Vermont superintendents tell House panel small‑school closures require state support, longer timelines

Three superintendents told the Vermont House Education Committee on Feb. 20, 2025, in the Marvin’s Building that decisions to close small schools and pursue district consolidation must include state support for communities, clear decisionmaking processes, and realistic timelines.

The testimony centered on the practical and emotional consequences of closures, problems with staffing and programming in very small schools, and the facility and funding obstacles that can make consolidation difficult even when it appears fiscally logical.

Libby Bonesteel, superintendent of Montpelier Roxbury Public Schools, described the 2023 decision by her district to close Roxbury Village School and bus its students to Union Elementary School. Bonesteel said the closure reduced the district’s budget by about $1.5 million and lowered the projected tax increase but left deep community divisions. "The state must think about not only if, when, or how to close the buildings, but also how to support small towns once the building is closed," Bonesteel said.

Bonesteel told the committee that Roxbury’s enrollment had fallen to roughly 40 students at the village school and that faculty‑to‑student ratios there in recent years had sometimes been roughly 1 to 5 because of very low enrollment. She said public comment during the board process was…