MCDONALD SCHOOLS School board adopts enrollment policy
Enrollment applications will be available starting Jan. 7.
By MARY SMITH
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
McDONALD -- The school board has adopted a policy making open enrollment available to any pupil in the state.
The policy approved Thursday requires that applications be received by the superintendent's office by May 1, 2003, for next year, and a decision will be given to applicants by no later than June 30.
Applicants will be considered every year and the board must also review the policy every year.
Class size will not exceed 70, officials explained, and the administration will determine an appropriate enrollment level for each grade level each year.
Open enrollment is limited to full-time pupils. There will be no limitation on accepting pupils with disabilities unless services they require are not available in the district.
Applicants will be considered on a first-come, first-served basis. Pupils will be accepted on a priority basis as follows: siblings of pupils already enrolled; pupils who have grandparents residing in the district; children of community employees; children of former graduates and pupils with the earliest application date.
All those accepted must remain in the district for the school year.
Decreased enrollment
Treasurer Thomas Radabaugh and board members Robert McClary and William Kunkle explained that enrollment is down from more than 800 to 792 pupils over the last two years.
McClary noted that at one time the district had around 1,100 pupils.
The treasurer also said with a newly-renovated high school and a brand new elementary school, the heating and cooling systems are far advanced from what they used to be, but the cost to operate them has jumped already from $5,000 a month to $13,000 a month.
The treasurer said climate control costs will be at $150,000 by the end of the year.
Kunkle said small class size will still be a priority, noting the board has been discussing open enrollment for about a year.
Applications will be available through the superintendent's office starting Jan. 7.
The board approved a raise for Radabaugh from $50,000 to $51,500 annually. It also accepted a donation of $2,000 from the McDonald Sideliners for a new weight room and an anonymous donation of $600 to the Lift-A-Thon Fund.
Radabaugh said nearly $9,000 has been raised for the weight training facility already. Work on it will be done over the holidays, he said.