Education was important to settlers in San Benito County, who would start a school with as few as five pupils, a place to hold class, and a teacher. Early schools were placed about 5 miles apart because students had to travel on foot or on horseback. Often built by subscriptions from neighboring settlers, schools such as Vineyard School also served as community centers when class was not in session. The structure gave people who had been through tough times physical assurance that their children would have a better life, and its humble appearance belied the competitive quality of life at the school. Improvements in transportation and consolidation of population doomed most small country schools, and in 1958-59 the county contracted with the Cienega District for the education of Vineyard School's pupils.