BARRE, Vt. (AP) - Vermont Education Secretary Rebecca Holcombe believes the state’s new education reform law gives smaller schools a framework that could help them survive.
Vermont Public Radio reports (https://bit.ly/1JSdd6E ) the law calls for all school districts to have at least 900 students. Presently, a third of the state’s school districts have fewer than 100 students.
Critics of the legislation fear its passing means mergers between schools and eventual closures.
Holcombe says schools would need to close regardless of the law’s implementation.
A provision of the law allows small districts to keep operating if they can show that they meet new education standards at a reasonable per-pupil cost.
Holcombe is meeting with school officials around the state to discuss the impact that declining enrollment will have on their budgets and property tax rates.
___
Information from: WVPS-FM, https://www.vpr.net
Please read our comment policy before commenting.