Fewer Open Enrollment Students Shouldn't Hurt Hamilton Financially

Hamilton School District officials say they’re not concerned that a lack of space for  open enrollment students will have a negative effect on the district's finances.

In some area school districts, the state's open enrollment program, which allows students to attend school outside their district at no charge, is seen as an easy way to generate additional revenue.

In Menomonee Falls, for example, as part of the open enrollment program next year, a move that will generate $171,000 in net revenue.

But Bryan Ruud, Hamilton's assistant superintendent of business services, said open enrollment aid is less per student than regular state aid, so there’s no loss of funds for Hamilton if the district is unable to find space for the applicants.

“Open enrollment is a great academic tool and it’s a great revenue tool, if you’ve got space in your buildings,” he said. “But what you’re getting dollar amount for kids, it can cost more than what you’re getting to teach them because you get about $10,000 per student in education aid this year and about $6,000 for open enrollment.

"So the way it works out to help is if you already have a teacher in a classroom with some open desks and you can put a small amount of kids in that class to fill those desks," he said. “It’s a good option for districts with declining enrollment, but we have growing enrollment.”

District leaders told School Board members last week that the who applied during the February open enrollment period. About 89 students applied to leave the district.

Enrollment is continuing to grow in Hamilton, with the overall student population projected to reach 4,602 students in the 2011-12 school year, which is a 62-student increase.

The projection states the largest enrollment boost in the 2011-12 school year will be the junior class, which will increase by 49 students to 385 and the senior class will grow by 45 students to a total of 342.

The largest enrollment drops are projected for kindergarten, which will decrease by 40 students to 270 and the freshman class, which drops by 30 students to 319.

There were 131 students who applied into the district in the 2010-11 school year and Denise Dorn Lindberg, district spokeswoman, said a waiting list and lottery were created to decide who was allowed into the district.

Students who get in next year will likely only be for specific grade levels.

The freshman class received the most applications for the 2011-12 school year, with 29 students wanting to come into Hamilton High School, followed by the 4-year-old kindergarten program, with 16 applicants, and the kindergarten program, with 14 applicants.

The district received only one open enrollment application for its early childhood program, two for third grade and three for the senior class.

“Yes, this is typical,” she said. “We are an increasing enrollment district with a portable classroom at one school and at capacity at two others. Therefore, each year for at least the past five years we have put open enrollment students on a waiting list.”

Ruud said the amount of Chapter 220 students remains stable into the district and Hamilton does receive slightly more in state aid for those students.

Some districts are considering reclassifying 220 students as open enrollment students, but Ruud said it would not be beneficial to Hamilton because it would mean a loss in transportation for those students and there are no direct bus lines into the Hamilton area from Milwaukee.

“If we don’t have open classrooms or open seats in a classroom, you would either have to physically expand the classroom or add portable classrooms,” Ruud said. “Or we might have the space, but would have to hire a teacher to accommodate the extra students.

 “These are the issues we have to look at before we make a financial decision like these," he added.