MONTPELIER — The Vermont Senate on Tuesday approved H.871, a bill that will continue the process of establishing a state aid for school construction program.

The Vermont Agency of Education estimates the state’s schools need more than $6 billion in construction over the next two decades, a number widely considered a lowball figure.

H.871 is back in the Vermont House. 

If passed, the bill sets up a summer working group to draft legislative language in time for next year that would renew state money for school buildings for the first time since the Great Recession.

That working group, if established, will have many big questions to answer, chief among them: how should the state prioritize its limited financial resources, and where should the money come from?

The Senate amended the House’s version of the bill, so H.871 will require further approval before going to the governor’s desk.