The mass migration of students from unaccredited districts to higher performing schools has left the Normandy and Riverview Gardens school districts with 2,600 fewer children. Now it’s hit the state with a bill of almost $7 million.
The tab is expected to grow even larger if students continue to transfer from the two districts to better schools in the 2014-15 school year and beyond.
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is asking Gov. Jay Nixon’s office to seek $6.8 million in emergency funding to help the Normandy School District get through the end of the school year. The money would help cover tuition and transportation costs for about 1,100 students, as well as pay for the education of about 3,000 children remaining in Normandy schools.
“The state has a responsibility to see to it that education happens,” said Peter Herschend of Branson, president of the Missouri Board of Education. “It takes gas in the tank.”
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Without it, the Normandy school system would go broke by March, state education officials say.
Sen. David Pearce, R-Warrensburg, chairman of the Senate Education Committee, said the funding would be a short-term fix to a bigger problem that the state could face if transfers continue after this school year. In June, a state Supreme Court ruling upheld the school transfer statute, which allows children in unaccredited districts to enroll in higher performing schools at their home district’s expense.
“What happens when a district goes broke or bankrupt?” Pearce asked. “It will be all part of the ongoing discussions on what we do about student transfers.”
The Missouri Board of Education authorized the request at its meeting in Jefferson City on Tuesday. It now falls to Nixon to decide whether to include it in his supplemental budget request that legislators will consider when they convene in January. If approved, the money would be available for the current budget year.
Riverview Gardens’ larger fund balance is expected to carry it through the end of this school year, but the district could face financial problems before 2015 if it remains unaccredited and the state law continues to allow for transfers.
The estimated cost of tuition and transportation to both districts is in the neighborhood of $35 million.
On Sept. 3, the Francis Howell School District sent its first bill — for more than $424,000 — to Normandy to cover the first few weeks of tuition for the 449 students who transferred there.
Normandy Superintendent Ty McNichols has begun identifying what programs and staff he will eliminate to trim about $15 million from his $53 million budget. He’s evaluating whether to close schools, ax programs or consolidate classrooms.
The process is a frustrating one, he said. It requires “doing more with less, and faster.”
“We need to right-size,” McNichols said in an interview this week.
But enrollment numbers at the district’s seven schools have been fluctuating since the school year began on Aug. 19, complicating that process. About 160 students who requested transfers have returned to Normandy schools, he said. Most of those never showed up in the schools they enrolled in.
“We would love to make some decisions now, but all of a sudden we get an influx of 200 kids and suddenly we need to bring staff back,” he said.
In addition to seeking the supplemental money for Normandy, the state board also signed off on the education department’s proposed budget for next year, which now goes to the state’s Office of Administration for review. The $6.1 billion budget request would add $556 million to fully fund the school foundation formula, Missouri’s method of distributing money to public schools.
“Full funding for the foundation formula would help schools provide students with the knowledge and skills they need for success in college, other postsecondary training, and careers,” Missouri Education Commissioner Chris Nicastro said in a statement.
Jessica Bock of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.
