After some debate at the April 13 School Committee meeting, committee members voted to accept seven new School Choice students for the 2009–2010 school year to replace the anticipated loss of $100,000 in revenue when seven Choice students graduate from Bromfield in June. The new Choice slots will be divided among the elementary and high schools, with two in grade 3, two in grade 6, two in grade 10, and one in grade 11.
Under the Massachusetts School Choice Program parents have the opportunity to enroll their children in schools that are not in their home district. Each year the school committees in every district decide how many Choice students they can accommodate and they advertise the available Choice positions to parents. The home school district pays a fee to the district where a child has been accepted under this program. Once students are accepted into the School Choice Program, they are entitled to enrollment until they graduate.
Schools Superintendent Thomas Jefferson had argued in favor of the district accepting 10 new Choice students, each one bringing in $5,400 in additional revenue. Since revenue from Choice students already enrolled in the system is projected to be $408,577, just $16,423 short of the $425,000 in revenue anticipated from the School Choice program for fiscal 2010, Jefferson maintained that revenue from 10 new Choice students would help create a “buffer” should some students opt out before September and decide to enroll in a different school system.
Committee member Virginia Justicz expressed concerns about accepting Choice students into the kindergarten class due to the potential for overpopulation in that grade with the possibility of additional students moving to Devens, and the possible influx of young families moving to Harvard when the real estate market improves. This would bring with it a significant financial commitment to educate these students for 12 years, she said.
Committee member Keith Cheveralls suggested that the committee accept only seven new Choice students to offset the students who will be graduating this year. “If the decision is not financial then it should be academic, and we should maintain optimal class size,” he said, adding that the $37,800 in revenue from seven students would be enough to meet the fiscal 2010 budget target.
In addition to voting in favor of accepting seven new Choice students, the board voted to accept committee Chairman Stu Sklar’s suggestion to adopt a provision allowing up to three more Choice students at the high school level, in grades 10 and 11, if applications are received for those grades.
