I could never figure out Lincoln-Ripton relations. Ripton always felt pointed to the west, east, and south - but not the north.

Nobody I spoke to then gave out an expiration date.

I think some folks made the cold calculation that closing schools looks bad politically, to communities, so they either said nothing or proclaimed they wouldn't do so... until they had the opportunity to shut them down.

I'm sorry to hear it.

60 is, what, 1/2 of what we had a decade ago?

Alas, I've seen that from retiree communities across the US.

Not all of them, but enough. "I've paid my dues. Not gonna pay for someone else's kids."

It would. But Vermont has - for years - refused to take even the most elementary steps to reverse demographic decline.

Instead, the default idea is that Vermont is a charming retirement state, where old folks can live out their years in the company of small farmers. (Said farmers are often at the edge of collapse, but we won't talk about that)

That is the agonizing question.
It ties directly into Vermont's population problem.

Not too far, but over mountain roads...

I was involved in this story a few years ago, and can share some background.

The county is definitely experiencing a demographic transition: fewer kids, older folks living longer. That makes it harder to support schools.

When I was on the Ripton and county school boards, there was a divide about closing schools. Some said they couldn't be financially justified, while others argued that closing a school would kill its community.

I recall vividly several folks, both in Ripton and Middlebury, swearing they wouldn't close schools... and now they are pushing for just that.