The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 16 : Education

Chapter 133 : State Funding of Public Education

Subchapter 002 : General State Funding of Public Education

• § 4019. Small schools; sparse schools; support grants [Effective July 1, 2029 if contingency met]

  (a) Definitions. As used in this section:

  (1) “Average grade size” means the quotient resulting from dividing a school’s two-year average enrollment by the number of grades above prekindergarten operated by the school, rounded downward.

  (2) “Enrollment” means the number of students in kindergarten through grade 12 who are enrolled in a school operated by the school district on October 1. A student shall be counted as one whether the student is enrolled as a full-time or part-time student.

  (3) “Small school” means a public school that:

  (A) has an average grade size of fewer than 12 students; and

  (B) has been determined by the Agency of Education, on an annual basis, to be “small by necessity” under standards consistent with State Board of Education rule.

  (4) “Sparse area” means a city, town, or incorporated village where the number of persons per square mile residing within the land area of the geographic boundaries of the city, town, or incorporated village as of July 1 of the year of determination is fewer than 55 persons.

  (5) “Sparse school” means a public school that:

  (A) is within a sparse area; and

  (B) has been determined by the Agency of Education, on an annual basis, to be “sparse by necessity” under standards consistent with State Board of Education rule.

  (6) “Two-year average enrollment” means the average enrollment of the two most recently completed school years.

  (b) Small schools support grant. Annually, the Secretary shall pay a small schools support grant to each school district for each small school operated by the school district in an amount determined by multiplying the two-year average enrollment in the small school by $3,157.00.

  (c) Sparse schools support grant. Annually, the Secretary shall pay a sparse schools support grant to each school district for each sparse school operated by the school district in an amount determined by multiplying the two-year average enrollment in the sparse school by $1,954.00.

  (d) Inflationary adjustment. Each dollar amount under subsections (b) and (c) of this section shall be adjusted for inflation annually on or before November 15 by the Secretary. As used in this subsection, “adjusted for inflation” means adjusting the dollar amount by the National Income and Product Accounts (NIPA) implicit price deflator for state and local government consumption expenditures and gross investment published by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis, from fiscal year 2025 through the fiscal year for which the amount is being determined, and rounding upward to the nearest whole dollar amount. (Added 2025, No. 170 (Adj. Sess.), § 29, contingently eff. July 1, 2029.)