Original Research by School Decision on Lamoille North Modified Union School District #058a
Lamoille North Modified Union School District #058A serves a cluster of rural communities in Lamoille County, Vermont, operating four elementary schools across Eden, Hyde Park, Johnson, and Waterville. The district covers pre-kindergarten through sixth grade, which means families here have an early-grades pathway and will need to look beyond the district for secondary education. All four schools, Eden Central, Hyde Park Elementary, Johnson Elementary, and Waterville Elementary, are currently open.
The enrollment is modest for a district spanning this many towns. Pre-kindergarten is the largest single grade, which suggests the district invests in early childhood entry. The student body is predominantly white, with small numbers of students identifying as Hispanic, Black, Asian, multiracial, American Indian and Alaska Native, or Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander. Economic disadvantage data through free or reduced-price lunch counts was not reported, nor were individualized education program rates or English learner figures. A parent wanting to understand the socioeconomic and support-service profile of the student body would need to ask the district directly.
State assessment results were not available in the data we received, and no multi-year academic trend data was provided. Without proficiency figures, it is hard to characterize how students are performing academically relative to state expectations. This is a gap worth raising with the district. The district does not serve high school grades, so graduation rates are not applicable here, which is expected for a PK-through-six district rather than a sign of something missing.
Among Lamoille County's districts, two comparison metrics were available. The district's chronic absenteeism rate sits above the midpoint of its county cohort, meaning a larger share of students miss significant school days than in several neighboring districts. This is something a parent may want to look into further with the district, as absenteeism at the elementary level can affect both the child who is absent and classroom continuity. On spending, the district's per-pupil current expenditure is in the upper range among reporting county districts, suggesting a relatively high level of investment per student.
The housing market across the district's towns is more affordable than Vermont as a whole and below the national benchmark, though there is real variation from place to place. Eden shows the lowest typical home values in the set, while Hyde Park and Johnson sit higher. Morristown carries the highest typical home value in the group, though its contribution to the district-wide figure is minimal. Most towns have seen modest year-over-year declines in home values, with Hyde Park and parts of Eden showing slight gains. Rent data was only available for one ZIP code in the set, so the rental picture across the district is incomplete. The price-to-income ratio suggests that buying a home here is somewhat more attainable than in many parts of the country, though current mortgage rates remain elevated.
Publicly reported district information indicates that the proposed budget for the coming fiscal year includes an increase in education spending per long-term weighted average daily membership over the current year. In Vermont, this figure directly determines the homestead property tax rate, so residents in the district's towns should expect this to affect their property tax bills.
No data was available on course access, staffing levels, discipline, or Title I status. Program offerings such as dual enrollment or career pathways were not reported, though for a PK-through-six district, some of these would not apply. We looked for the district's strategic priorities but found little, so we left that out rather than guess.
What this district appears to offer is a small, rural, early-grades education environment spread across several communities, with per-pupil spending in the upper range for the county and housing that is more affordable than much of Vermont. The missing academic performance data is the largest gap a parent will encounter, and it is worth asking the district directly about state testing results, student support services, and how students transition to secondary schools after sixth grade.
See more original research from School Decision →