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Open enrollment will not increase, Austintown superintendent says
By Justin Wier
AUSTINTOWN
Superintendent Vince Colaluca said the number of open-enrollment students in the Austintown School District will remain about the same next year, and it could decrease.
The administration conducted a community meeting Wednesday to present data about the controversial open-enrollment policy.
The district currently has 766 open-enrollment students who comprise 16 percent of the total population.
The presentation addressed concerns that accepting open-enrollment students increases disciplinary problems, decreases district scores on state tests and costs the district money.
That data showed that a slightly higher percentage of open-enrollment students are disciplined and fewer open-enrollment students achieve proficiency on state exams.
These numbers vary: While 10 percent fewer open-enrollment students achieve proficiency in math, they outperformed resident students in social studies.
Assistant Superintendent Jeremy Batchelor didn’t think the difference was significant, particularly the statistic showing that 5.2 percent of open-enrollment students appear at expulsion hearings, compared with 2 percent of resident students.
“I am not going to sit here and panic over 2 percent or 5 percent,” Batchelor said.
On the financial side, the district presented estimates that suggest the school receives about $1.6 million annually from accepting open-enrollment students.
This conflicts with a report from state Auditor Dave Yost that said open-enrollment cost the district about $25,000 in fiscal year 2015. District Treasurer Mary Ann Herschel said the administration’s methodology differs from the state’s in regards to attributing costs that don’t change based on the number of students in the district.
Colaluca said it comes down to what kind of school district they want to be. He argued that with fewer students, the district would be unable to offer as many optional programs, including STEM programming and all-day pre-school.
“[The auditor’s office] doesn’t look at the history or tradition of your school,” Colaluca said.
Colaluca said they determine the level of open-enrollment students with a goal of having a 23-1 student-teacher ratio with 16 classes per grade in K-8. In grades nine-12, they aim for a 25-1 ratio.
Next year, they will not accept open-enrollment students in grades nine-12.
He also said accepting students keeps the district from asking taxpayers for an operating levy.
Responding to a question about why someone would want their tax dollars to go to someone from out of district, Herschel said that property tax rates don’t increase when the district accepts open-enrollment students.
April Solic, who has two children in the district, said she came in thinking there were too many open-enrollment students, but found the presentation reassuring.
“It’s easy to hear that big number you have in open-enrollment and not see it broken down,” Solic said.
Roxanne Fleischer, who has three children in the district, said she was on the fence coming in as well.
“I feel more comfortable,” she said, “that my children’s class sizes aren’t going to increase over the next few years – that my kids are going to get the ability to have maybe more of a one-on-one with their teacher, versus being the overlooked student.”