The school in Croydon, New Hampshire, is small. Really small. Fewer than 100 students small.

Kids in public schools in Croydon (population 764) attend class in what amounts to a one-room school house at Croydon Village School from kindergarten through fourth grade.

For many years, Croydon, like other small districts in New Hampshire, had an exclusive agreement with a neighboring district to educate its older kids. But last year district leaders, with the backing of the town's residents, gave students and their families an option: Take the local tax money that covers tuition in the neighboring district and use it instead at the school of their choice, a choice the state has said is illegal.

"The option is important, because one size does not fit all," said Jody Underwood, president of the Croydon school board.