Mount Abraham superintendent urges state standards, construction aid to address school-size pressures

Patrick Green, superintendent of the Mount Abraham Unified School District, told the Vermont House Committee on Education on March 19, 2025, that the state needs legislative standards on school size and targeted construction aid to preserve course offerings and improve equity while reducing costs.

Green said his district projects about 375 high school students and about 80 middle school students next year and that, despite offering a breadth of courses, smaller secondary schools are losing classes and will see further program reductions. "School size is one of the most impactful factors in delivering equitable, high quality educational opportunities for students in a cost effective manner," Green said.

He told the committee that fiscal pressure has already led his district to phase out middle-level world language in fiscal year 2026 and that the district's FY26 spending target required more than $2,000,000 in reductions. "Maintaining a breadth of offerings requires us to run courses with low enrollment, sometimes fewer than 10 students," Green said, adding that small secondary-school class sizes can raise cost per pupil and push up local tax rates.

Green said elementary…