By AUBRIE GEORGE
As a $5 million deficit for the 2011–12 school year approaches, officials in the Evesham K-8 school district are searching for ways to increase revenue.
One way that won’t happen is through participation in a state program that would have allowed a limited number of students from other districts to attend school in the Evesham, bringing in new revenues and aiding job and program retention.
The Interdistrict School Choice Program started as a pilot in 2000 and was signed into law this September opening it up to all New Jersey schools that choose to apply.
The program is designed to increase educational opportunities for students and their families by providing students with the option of attending a public school outside their district of residence without cost to their parents, according to the program’s Web site.
School districts that agree to accept out of district children would be given additional state funding per student.
In Evesham’s case, accepting up to 63 kindergarteners and first graders next year would have brought in $9,227 per student, or $581,301 total for the school year, according to a presentation given by John Scavelli, Jr during a public meeting.
If the program were implemented, the district would limit participation to kindergarten and first grade in the first year and just kindergarten in subsequent years, limiting the number to no more than 35 new kindergarteners per year, Scavelli said.
He estimated new revenue would increase as time went on, reaching up to $2.5 million in the 2018–19 school year.
In addition to facing financial problems down the line, Scavelli said the district’s enrollment is down 13 percent, or over 700 students, since 2003.
The program would create a new, ongoing source of revenue which would help to rebuild and maintain existing programs, retain staff, and allow the district to add class sections as needed to keep class sizes down.
But after considering Scavelli’s presentation and listening to public comment, the Board voted not to submit an application to the state department of education for participation in the program next school year.
BOE president Lisa Mansfield said the Board’s decision not to apply to the program was based on not having enough time or relevant data to make a decision, not because members necessarily thought it was a bad idea. She said the Board was impressed with Scavelli’s presentation, but still had questions that the state hadn’t been able to answer.
“I think what the Board was more concerned about is the fact that we were given this monumental task in a very limited amount of time to decide if it was a good thing for our district,” Mansfield said.
She said there wasn’t enough data about how the program would affect a school district similar to Evesham’s size. She said the Board would likely look at the program again next year when more data is available.
“There has been no district involved in this school choice program of the same size as ours, most of them are smaller districts,” she said. “Our feeling is, let’s give it a year and see what the school choice program brings and then look at it again next year.”
The deadline for NJ schools to submit applications for participation in the program was Oct. 29.
