The All-Island School Committee (AISC) voted 11-1 to approve a change in the superintendent’s shared-services budget formula for the school-choice program. Previously, when a student attended a school in a different town, the cost of that student was absorbed by that school’s taxpayers. Under the new formula, taxpayers in the town where a student originates will be responsible for bill.
In the new proposal, the funding formula for students presently in the school-choice program would remain the same until they graduate from eighth grade or leave the district.
“This change will result in a gradual transfer (nine years) of charging school-choice students from their attending school to the town in which they reside,” the proposal said.
The new formula originated with Up-Island Regional School District (UIRSD) committee, which has been discussing over how to apportion costs.
UIRSD committee chairman Michael Marcus made the motion, and Edgartown School committee chairman and AISC vice chairman Susan Mercier seconded it. Janet Packer of Tisbury and Kelly McCracken of Edgartown were not in attendance. UIRSD committee member Jeffrey “Skipper” Manter of West Tisbury was opposed.
“I think this is grossly unfair,” Mr. Manter said. “Specifically to the town of West Tisbury and their taxpayers.”
New formula
Last school year, Up-Island Regional School District committee members wrangled over and ultimately approved the school-choice formula. At issue was the requirement that towns pay for educating the students in their schools, whether the student lives in that town or not. The formula was based on the view that the costs average out over a period of several years.
In 2015–16, the up-Island district accepted 57 students, which was more than any other individual Island elementary school. State funding worth $5,000 follows the student to whichever school district he or she chooses, with additional funding if the student requires special education services.
At the heart of the disagreement over the formula was whether state funding was enough to cover the shared-services costs of the school-choice children. Island schools that take on more school-choice students pay more money to the superintendent’s shared-services budget, because it is based on the receiving school’s census.
Under the previous method, the high school paid 20 percent of the shared-services budget costs, and the three towns with elementary schools (Edgartown, Oak Bluffs, and Tisbury) and the up-Island district (West Tisbury, Chilmark, and Aquinnah) were responsible for the school-site enrollment costs, or the costs associated with the number of students physically in each respective school. In essence, the more students the school had, the more money it paid toward the shared-services budget. Every school opts into the school-choice process, however, and only receives as many students as it can accommodate.
The proposal from the UIRSD committee was to change the shared-services budget formula for the school-choice program so that the town where the student resides is charged, as opposed to the school the student attends.
Under the current formula, the receiving school or district contributes approximately $3,400 per student to the shared-services budget.
A ‘free ride’
Mr. Manter told committee members last Thursday that the proposal was unfair, that it should be reexamined, and that committee members ought to come up with a better idea. He said that because up-Island is a district and not a town, they must share the $5,000 three ways, overburdening up-Island with the cost of school choice.
“But, unlike you town districts, and I’m speaking specifically to Edgartown, Tisbury, and Oak Bluffs, that $5,000 goes to that school district or to the town,” Mr. Manter said. “You don’t share that with anybody else. It specifically goes to you.”
Mr. Manter said for the formula to continue for another nine years, as the proposal states for students currently enrolled in the program, would be inequitable.
“You’ve had a great free ride for many years,” Mr. Manter said.
West Tisbury finance committee (FinCom) board member Doug Ruskin echoed Mr. Manter’s opposition to the proposal. Mr. Ruskin said that both personally and as a FinCom member of West Tisbury, he thought the changes to the formula should be put in effect immediately for all students.
“My understanding is that [West Tisbury is] pretty much maxed out for students coming from other districts and therefore, even though it’s phased over nine years, it’s going to be backloaded,” Mr. Ruskin said. “So, we’re not going to feel the impact of this dramatically for a long time.”
All-Island
Mr. Marcus said that the new proposal was the easiest and fairest way to change the school-choice formula. He told the committee that he hoped they could transition to where the sending towns were paying their shared services costs, and that they found the approach amenable.
“We agreed to take these kids on into school choice,” Mr. Marcus said. “We knew what the cost was going to be when we did it.”
Mr. Manter disagreed. He said that the cost was supposed to average out over time, but that it ended up being “scaled drastically against the taxpayers in West Tisbury,” estimating that West Tisbury has paid nearly $750,000 to educate school-choice children since the inception of the program.
Ms. Mercier, growing frustrated, said the AISC had already discussed the formula extensively, and asked the committee to take the vote.
“I for one, would like to get back to talking about educating our students,” Ms. Mercier said. “So, call the vote. I’m going to vote yes, so do it quick, but let’s just call it.”
Mr. Manter voted no.
AISC chairman Colleen McAndrews thanked both the AISC and the UIRSD committee for coming to an agreement. After what she called a long and at times heated discussion, she commended UIRSD for a proposal that, although was not agreeable to all, was something committee members could support.
“We are an all-Island, and it’s about trying to all work together,” Ms. McAndrews said.