutenant governor on separate tickets. For example, when Republican Governor Richard Snelling died in office in 1991, the Democratic Lieutenant Governor Howard Dean succeeded him for the remainder of that term. In addition to the Governor and Lieutenant Governor, Vermonters elect four other officials on a statewide ballot: Secretary of State, State Treasurer, Vermont Auditor of Accounts, and Attorney General.

[edit] Local government

There are three types of incorporated municipalities in Vermont, towns, cities and villages. As in the other New England states, towns are the basic unit of municipal government. Cities are independent of and equivalent to towns. Villages are included in towns but assume responsibility for some municipal services within their boundaries, usually water, sewage and sometimes local roads. Incorporated villages are not found in any of the other New England states.

Like most of New England, there is slight provision for autonomous county government. Counties and county seats are merely convenient repositories for various government services such as County and State Courts, with several elected officers such as a State's Attorney and Sheriff. All county services are directly funded by the State of Vermont.

[edit] Legislative branch

Vermont's state legislature is the Vermont General Assembly, a bicameral body composed of the Vermont House of Representatives (the lower house) and the Vermont Senate (the upper house) meet at the Vermont State House. The Senate is composed of 30 state senators, while the House of Representatives has 150 members.

[edit] Judicial branch

The Vermont Supreme Court is the state supreme court, made up of five justices who serve six year terms. Superior courts in the state are made up of eight judges serving a term of six years. Appointments to the state supreme court, superior court, and district courts are made by the governor, from a list of names submitted by the state's Judicial Nominating Committee and then are confirmed by the Senate. At the end of each six year term, the General Assembly votes by joint ballot (each member, senator or representative, getting one vote) on whether to retain the judge or justice (known as a judicial retention vote). Judges on lower courts are elected on a partisan ballot. The Vermont Constitution spells out the process of judicial appointment and retention in Chapter 2, Sections 32 through 35, 50 and 51. ^[27]

Vermont is one of twelve states that have no death penalty statute. After 1930, there were four executions, the last two being in 1954. Capital punishment was effectively abolished in practice in 1964, with the statutes being completely removed in 1987. State law allows children as young as ten years to be tried as adults, the lowest age limit currently specified by any of the 50 states. The Vermont prison system is administered by Vermont Department of Corrections.^[28] There are about 2,200 inmates as of May 2007.^[29] There are nine prisons in Vermont:

• Caledonia Community Work Camp
• Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility
• Dale Women's Facility
• Marble Valley Regional Correctional Facility
• Northern State Correctional Facility, Newport
• Northwest State Correctional Facility
• Southeast State Correctional Facility
• Southern State Correctional Facility
• St. Johnsbury Regional Correctional Facility
• Windsor Women's Correctional Facility

An unusual feature of Vermont Courts are two side Side Judges for county courts, who are elected as officers of the court and participate in non-legal decisions by the court, such as guilt or innocence or voting in tort cases. In addition to their judicial duties, the two Side Judges serve as administrators of the County government. They appoint the County clerk, Treasurer and Auditor, County Road commissioners, Notaries Public and care for the County Court House plus care and maintenance of any other county-owned property.

[edit] Civil rights and liberties

The Vermont Constitution outlines and guarantees broad rights for its citizens. Even in the eighteenth century it was seen as being among the most far-reaching in the new world and in Europe, and it predated the Bill of Rights by a dozen years. The Constitution's first chapter, "Declaration of the Rights of the Inhabitants of The State of Vermont" prohibits slavery, indentured servitude, and allowed for universal suffrage for men, regardless of property ownership. The Declaration of Rights set in place broad protections of religious freedom and conscience while erecting a strong firewall between church and state by prohibiting establishment or promotion of any faith by the government or compulsion to worship. The "Declaration of the Rights of the Inhabitants of The State of Vermont" is believed to have been a model for France's Déclaration universelle sur des droits de l'homme (Universal Declaration of the Rights of Man).

[edit] Federal legislative representation

Vermont is represented in the U.S. Senate by Patrick Leahy, a Democrat, and Bernie Sanders, an independent, caucusing with the Democrats. Vermont made history with Sanders's election as the first Democratic Socialist to be elected to the Senate. Sanders has served as Vermont's sole US Representative from 1991-2007 and also served as mayor of Burlington (Vermont's largest city) from 1981-1988. In the U.S. House of Representatives, Vermont's single congressional district is represented by Peter Welch, a Democrat. Among Vermont's distinguished public servants, U.S. Senator Winston Prouty (R) gained national prominence as an early critic of Senator Joseph McCarthy. Upon his departure from the Republican Party, Senator Jeffords cited the late Senator Prouty, a member of Vermont's most prominent political family, for the latter's legendary spirit of independence. George Aiken (R), who served as senator from 1941 until 1975, was equally prominent; he is perhaps best known for his proposal that the United States declare victory in Vietnam and leave.

[edit] Statutory

The age of consent in Vermont is 16.

Vermont is one of only two states in the Union to allow any adult to carry a concealed firearm without any sort of permit.

Vermont is one of four states (along with Alaska, Hawaii, and Maine) to have prohibited all billboards from view of highway rights-of-way by law, except for signs on the contiguous property of the business location.

Public nudity is legal in Vermont, though not disrobing in public.^[30]

Vermont is an Alcoholic beverage control state. Beer and wine may be sold in local grocery stores unless the town in which it is located has voted "dry" at their town meeting. Only state licensed establishments may sell stronger alcoholic beverages in bottles. The quantity of these stores is limited. Prices are set by the state. The state directly controls the licensing of establishments that sell alcoholic beverages by the drink.

[edit] Medical

As a result of statutory benefits like Dr. Dynasaur, Vermont, with 9.5% of the population with no medical insurance, has the second best coverage in the country, as of 2004.^[31]

[edit] Political

Main article: Politics of Vermont

See also: United States Congressional Delegations from Vermont and Category:Vermont elections

Vermonters are known for their political independence. Vermont is one of the few states that was an independent republic. It has sometimes voted contrarian in national elections. Notably, Vermont is the only state to have voted for a presidential candidate from the Anti-Masonic Party, and Vermont and Maine were the only states to vote against Franklin D. Roosevelt in his second election.

Vermont's unique history and history of independent political thought has led to movements for the establishment of the Second Vermont Republic and other plans advocating secession.^[32] In 2007, about 13% of Vermont's population supported Vermont's withdrawal from the Republic. This is almost double the amount from 2005, which was 8%.^[33][34]

The Vermont government maintains a proactive stance regarding the environment, social services, and prevention of urbanization. Legislators have recently tended to vote liberal on social issues, and moderate to conservative on fiscal issues.

Republicans dominated Vermont politics from the party's founding in 1854 until the mid-1970s. Prior to the 1960s, rural interests dominated the legislature. As a result, cities, particularly the older sections of Burlington and Winooski, were neglected and fell into decay. People began to move out to newer suburbs.

In the meantime, many people had moved in from out of state. Much of this immigration included the arrival of more liberal political influences of the urban areas of New York and New England in Vermont.^[35]

After the legislature was redistricted under one-person, one-vote, it passed legislation to accommodate these new arrivals. This legislation was the Land Use and Development Law (Act 250) in 1970. The law, which was the first of its kind in the nation, created nine District Environmental Commissions consisting of private citizens, appointed by the Governor, who must approve land development and subdivision plans that would have a significant impact on the state's environment and many small communities.

As a result of Act 250, Vermont was the last state to get a Wal-Mart (there are four, as of December 2006, but only one was a newly-built big box), is currently the only state without a Lowe's or Target (as of September 2007), and it remains the only state without a McDonald's restaurant or big box store within the city limits of the capital. After several years of debates and deliberation, a Lowe's is currently being constructed, and will open on U.S. Route 7 in South Burlington in January, 2008.

Another case involves the recent controversy over the adoption of civil unions, an institution which grants same-sex couples nearly all the rights and privileges of marriage. In Baker v. Vermont (1999), the Vermont Supreme Court ruled that, under the Constitution of Vermont, the state must either allow same-sex marriage or provide a separate but equal status for them. The state legislature chose the second option by creating the institution of civil union; the bill was passed by the legislature and signed into law by Governor Howard Dean.

Vermont is the home state of the only current member of the United States Congress who does not associate with a political party: Senator Bernie Sanders.

In the early 1960s many progressive Vermont Republicans and newcomers to the state helped bolster the state's small Democratic Party. Until 1992, Vermont had supported a Democrat for president only once since the party's founding—in Lyndon Johnson's 1964 landslide victory against Barry Goldwater. In 1992, it supported Democrat Bill Clinton for president and has voted for Democrats in every presidential election since. Vermont gave John Kerry his fourth-largest margin of victory in 2004. He won the state's popular vote by 20 percentage points over incumbent George W. Bush, taking almost 59% of the vote. Essex County in the state's northeastern section was the only county to vote for Bush.

On the other hand, Republican Governor Douglas won all counties but Windham in the 2006 election. Vermonters are frequent ticket-splitters.^[36]

In 2007, when confronted with an allegedly liberal issue, assisted suicide for the terminally ill, the Democratically controlled House of Representatives rejected the measure by a vote of 82-63.^[37]

Minor parties flourish. Rules which eliminate smaller parties from the ballot in most states do not exist in Vermont. As a result, voters often have extensive choices for general elections.

A political issue has been Act 60, which balances taxation for education funding. This has resulted in the town of Killington trying to secede from Vermont and join New Hampshire due to what the locals say is an unfair tax burden.^[38][39]

A movement favors separating Vermont from the U.S. or making it the 11^th province of Canada. Some suggest the state should join Canada due to its liberal policies as opposed to remaining with the U.S. ^[40][41]

[edit] Taxation

Property taxes are levied by towns based on fair market appraisal. Rates vary from .97% on homesteaded property in Ferdinand, Essex County, to 2.72% on nonresidents property in Barre City.^[42] Statewide towns average 1.77% to 1.82% tax rate. To equitably support education, some towns are required by Act 60 to send some of their collected taxes to be redistributed to school districts lacking adequate support.^[43]

[edit] State Lotteries

Money from state lotteries supply 2% of the annual expenditures for education.^[44][45]

[edit] Town Government

Like most of New England, Vermont has a weak, nearly non-existent, county government. The next effective governmental level below state government are municipalities. Most of these are towns.^[46]

[edit] Public Health and Safety

Vermont was ranked number two in the nation for safety. Crime statistics on violence were used for the criteria.^[47]

In 2007 Vermont was ranked number one in the nation as the healthiest place to live for the sixth time in seven years. Criteria included low teenage birth rate, strong health coverage, the lowest AIDS rate in the country, and 18 other factors.^[48] In 2007, Vermont was ranked among the best five states in the country for preventing "premature death" in people under 75 years of age. The rate of survival was twice that of the five lowest performing states.^[49]

In 2007, Vermont was ranked the third safest state for highway fatalities.^[50]

In 2007, the Environmental Protection Agency cited Chittenden and Bennington as counties with 70 parts of smog per billion which is undesirable.^[51]

[edit] Education

Vermont was named the nation's smartest state in 2005 and 2006.^[52] In 2006, there was a gap between state testing standards and national which is biased in favor of the state standards by 30%, on average. This puts Vermont 11th best in the nation. Most states have a higher bias.^[53]

The state authorized two more pre-K grades to the school system for the benefit of three and four year olds. Entry to these two grades is capped.^[54]

According to one study, enrolment in kindergarten through 12th grade has declined by nearly 10 percent during the 1990s. During the same period total staff numbers have increased by more than 20 percent. Per pupil spending grew from $6,073 in 1990 to $13,664 in 2006.^[55] A study by the Census Bureau lists Vermont with the fourth highest expenditure per pupil in the country at $11,835 for 2005.^[56]

[edit] Academies and grammar schools

Vermont's 1777 constitution was the first in English-speaking North America to mandate public funding for universal education. This requirement was first met by elementary-level village schools with sessions held in the cooler months to accommodate farm work. Most schools educated similar numbers of girls and boys. Conditions in these schools varied, and the highest level of instruction was tenth grade. By the end of the eighteenth century, grammar schools, instructing students in English, algebra, geometry, Greek, and Latin, had been established at Bennington, Burlington, Castleton, Middlebury, Montpelier, and Windsor. These grammar schools were of a higher caliber than the smaller villages' schools, and the level of education at some was equivalent to college level.

By the middle nineteenth century, an expansion in settlement and the population of the state, coupled with increased prosperity, brought grammar schools to all corners of Vermont. Even the most remote Northeast Kingdom had established high-school-level instruction in Brownington, Craftsbury, Danville, Hardwick, and Newport. Many of these established grammar schools and academies, though not entirely public, received funds from area town governments in exchange for education of their students. As a system of public funding for primary and secondary education took root, many of these schools became municipal public schools. Several remained private, becoming private high-school-level academies, and several become colleges; the Orange County Grammar School became Vermont Technical College, the Rutland County Grammar School became Castleton State College, the Lamoille County Grammar School became Johnson State College, and the Addison County Grammar School became Middlebury College.

[edit] Educating teachers

In the 1860s a shortage of qualified teachers brought the establishment of state "normal schools," a term based on the French term école normale – a school to train teachers. The grammar schools at Castleton, Johnson, and Randolph Center became normal schools, additional normal schools were established in Concord and Lyndonville. Additional post secondary schools instructing students to become teachers were called seminaries. While several were nominally associated with Protestant churches, none were seminaries in the sense of training ministers. These seminars also graduated teachers to staff Vermont's growing number of primary and secondary schools.

[edit] The one-room school house

The one-room school house, born of small multi-age rural populations, continued well into the twentieth century. Rural towns without a single central village often built two to a half-dozen school houses across their terrain. Much of this came from a lack of transportation and a need for students to return home by mid afternoon for farm chores. By 1920 all public schools, including the one-room school houses, were regulated by the state government. In the early 1930s state legislation established a review and certification program similar to accreditation. Schools were issued regulations about teacher education and curriculum. Education quality in rural areas was maintained through a program called Vermont Standard Schools. Rural school houses meeting certification requirements displayed a green and white plaque with the Vermont coat of arms and the words "Vermont Standard School."

[edit] Higher education

During the period of the Vermont Republic several towns on the east side of the Connecticut River were part of Vermont. This included Hanover, and Dartmouth College. Statehood brought about establishment of the Connecticut River as a natural border. Having lost Dartmouth College, Ira Allen established the University of Vermont (UVM) in 1791 to complement the smaller college at Castleton. By the mid-twentieth century all but one of the state normal schools, and many of the seminaries, had become four-year colleges of liberal arts and sciences. Experimentation at the University of Vermont by George Perkins Marsh, and later the influence of Vermont born philosopher and educator John Dewey brought about the concepts of electives and learning by doing. Today Vermont has five colleges within the Vermont State Colleges system, UVM, fourteen other private, degree-granting colleges, including Middlebury College, a private, co-educational liberal arts college founded in 1800, Champlain College, a Burlington college founded in 1878, the Vermont Law School at Royalton, and Norwich University, the oldest private military college in the United States and birthplace of ROTC, founded in 1819.

[edit] Sports

The largest professional franchise is the Vermont Lake Monsters, formerly the Vermont Expos, a single-A minor league baseball team based in Burlington.

The Vermont Frost Heaves, the 2007 national champions, are a franchise of the American Basketball Association (Blue Conference), and have been based in Barre and Burlington since the fall of 2006.

Vermont is home to a semi-professional football team, the Ice Storm,^[57] based in South Hero.^[58] It plays its home games at the Colchester High School stadium. It is a member of the Empire Football League.

The Vermont Voltage is a USL Premier Development League soccer club that plays in St. Albans.

[edit] Cultural Pursuits

Vermont festivals include the Vermont Maple Festival, Festival on the Green [1], the Enosburg Falls Dairy Festival, the Apple Festival (held each Columbus Day Weekend), the Marlboro Music Festival, and the Vermont Mozart Festival. The Vermont Symphony Orchestra is supported by the state and performs throughout the area. The Poetry Society of Vermont publishes a literary magazine called The Green Mountain Troubadore which encourages submissions from members of various ages. Every year they hold various contests - one being for high school age young people. The Brattleboro-based Vermont Theatre Company presents an annual summer Shakespeare festival. Brattleboro also hosts the summertime Strolling of the Heifers parade which celebrates Vermont's unique dairy culture. Montpelier is home to the annual Green Mountain Film Festival. In the Northeast Kingdom, The Bread and Puppet Theatre holds weekly shows in Glover in a natural outdoor amphitheater.

One of Vermont's best known musical exports was the group Phish, whose members met while attending school in Vermont. The state had always held great importance for Phish—for example, lead singer and guitarist Trey Anastasio built a studio in Vermont used by the band and others, called The Barn. Phish ended their tenure together as a band with a farewell concert weekend in the state's Northeast Kingdom, which was dubbed "Coventry" after (in part) the venue city of Coventry, on August 16, 2004.

[edit] State symbols

Main article: State symbols of Vermont

State symbols include:

• State song - "These Green Mountains,"
• Unofficial favorite state song - Moonlight in Vermont
• State bird - hermit thrush
• State flower - red clover
• State fish
  • the cold-water fish, the brook trout
  • the warm-water fish, the walleye
• State tree - sugar maple
• State mammal - Morgan horse
• State amphibian - Northern Leopard Frog
• State reptile - Painted Turtle
• State mineral - talc
• State rock - granite, marble, and slate
• Pie - apple pie
• Soil - "Tunbridge Soil Series"
• Beverage - milk
• gem - grossular garnet
• Fossil - the beluga

Vermont is distinct for being among only three U.S. states with both a state seal and a coat of arms. Vermont is the only U.S. state to have a heraldically correct blazon describing its coat of arms.

[edit] Notable Vermonters

Vermont is the birthplace of former presidents Calvin Coolidge and Chester A. Arthur.

The list of famous people from Vermont is an incomplete, alphabetized list of famous people who at one point called Vermont their home.

[edit] Notable fictional Vermonters

• Vermont was the original home of the fictional villain Simon Legree in the novel Uncle Tom's Cabin.
• Vermont was also the home of Dick Loudon, Bob Newhart's character on the late 1980s sitcom Newhart.

[edit] See also

• History of Vermont
• Music of Vermont
• Scouting in Vermont
• Second Vermont Republic
• Vermont census statistical areas
• Vermont media
• Vermont State Colleges
• Vermont State Police

[edit] References

[edit] Bibliography

[edit] External links

Government

• Vermont government official website
• Vermont State Facts
• Vermont League of Cities and Towns
• Vermont Independence Movement
• Vermont Department of Labor
• Vermont Agriculture

Maps and Demographics

• USGS real-time, geographic, and other scientific resources of Vermont
• Earthquake facts, Vermont
• "Vermont QuickFacts" U.S. Census Bureau.

Tourism & recreation

• Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing

Culture & history

• Vermont Historical Society..
• Vermont Arts Council
• Vermont at the Open Directory Project

Online Media

• Radio Free VermontVermont news stories updated 24/7 from Vermont media outlets. Vermont portal of links to various Vermont websites. Streams adult contemporary music 24/7.

Preceded by Rhode Island

List of U.S. states by date of statehood Admitted on March 4, 1791 (14th)

Succeeded by Kentucky

State of Vermont Montpelier (capital)

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