Senate education committee hears Canaan leaders warn funding rules and rising costs threaten rural schools

Senate Education Committee Chair Seth Bongart and members met with Canaan-area school board members and educators to hear how rural student choice, enrollment patterns and state funding rules affect local programs and budgets. Local leaders urged the committee to preserve small schools and expand shared services rather than pursue consolidations that would increase student travel and erode community ties.

At the start of the visit, Kyle Decker, chair of the DMSU and Northeast Kingdom (NEK) Choice, said "Choice was formed when Act 46 occurred, and we combined with Canaan" to give very small towns a shared administrative structure and a stronger voice. Decker said the Choice partnership represents just under 300 students (not including Canaan) and has allowed small towns to pool resources; he added that keeping the option for towns close to the Connecticut River to send students across the river to nearby New Hampshire schools is vital to avoid long commutes and loss of local participation.

Renee Marsheson, chair of the Canaan School Board, and other local board members described a…