From the Editor’s Desk: Education in the Capital City

Welcome to our third “Capital City Forward” publication. Each one of these special issues narrows the lens on the big issues affecting Montpelier and surrounding towns. While we introduced the project back in April, it seems like a good time to revisit.

In recognition that our little Capital City faces problems that can sometimes feel insurmountable (homelessness, housing shortages, floods, aging infrastructure …) we decided to do additional reporting on some of those issues as part of a two-year project. 

At the heart of this initiative are quarterly extra-long (for us) special-focused issues of The Bridge. In April, we looked to the past as a guide to moving forward; in July, we wrote about the resilience of our rivers, and how we live with them even as floods have devastated our communities. In this special issue, we focus on education.

In his finale of a three-part series, Phil Dodd breaks down how Vermont’s new education law could affect central Vermont Communities. Also on these pages, Heather Koontz writes about her experience moving to Montpelier specifically for the schools, and high school senior Sonya Mancauskas reports on how the personal electronics ban is going at Montpelier High School. 

Many local individuals donated to this project by funding an expansion of our editorial team. Because of that, we now have a half-time staff reporter and assistant editor, Tracy Brannstrom. Thanks to Tracy’s reporting, this issue also features an update about plans the Town of Roxbury have for its school building after the Montpelier Roxbury Public Schools ended its use of the space in 2024. While this is one town’s story, shuttered schools are becoming a theme in Vermont’s rural towns under growing budgetary and legislative pressure.

There are some noticeable gaps in our education reporting, in large part because even with an expansion of our editorial capacity, we are still a tiny organization with real resource limits. That doesn’t mean we can’t do better, but it could explain why you don’t see every education story that we’d like to have on these pages this week.

Let us know if we got it right; and — more importantly — reach out if we got it wrong. Email your comments or a letter to the editor to editor@thebridgevt.org. Tell us what you think we should be focusing on for upcoming special issues, or pitch a story for our upcoming publication focused on the issues surrounding a growing unhoused population in central Vermont. I want to hear your thoughts.

Correction: A previous version of the editorial published in the Sept. 23 print issue incorrectly stated that the Roxbury Village School closed in 2025. The school closed in 2024.