Senate panel hears from Vermont independent schools on enrollment, services and tuition

BURLINGTON, Vt. — Leaders of two Vermont independent schools told the state Senate Education Committee Feb. 11 that their small campuses serve students with learning differences and behavioral or mental-health needs, rely mainly on tuition revenue and mix parental and district placements rather than functioning as "therapeutic" schools under the statutory definition.

The committee heard from CJ Sporito, head of Rock Point School, and Sergio Simunovic, head of Greenwood School in Putney, as committee members and a representative of the Vermont Independent Schools Association probed enrollment, services and funding models.

The testimony matters because the legal label "therapeutic school" determines which placements and public tuition dollars may apply. "There’s a definition in statute and rules, and it really hinges upon whether the school exclusively serves students placed there on an IEP," said Oliver Olson, speaking on behalf of the Vermont Independent Schools Association.

Sporito said Rock Point School is an independent day and boarding high school that enrolls about 25 students and typically staffs roughly the same number of adults in a 24-staff cohort (14 full time, 10 part time). "Rock Point Schools is an independent day and boarding high school. We have currently 25 students," Sporito said. He described Rock Point’s students as often having high‑functioning autism, anxiety, depression or histories of self‑harm who come to the school as a "step down" from more intensive therapeutic programs or because they were not succeeding in prior settings.

Sporito said Rock Point’s funding mix is primarily tuition-driven: "We are tuition driven. I’d say 85% of our money comes from tuition. 5% comes from a trust ... 10% fundraise each year to meet budget." He told the committee Rock Point’s day tuition is about $35,040 and boarding about $72,700, and that the school aims to provide strong health benefits for staff even while salaries remain "middle" for the region. Sporito also said about 85% of his graduates move on to college and that students’ average tenure at the school is roughly two years.

Simunovic described Greenwood School as a small boarding and day program serving grades 6–12 and roughly 50 students (about 40 boarding and 10 day). "We are a neurodiverse community of learners," he said, listing language‑based learning differences, attention‑regulation struggles and autism among the needs Greenwood serves. Greenwood integrates on‑site speech‑language pathology, occupational therapy, counseling and social‑emotional supports and emphasizes experiential education and community.

On placements and public funding, both leaders told senators that many students are parentally placed and pay tuition directly, while a meaningful share are placed and funded by school districts through IEP teams. "Roughly two thirds of our students are parentally placed," Simunovic said. He added that Greenwood’s boarding tuition is "in the upper nineties" and day tuition "in the lower seventies" (as stated to the committee), and that the Agency of Education works with schools to set rates for district placements.

Committee members pressed for statutory clarity and for distinguishing between schools that are educationally focused with therapeutic supports and schools that are therapeutic by statute. Olson told senators the statutory distinction often turns on whether students are placed by an IEP team or are parentally placed outside the IEP process.

Members also asked about tax and property relationships: Sporito described Rock Point’s campus as located on land owned by an Episcopal diocese and said the school is independent in governance and curriculum despite the property arrangement. Both leaders said their schools prioritize small cohorts and close staff‑to‑student ratios to support social and academic progress.

No formal votes or committee decisions were recorded during the panel; senators indicated follow‑up meetings and upcoming witnesses on other agenda items.

The committee’s next scheduled education speakers include representatives from the Agency of Education on funding and governance, and an early‑childhood awareness event and other panels were noted on the committee’s calendar for follow‑up.