Mahadev Maitri Foundation
US Initiatives

Vermont

301 Schools106 Districts80K Students
$28,298
Avg Per-Pupil Spend
+97% nat'l
33.3%
Free Lunch Rate
-18.9pp vs nat'l
84.8%
Graduation Rate
-1.7pp vs nat'l
46/100
Opportunity Score
Moderate
⇄ Compare Vermont with another state
About Vermont Public Schools

Vermont has the highest per-pupil spending of any state for a system that is not court-mandated to do so — a result of Act 60 (1997) and Act 68 (2003), which pooled property tax revenue statewide for education spending and created one of the most equitable per-district funding distributions in the country. The trade-off has been a nearly stagnant total spending level despite increasing costs, and Vermont's school enrollment has declined steadily as the state's aging population and out-migration reduce the K-12 student count. Vermont has more school districts per student than almost any other state, and governance consolidation (Act 46, 2015) has been a contentious policy effort. Vermont uses the SBAC for grades 3-8 and the SAT for grade 11.

State Snapshot
State BoardVermont State Board of Education
AssessmentSmarter Balanced (SBAC) / SAT (grade 11)
Compulsory Ages6–16
School CalendarSchool year typically begins after Labor Day
Total Enrollment79,595
Public Schools301
Largest District
Champlain Valley Unified Union School District #56
4,216 students
Highest Per-Pupil
Winooski Incorporated School District
$69,723/student
Top Graduation Rate
Harwood Unified Union School District #60
97.5% grad rate
School Districts (106)
Per-pupil spending in Vermont ranges from $14,592 to $69,723 across districts with available data. State avg: $28,298.
DistrictSchoolsStudentsPer-PupilGrad RateFree LunchOpp.
Medium Districts — 1,000–9,999 Students
Champlain Valley Unified Union School District #5654,216$25,304↓11%96.0%↑13%13.7%↓59%44
Essex Westford Educational Community Unified Union SD #51103,725$28,68792.0%↑8%16.3%↓51%44
Burlington School District103,473$31,399↑11%72.0%↓15%48.3%↑45%37
South Burlington School District52,695$23,430↓17%92.0%↑8%16.5%↓51%54
Maple Run Unified Union School District #5752,651$26,763↓5%92.0%↑8%29.9%↓10%47
Mount Mansfield Unified Union School District #40182,609$21,990↓22%—7.9%↓76%47
Colchester School District52,409$22,808↓19%92.0%↑8%23.5%↓29%—
Windham Southeast Unified Union School District #9692,339$24,531↓13%—39.0%↑17%46
Barre Unified Union School District #9732,199$27,675—26.4%↓21%40
Rutland City School District61,950$29,41392.0%↑8%44.0%↑32%53
Harwood Unified Union School District #6071,818$26,615↓6%97.5%↑15%20.7%↓38%47
Missisquoi Valley School District #8941,813$26,149↓8%—37.5%↑13%44
Addison Central Unified Union School District #5591,770$24,860↓12%92.0%↑8%22.3%↓33%43
Lamoille South Unified Union School District #9071,602$24,317↓14%—18.0%↓46%46
Milton School District31,459$24,300↓14%92.0%↑8%26.0%↓22%45
Hartford School District61,454$30,524↑8%92.0%↑8%28.3%↓15%47
Mount Anthony Union High School District #1421,448$18,881↓33%82.0%45.2%↑36%—
Washington Central Unified Union School District #9261,423$27,219—21.0%↓37%47
Southwest Vermont Union Elementary School District #8761,422$16,696↓41%—54.6%↑64%43
Mt. Abraham Unified School District #6161,411$26,602↓6%87.0%21.1%↓37%40
Slate Valley Unified Union School District #6251,266$28,428—29.9%↓10%50
Otter Valley Unified Union School District #5341,239$18,376↓35%77.0%↓9%40.6%↑22%43
Montpelier Roxbury Unified Union School District #7141,229$23,148↓18%87.0%20.6%↓38%47
Kingdom East Unified Union School District #6471,224$37,610↑33%—41.6%↑25%43
Springfield School District41,219$31,586↑12%77.0%↓9%50.5%↑52%42
Quarry Valley Unified Union School District #7051,105$17,681↓38%80.2%↓5%34.3%48
Enosburgh-Richford Unified Union School District #8851,064$20,032↓29%—53.6%↑61%49
Paine Mountain Union School District #6841,047$17,858↓37%79.8%↓6%30.6%↓8%46
Fairfax School District21,038$14,592↓48%82.0%14.9%↓55%44
Windsor Central Unified Union School District #7661,026$20,458↓28%—10.2%↓69%51
Taconic and Green Regional School District #6351,012$33,506↑18%—34.4%46
Small Districts — Fewer than 1,000 Students
Addison Northwest Unified Union School District #543939$27,53792.0%↑8%26.7%↓20%48
Orange Southwest Unified Union School District #595853$31,545↑11%92.0%↑8%29.1%↓13%40
Northern Mountain Valley Unified Union School District #854817$23,907↓16%—41.4%↑24%45
Mill River Unified Union School District #525798$28,73787.0%40.2%↑21%53
Winooski Incorporated School District3787$69,723↑146%62.0%↓27%60.1%↑81%39
Lamoille North Modified Union School District #058B3740$25,813↓9%87.0%30.5%↓8%41
Lake Region Union Elementary Middle School District6727$19,149↓32%—56.0%↑68%46
Saint Johnsbury School District1702$40,268↑42%—52.4%↑58%45
Oxbow Unified Union School District #914685$23,437↓17%—34.7%42
North Country Union High School District2680$30,197↑7%82.0%53.4%↑60%46
Green Mountain Unified School District #773680$21,504↓24%87.0%44.9%↑35%43
Mount Ascutney School District #862643$19,539↓31%—31.1%↓7%42
Georgia School District1630$22,621↓20%—19.4%↓42%47
White River Unified School District #794624$20,331↓28%84.5%46.0%↑38%47
Lamoille North Modified Union School District #058A4624$27,339—43.8%↑31%43
Rockingham School District3512$19,014↓33%—53.9%↑62%41
Derby School District1496$16,681↓41%—46.8%↑41%46
Rivendell Interstate School District3422$32,281↑14%84.5%32.0%45
Arlington School District2421$18,651↓34%69.5%↓18%34.2%—
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Frequently Asked Questions
Data sourced from NCES Common Core of Data, EDFacts, and Opportunity Atlas. Figures reflect the most recent available federal dataset (2021-22 / 2022-23). Learn more about our data sources.