Last month, the school board discussed budget healing, out-of-district kids, how they affect the school, and the open enrollment process. While people from the district didn’t get much detail then, the board has now provided more information. Some new topics are on the board this month, and each has a vital role in the lives of students at Southeast.
The first thing on the agenda this month was a discussion of the open enrollment procedure. Last month, they discussed it and said the Assistant principal, Roger Stumpf, would get us information from 1966 to the present. This school was founded in 1966 and has grown into a school students all across the area want to attend, as the education department has been well-kept and articulated throughout its years of existence. Teachers ensure that students are cared for, an issue for larger schools with a far more skewed student-to-teacher ratio. The teachers know every student and create a friendly bond with many.
Because of this familiarity between students and teachers, parents want their kids to come to SES for a better education than available alternatives. The school has gained so much interest that it might have to start having an open enrollment cap for students. Mr. Stumpf says that if a new student is the child of a staff member from the school, they will be moved to the top of the list of being accepted. They have this rule put in place to employ and retain staff members within the school effectively.
In addition to this action, Stumpf made the executive decision stating that students already part of our student body do not have to put in another application to the school. This allows for relief for existing student body families. Some people might have thought that they had to put in a new application, and if they passed the grade level cap, they would be thrown into the lottery and potentially lose their spot. Mr. Stumpf made it clear that this isn’t going to happen. They plan to pass this policy in December and discuss it again in January.
Mr. Stumpf also clarifies that if there are already current students and their siblings are enrolling to come to Southeast, they will also have a priority to be accepted before the lottery. They are doing all they can to ensure that families are kept from being split up and have the best community that Southeast of Saline can have for our students.
The priority list discussed is as follows: Resident students, out-of-district students who are children of teachers, siblings of enrolled students, and others. They will set the official cap in May, but they don’t know the returning number for the following year. The board doesn’t know what families are going to move and which are going to stay, so they have to estimate the number they have at the end of the year to make the prediction.
However, not everyone agrees with these decisions. “this is a disaster,” Dewight Conley said. In addition, further problems with this concept arise with the hiring of additional teachers with children in months after the cap is set.
This is the last information given to the public during the board meeting, as microphones were muted to discuss favorability in enrollment. Regardless, student life will change in the next couple of years. The school will see the number of students decrease or increase with the different level caps by the board. As for next month, it is unknown what the primary topic of discussion will be, though there will surely be further insight into this situation.
