Closing Schools Doesn’t Fix Vermont’s Problems

In Roxbury, Vermont, parents are struggling with the negative impacts of the closure of their local K-4 elementary school after the town merged with the Montpelier school district under Act 46. Since the closure, children face long, exhausting bus rides up to 2 hours and 15 minutes a day due to the fact that Montpelier’s buses don’t travel on the town’s gravel roads. This has left parents feeling disconnected from the Montpelier-dominated school system, and many worry about the broader effects of rural school closures, which studies show can harm students’ mental health, academic performance, and future success.