By Dave Fidlin
CORRESPONDENT
Although there are still a number of moving pieces at play, officials within the Waterford Union High School district have set the stage for open enrollment admission in the upcoming 2017-18 school year.
Open enrollment gives students living outside a district’s boundaries the opportunity to attend classes.
But the offer is extended in narrow circumstances, generally when administrators and School Board members determine seats might be empty in an upcoming school year after in-district students are factored into the equation.
At WUHS, administrators and the board have adopted a two-pronged approach toward accepting open enrollment students in the upcoming school year.
The district will not accept any new special education students who live outside the district’s boundaries.
Superintendent Keith Brandstetter noted the decision came on the heels of state budget bill, Act 55, which caps the amount of state aid a district receives for hosting open enrollment students at $12,000 per pupil.
Depending upon a special education student’s individual education plan, or IEP, the annual cost or providing the necessary services frequently exceeds $12,000, meaning WUHS and other school districts could run a deficit for such an accommodation.
The WUHS board in its motion stated there are not any available open enrollment special education seats in the upcoming school year, which is a decision independent of the financial implications.
In a bigger picture sense, Brandstetter said the goal is to house 300 students per grade level within WUHS, meaning an entire student body of 1,200 students. The figure accounts for in-district and open enrollment students.
Brandstetter said around 100 regular education open enrollment spots will likely be available across all four grade levels, based on the enrollment projections for the upcoming school year and existing gaps in the student body count goal.
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