Vermont § 4019 - Small schools; sparse schools; support grants [Effective July 1, 2028 if contingency met]

§ 4019. Small schools; sparse schools; support grants [Effective July 1, 2028 if contingency met]

• (a) Definitions. As used in this section: (1) “Enrollment” means the number of students 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. (2) “Small school” means a school that: (A) has fewer than 100 pupils in two-year average enrollment; and (B) has been determined by the State Board of Education, on an annual basis, to be “small
  by necessity” under standards consistent with those submitted to the General Assembly
  pursuant to 2025 Acts and Resolves No. 73, Sec. 8(b). (3) “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. (4) “Sparse school” means a school that: (A) is within a sparse area; and (B) has been determined by the State Board of Education, on an annual basis, to be “sparse
  by necessity” under standards consistent with those submitted to the General Assembly
  pursuant to 2025 Acts and Resolves No. 73, Sec. 8(b). (5) “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 within 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 within 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. 73, § 37, contingently eff. July 1, 2028.)