I have been involved in some discussions in Indiana where an important historical town has held its own during the recession and was gaining before that, but the school system is only marginally big enough to stay afloat and provide a decent education. Along with innovative practices on the part of the school to incorporate the richness of the town fabric into actual education, I’ve encouraged the town to go out and recruit families with school age children.

Families interested in moving there would be those that support themselves with portable work. The positive is that walkable small town living in communion with nature, heated with intellectual and cultural amenities not generally available in small towns, is a great environment for kids. And the adults who live on a computer in a sometimes tense marketing environment could relax into the real world in the evenings and ground themselves.

As in several other community development situations, I think that an “I will if you will” pledging campaign would be beneficial. People who were interested would sign a non-binding agreement to move there if, and only if, a certain number of other families also could be attracted.

Due to the idiosyncracies of this situation, a 50% enrollment increase would save the school. The schools are important not only to keeping some kids around town, but also to providing additional community meeting space and resources. If the tourism-oriented space is full, the locals can still meet, exercise, and have potlucks at the schools.