Question 4: Open
enrollment policy in Wisconsin continues to expand the opportunities for
students to attend public school out of their resident district. What, if
anything, would you do to encourage your fellow board members to take advantage
of this opportunity to increase district enrollment and revenue? (Published on page 8 of the February 27th issue of the Evansville Review).
Public
education in Wisconsin has undergone a revolution in the last decade and now
includes virtual schools, charter schools, voucher programs and open enrollment
in addition to traditional brick and mortar options. Many of us who were
educated more than twenty years ago struggle to keep informed of these modern
educational concepts so we may best provide for our own children’s education. Folks
might already know that Wisconsin families can apply to send their children to
any public school district through open enrollment during a narrow time frame
in February. The legislature recently expanded open enrollment opportunities to
year-round for parents who apply and cite “the best interests of the child” on
their petition to attend a non-resident district. The state aid portion of the per-pupil
revenue becomes portable and follows students to their new district. The dollar
amount changes annually and is based on state aid calculations. This year, each
student attending a non-resident district brings with them $6447 in revenue to
the new district, which is paid for by the resident district. Open enrollment
presents an opportunity for the Evansville Community School District (ECSD) to
decrease next year’s potential $750,000 shortfall in a student friendly way
that helps preserve programs and teachers.
District
business manager Doreen Treuden presented this steep deficit scenario to the
board in January. The loss is predicated on a number of realistic assumptions:
3% salary increase, 8% benefit increase and 1-2% increases in all other areas.
It also presumes that open enrollment figures for the ECSD will remain stable
at the current levels of eighty-five resident students enrolled out of the
district and 42 non-resident students enrolled in. Enrollment out has increased
37% since last year and 77% since 2006-2007. The number of non-residents enrolling into
ECSD has not changed significantly in the same time frame, causing the net loss
of students through open enrollment to increase from 3 to 43 in six years. The
net loss exceeded the number enrolling into the district for the first time
this year. These trends suggest that the net loss due to open enrollment will
not remain stable but rather increase.
If they do remain stable and if we presume a constant value for
per-pupil state aid allocation, that imbalance of 43 students contributes over $277,000
to the projected 2013-2014 deficit, or 37% of the total.
A review
of historical budget documents on the district website indicates that the
deficit attributable to open enrollment has nearly quadrupled from about
$78,000 in 2006 to about $280,000 this year. The cumulative funding lost since
2006 amounts to $838,315. Governor Walker’s next biennium budget calls for a
freeze on the public school revenue cap, which further increases next year’s
ECSD projected deficit to an eerily similar value of $840,000. The board has
asked administration to explore this issue in depth on more than one occasion
over the years. Last summer
the board was provided with data that indicated the net loss of students due to
open enrollment was projected to double this year and since the legislative
expansion of the program enabled students to enroll out at any time, the
numbers could get even worse. At that point, the board directed the new district
administrator Mr. Jerry Roth to track open enrollment twice a year and report back
to them with his findings. On February 11, the board was apprised of updated
figures for this year which showed that the number out went up by two and the
number in went down by two, further exacerbating the situation. Board President
Kathi Swanson’s reaction to the news was to urge her fellow board members, “to
find a way to keep over a quarter of a million dollars in revenue from walking
out our doors.” In response to the board’s inquires over the years, the administration
has noted that a majority of students enrolling out of the district have never
attended Evansville and are not likely to attend under any circumstances. Ergo,
it was implied, it is not worth the resources necessary to comprehensively
explore the issue. That may be true, but it needs to be documented beyond word
of mouth and gut instinct. The fact that the gap is widening over time shows
there is some stress on the system causing change. An unbiased investigation
could be very useful.
Gathering
data through exit interviews and detailed tracking of programs to which
students are going would be just the first step in reversing ECSD enrollment
losses. The board has yet to focus on the “open enrollment in” side of the
equation. In 2006, non-resident families enrolled 45 of their children into the
ECSD and 28 of them had never attended Evansville. This year, 42 non-resident
children have been enrolled into the district with only 8 new faces. The
stories of people willing to go out of their way to enter the district year
after year could inform the board as to which programs are attracting families.
Once the data for open enrollment both in and out of the district is fully evaluated,
trends and opportunities may come to light.
Current
enrollment out data provides some insight, but more detail is necessary. For
example, the number of outgoing students seeking virtual learning opportunities
more than doubled this year from 7 to 15, with a tenfold increase in grades K-8.
If this kind of growth out to virtual schools continues, it may behoove the
district to investigate offering its own virtual school option to serve those
students and attract even more families with alternative programming needs. Board
Vice President Nancy Hurley noted at the February 11 meeting that it’s
important to know why virtual learners are seeking this opportunity before the
district spends money to create its own virtual school. If parents are
unsatisfied with the district as a whole, simply providing a virtual option will
probably not recapture this demographic.
However, if virtual schooling is ideal for the child and parents are
otherwise happy with the district, then creating this new educational option could
recapture some lost enrollment.
“If you
build it, they will come,” does not apply in today’s public education landscape.
Parents who are determined to provide an education tailored to their children’s
needs are no longer a captive audience obligated to remain frustrated with an unresponsive
district. Districts that offer cutting edge programs accompanied by an
unwavering commitment to excellence and community partnership will thrive as
will their students. On the other hand, districts unable to keep pace with the
rapid evolution of public education will continue to shrink, lose funding and
descend into a self-perpetuating downward spiral, ultimately failing the kids. If
I am elected, I will encourage the board to independently explore why students
are enrolling out of the district at twice the rate they are enrolling into it.
A comprehensive analysis of that information would enable the board to identify
and actively support initiatives that will help recoup outwardly bound students.
This in turn would make the district more attractive to non-residents. If the
board applies their vision of excellence to this endeavor, the open enrollment
deficit can become a surplus and everyone wins, especially the kids.
Note: I
am very passionate about this. I am holding a “Meet the Candidate” forum on
March 2 to explore this issue (see my ad in this week’s Review).
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