Districts share pupils, revenue

The policy has helped some schools, but it has hurt others.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
STRUTHERS -- A decision by the Struthers City School District to opt into the state's open enrollment program this year turned out to be a significant financial boon.
At a time when Struthers was struggling with its state "fiscal emergency" rating, a decision to open its doors to children from anywhere in Ohio brought in 94 new pupils this fall.
State subsidies follow the pupils, so, at about $5,200 per child, Struthers will pick up about $500,000 in additional subsidy revenue this year.
Dr. Sandra DiBacco, superintendent, said Struthers actually received 267 applications and offered acceptance to 104.
That's all the district could take without having to increase staff, something that would have eaten up the revenue windfall the new pupils are providing. The district's current enrollment is 2,050.
Needed financial boost
The financial boost came at the right time. DiBacco noted that voters had turned down a proposed 8-mill levy in May.
"It helped our bottom line tremendously," she said, noting that the increased subsidy, coupled with some cutbacks in operations, enabled the district to pare the levy proposal to 6.9 mills earlier this month.
That tax issue was defeated as well, however, and another levy is being prepared for the May primary ballot, DiBacco said.
Although her district has benefited from open enrollment, DiBacco said she is philosophically opposed to it. She believes that kids should go to school where they live.
Ohio enacted an open-enrollment program in 1989 to provide a school choice to parents, leaving the decision to open their borders up to the individual school districts. They get to announce their decision, or make a change, each March.
They can decline to participate, allow only pupils from adjacent school districts in without a tuition charge, or open their doors to any pupil from anywhere in the state, tuition free.
Of the 48 public school districts in Mahoning, Columbiana and Trumbull counties, 30 have opted for statewide open enrollment; seven have limited it only to adjacent school districts, and 11 have opted to keep their borders closed.
Losing hundreds of pupils
Open enrollment hasn't been so good to the Youngstown City Schools, one of the seven with limited open enrollment.
School officials say the district lost nearly 700 pupils to open enrollment this year. Even using conservative estimates, that's a loss of more than $3.6 million in subsidy revenue.
Struthers got 69 of the children. Lowellville got the most with 178, while Liberty got 119.
More than 2,300 other Youngstown children are attending charter schools, and the combined annual loss of revenue from all students attending other programs has been estimated at more than $20 million by school officials.
Current enrollment stands at just under 8,900 and, although Youngstown has picked up a few who chose to attend a Youngstown school (particularly for advanced math and an intensive English program) rather than their home district, the number added doesn't compare to the number lost.
The board of education is pushing for development of a strategy to bring those children back.
More than monetary loss
It's not just the money that brings concern, Youngstown officials say.
The loss of pupils makes it difficult to bring about a change in academic performance in the district because people are not always willing to wait for that improvement to occur, said Dr. Wendy Webb, Youngstown superintendent.
A diverse group of pupils is needed to foster the best learning environment. No one learns in isolation, and the presence of children who assimilate information faster than others is important in a classroom, Webb said.
Losing some of those students through open enrollment only makes Youngstown's task of rising above a state-designated label of "academic emergency" more difficult, she added.
Youngstown is replacing and rebuilding a total of 15 school buildings right now, and that will bring some children back, Webb said. That will be only temporary, however, unless the district can improve its academic performance, she warned.
It's not the building that teaches; it's the culture and the environment in the building, and that's something Youngstown is trying to address through an emphasis on developing stronger leadership from the administration and in the classroom, she said.
When kids perform, it means that teachers have learned how to deliver an education, Webb said.
Borders closed
Austintown School District is one of 11 in the three-county area yet to participate in open enrollment.
With an enrollment of 5,000 that is growing by 30 to 40 students each year, Austintown just doesn't have the space to open its doors to pupils from other districts, said Superintendent Doug Heuer.
Austintown already is using some portable classrooms at the elementary level, and the middle schools are full, although the district is building a new one for the fall 2007, he said.
Staffing is another issue, Heuer said, pointing out that the district recently eliminated nine teaching positions in a cost-cutting move.
A district can benefit from open enrollment only when it has the space to add students without adding staff, he said.
Austintown has been hurt some by open enrollment too, he said, noting the district has lost about 270 pupils to open enrollment and charter schools this year, resulting in a net loss of $870,000 in state funding.