The West Plains School District Board of Education approved the 2020-21 tuition rate for non-resident students at a rate of $8,108.64 per student, which is an increase of $236.17, or 3 percent, over the previous year’s rate.
Tuition is paid by the surrounding, separate K-8 school districts for their students who attend West Plains High School. All federal, state, and local funding stays with the students’ K-8 school district instead of directly following the students to their high school of choice. To support the cost of the students’ high school education, a portion of the money received by the K-8 districts is then sent to the high school in the form of tuition and the sending district keeps any remaining money.
Board of education President Jim Thompson explained tuition in greater detail: “To most, it seems logical that the money would simply follow the student, but it doesn’t. The state sends money for K-8 high school students directly to the K-8 districts even though they don’t operate high schools. When those students come to West Plains High School, their home districts reimburse us for the cost of their education in the form of tuition.” Thompson also said there is no state standard for tuition calculation. “The few districts that have to charge tuition contact the West Plains School District each year to find out our number, and others use our method since we set the standard,” he added.
According to Thompson, the tuition formula is based on sound financial principles using publicly available information. There is also a prorated attendance calculation built into the formula, since public funding is based on attendance. The current calculation was developed with input and approval by K-8 administrators as a reasonable solution and includes a cap on increases or decreases in a given year to help with budget planning.
The cost of educating high school students at West Plains High School is higher than the cost of tuition because the tuition formula does not include the cost of equipment, large technology, facility improvements and maintenance. Because of the disparity in the cost of educating students and the amount of tuition received, the West Plains School District taxpayers pay a subsidy for non-resident students to attend West Plains High School.
Thompson added, “During community wide discussions to develop the District’s Comprehensive School Improvement Plan (CSIP), patrons from both the West Plains School District and K-8 districts voiced their concerns over the district subsidizing the cost of non-resident students and are pushing for a solution to the disparity in funding.” With that in mind, the Board of Education plans to address the funding gap, which may include revamping the formula used to calculate tuition in the coming years. Thompson emphasized, “Any changes to the formula will include input from the K-8 administrators, and we invite public input as well. We see this future change as something that could be phased in over a period of years for budgetary considerations for the K-8 Districts.”
