The elementary school in Ripton won鈥檛 have any students next year. That鈥檚 after Ripton鈥檚 projected enrollment for the fall fell to just 14 students, and the Addison Central School District board voted to transfer students from the tiny school to a larger one 鈥� bearing out yearslong worries from Ripton families who say the school is the heart of their community.
At a special meeting last week, the school board voted to send Ripton Elementary School students to the Salisbury Community School, about 15 minutes away.
It stopped short of making a long-term decision and refrained from starting the process that would close the school entirely, But Superintendent Wendy Baker warned that low enrollment is expected to continue into the future.
鈥淯nfortunately, this isn鈥檛 a circumstance where we just have a blip in a moment,鈥� she said last Monday.
Parents have, for years, worried that the tiny mountain school would close as school districts consolidated under Act 46.
And they鈥檝e pushed really hard to keep it open. Most recently, they tried to recruit families to send their kindergarteners and first-grade students to Ripton so they鈥檇 meet class minimums in that combined class 鈥� but the last-ditch effort came up short and the district decided to move those K-1 students to Salisbury.
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In the weeks since, additional parents of second through fifth graders have asked to send their kids to other schools over concerns about Ripton鈥檚 size, said Baker, the superintendent. She said the school would have had one class of eight students and another of six 鈥� both cases falling below the district鈥檚 per-class minimum of 10.
Board members seemed to reluctantly accept on Monday that closure was the only path forward.
鈥淚f I had two parts, a head and a heart, this is a decision from the head,鈥� said Steve Cash, who represents Ripton on the board and has a second grader at the school.
The board did disagree about whether to send the remaining Ripton students to the same school or to let parents choose. ACSD also has elementary schools in Bridport, Cornwall, Middlebury, Salisbury, Shoreham and Weybridge.
Baker recommended sending them all to Salisbury as the 鈥渘ext closest geographic option.鈥� She said it was most efficient for the district, in terms of transportation and staffing. She also noted that parents could request sending their kids to other schools through another district policy.
Ultimately, the board agreed on sending the students to Salisbury. A handful of parents who spoke at the end of the meeting said they were frustrated by the lack of school choice.
鈥淭his is so important to our community,鈥� said Wendy Harlin. 鈥淭he majority of the conversation tonight was so clinical that it was absolutely infuriating.鈥�
The board also voted to begin a 鈥渇easibility study鈥� for the future of the Ripton school.
