No read yet on school enrollment
State-adjusted figures not available
By Bobbi Mlynar (Contact)
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
School board member Mary Helmer brought up John Heim's worst nightmare Wednesday night when the Emporia board of education discussed enrollment.
Heim, superintendent of the Emporia district, provided board members with the district's official head count as of Sept. 22, the date set this year by the Kansas Department of Education for all districts to begin the process of determining an official full-time equivalency count of students. Sept. 20 traditionally is the date used; however, it fell on a Saturday this year.
During the process, added "weightings" will be given for certain groups of students; those weightings can provide extra funds because of the extra costs incurred in their educations. The state audits the figures turned in by each district, then bases the district's aid on the total number of FTE students.
Among the categories that carry added weight are: free or reduced-price lunch, English language learners, special education, transportation use, and others.
On the other hand, the district knows it will lose approximately half of the kindergarteners in the head count because the state considers them half-time students, although in Emporia and other districts, kindergartners attend school full-time.
Heim provided a chart that held numbers that showed enrollment at each individual school and a total drop of 194 students district-wideon Sept. 22, compared to the audited FTE enrollment in 2007.
"Once again, I can't overemphasize the fact that these are: No. 1, unaudited, and No. 2, they are head count," Heim said. "They are not weighted enrollment, and we won't know what our weighted enrollment is until Oct. 6. ... So, it's premature to draw any conclusions from this report. It could be worse; it could be better" when the final figures are in.
The district could gain in the free and reduced-lunch categories, for example, if former Tyson workers who stayed in Emporia continue drawing unemployment and thus have lower incomes.
Heim said that, according to housing information, it appears that Tyson workers left jobless by the company's downsizing here in January are staying in the area and drawing unemployment. Those benefits are being extended now for many of those former employees.
Board member Mary Helmer questioned whether that emigration might occur in January 2009.
"Usually I'm the most optimistic of people," Helmer said. "... I'm not sure we're ready to say on Oct. 20 that this is what our enrollment is going to be."
Heim responded, "You just described my biggest fear -- that in January we're going to be right back where we were last January."
After talking with other districts that have undergone similar employment fluctuations, Heim said, he believes it is possible that a 30 percent drop in enrollment could occur next year and another 30 percent the following year, as more workers and their families leave the area.
Head count was down 24 students at Village School, where district officials had expected a bigger drop in attendance. The board discussed the possibility of needing to implement a building remodeling and addition plan that was deferred after the Tyson announcement on Jan. 24. The matter could be discussed at a later meeting, after the FTE count becomes available.
Heim said the state agreed to assign more than one auditor to look over Emporia's figures when they are turned in next month. The board will have a study session at Mary Herbert Education Center at 6 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 20, when the numbers are scheduled to be available.
In other action, the board:
-- welcomed Brent Windsor to his first board meeting since being appointed to the board last week to fill a vacancy created by the resignation of Homer Garza.
-- approved a change to board policy on advertising in the district, assigning responsibility for decision-making to the superintendent or his designee rather than the board of education, which is currently responsible for such considerations.
-- appointed Tammy Somogye as board attorney. Somogye works for Lathrop & Gage, a national law firm with an office in Overland Park. She specializes in education and employment law and was the unanimous choice of the district's interview committee, which was composed of Norma Stinnett, Teresa Davidson, Glen Strickland, Mike Crouch and Heim.
-- approved a consulting agreement between the district and Educational Solutions for Diverse Populations for Project ASSIST. Board president Angie Schreiber asked that the item, which had been part of the consent agenda, be considered separately.
"My dealings with him in the past have not been positive," Schreiber said of the consultant that would be involved with the district. "I do not think he is someone our district should ... be having a long-term relationship with."
Helmer asked if there was a professional reason why the board should not consider the company, and Schreiber responded, "Yes."
Board member Glen Strickland moved to approve the agreement, which passed 6-1.
Comments
Post a comment
We allow registered users to post comments on this Web site. Our goal with this feature is to encourage thoughtful discussions about the news stories. Using the comment feature to make random attacks on people is not acceptable. Emporiagazette.com neither endorses nor guarantees the accuracy of any user contribution. Responsibility for what is posted or contributed to this site is the sole responsibility of each user. To learn more about our posting policies please read our User Poster Agreement Policy.
(Requires free registration.)