my hs was similar in that sense along the coast, 96 graduating seniors, it served like 10 towns. prob a third never did any school beyond HS and a good number of those who did go away for school came back. I don't recall there being much of a bible thumping scene in those days but there was a very pervasive mind set that could be seen as demotivating for anyone who might have thought differently or dreamed of a world beyond that rural collection of towns on the coast.