Heads of Burr and Burton Academy and Long Trail School tell Senate panel independent schools expand access, cite local support

Mark Tash, head of Burr and Burton Academy in Manchester, and Colin Igoe, head of Long Trail School in Dorset, told the Vermont Senate Education Committee on Jan. 31 that independent schools in their region provide extensive academic and student-support programming funded largely by private philanthropy and town tuition. "We exist to serve the public," Tash said, describing Burr and Burton as an independently governed school that has raised private funds for campus buildings and programs.

The testimony gave senators detailed examples of how the two schools operate and why their leaders say those features matter. Burr and Burton — founded in 1829, with a main campus and a 100-acre Mountain Campus — enrolls roughly 800 students and runs a range of academic, arts and special-education programs. Long Trail School serves about 260 students in grades 6–12, is an International Baccalaureate school and reports a 100% graduation rate. "One hundred percent of our students graduate," Igoe said of Long Trail.

Why it matters: the committee is weighing proposals that would change governance, oversight and shared services across Vermont schools. Independent schools that receive town tuition payments operate outside the governance structure of a public school district, and their leaders told senators their independent boards and local philanthropy sustain facilities, programming and…