Schools of choice takes financial toll on Washtenaw County school districts
Milan High sophomore Bradley Bock, right, talks with the school's dean of students, Blue Livingston, in the main hallway Friday afternoon. Lon Horwedel | AnnArbor.com
If all the students who live in the Willow Run school district and attend a traditional public school were enrolled in Willow Run, the district would add nearly $8 million to its budget - currently crumbling under the weight of a $3 million deficit.
Willow Run is far from alone in that predicament. With the schools of choice program on the rise in Washtenaw County, many local districts are seeing potential students - and the dollars they’d bring with them - walk out of the district.
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In Ypsilanti, about 500 students who live in the district’s boundaries instead travel to another traditional school district to go to classes. That’s nearly $4 million in revenue lost by the district, which is struggling with a budget deficit of nearly $5 million.
State data shows county traditional school districts lost nearly $22 million this year as a result of students who live within their boundaries electing to attend another district. When enrollment lost to charter schools is factored in, that number climbs to $53.1 million.
“Across the state, there are definitely districts that are winners under this, and there are losers,” said William Price, a professor of leadership and counseling in the school of education at Eastern Michigan University. “If you’re on the losing end, it’s devastating.”
Locally, the Milan school district is the only clear winner, enrolling many more schools of choice students than it loses. Manchester also enrolls two more students than it loses. The biggest losers are Ann Arbor, Lincoln and Willow Run.
Milan
When Sandy Bock's oldest child was in elementary school, the family built a new house and moved from the Milan school district into the Lincoln district.
But the family had no desire to leave Milan schools.
"The schools are so welcoming," she said. "All three of my kids go there now. They have excelled. Once we found out that it was an option, we signed right up for it. It's been the best decision for us."
The Bocks are among just over 600 students who came to Milan this fall from another traditional school district.
Milan is seeing a net gain of about $3.3 million to its budget, which is a big help, Superintendent Bryan Girbach said. Each student who comes from another district is accompanied by the state per-pupil funding allotted to his or her home district - a number that varies by district.
“Milan has not done anything to change the district for schools of choice,” he said. “The first year we offered it, we did billboards and advertising. We’ve done nothing since. It’s all word of mouth. (Parents) know that their student is going to learn. We don’t view them any different than the students that live within our boundaries. When you’re a Milan student, you’re a Milan student.
“We’re not out there to compete with other school districts. We want to be the best Milan schools we can be.”
Saline is the only other district beside Milan and Manchester that comes close to breaking even. State data shows Saline lost 63 students this fall to other traditional school districts and 84 students to charter schools. It brought in 134 students through schools of choice, resulting in a net loss of just over $21,000.
Willow Run
Among the other eight traditional districts in the county, none come close to breaking even in the number of students leaving the district versus those coming in through schools of choice.
Willow Run school district employees have been placing yard signs around the district, trying to encourage residents to send their children there.
Nowhere has that impact been felt more than in Willow Run, where the number of students leaving for other traditional school districts or charter schools is up 58 percent over the last five years.
From fall 2007 to fall 2008, the number of students leaving climbed 14 percent. It skyrocketed another 24 percent from fall 2008 to fall 2009, state data shows. That time period matches a time of turbulence in the district, which has been in the red for each of those years and has endured leadership disputes between the school board and superintendent.
The decline in numbers means the district is losing $11.1 million this school year, data shows.
“This decline in enrollment has been gradually occurring over the past 10 years and has a tremendous impact on our funding,” acting Superintendent Laura Lisiscki said. “Willow Run Community Schools has gone through a great deal of changes during the 2009-2010 school year, these changes include the superintendency, the finance director, and the hiring of a special consultant to the Board of Education as well as a stabilization in enrollment.
"This leadership team has already developed realistic plans to move the district forward; these plans include an anticipated acceptance of the deficit elimination plan and several academic offerings to the students."
Lisiscki said the goal is to enroll 50 more students for the 2010-2011 school year.
“Since the change in leadership, the environment within the district has changed," Lisiscki said. "Staff members are working together, supporting one another in all initiatives viewing the future with a positive outlook."
Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor's negative net result is mainly attributed to the district's decision not to participate in schools of choice - but that's now changing. The school board voted this year to open 170 seats in kindergarten, first grade and sixth grade. Ninety-five students have applied so far.
“With respect to Ann Arbor not being schools of choice, it was getting harmful to the students of Ann Arbor not to have any reciprocal flow of students into the district,” said board member Glenn Nelson, the longest-serving member of the current board.
The district lost $12.1 million this year in potential revenue from students leaving. Ann Arbor allows employees who live outside the district to bring their children there, and that lessens the net loss for the year to $11 million.
Another complicating factor is per-pupil funding. Ann Arbor receives more per-pupil funding from the state than any other district in the county. State rules say each student has to keep the funding from the district he or she is coming from, meaning some students Ann Arbor brings in would garner nearly $2,000 less than the rest of the student population.
Nelson said the Ann Arbor school board also had other reasons for electing not to join schools of choice before this year.
“We were not under as much financial pressure (as we are now) and we were aware that overly aggressive schools of choice could hurt other districts," he said. "We didn’t want to be viewed as a bad partner in the county.”
Ypsilanti
Ypsilanti was the first local school district to opt into schools of choice the first year the state allowed the program. And the district has been aggressive in marketing and recruiting students to come there.
The first year, 67 students came, said human resources director John Fulton, who runs the district's schools of choice program. This fall, just over 1,000 students used schools of choice to come to the district, most from neighboring Lincoln and Willow Run.
"There were some naysayers then who said, 'Why would people want to get up and drive their kids to a different school?' At that point, we aware of charters just coming into play and knew we had to offer schools of choice to be in the game," he said. "Parents had a growing amount of options. We wanted to be one of those options, not only for our parents, but for those who might want to go here."
The number of students coming to Ypsilanti is twice as many as any other local school district gets.
But the district also lost more than 1,700 students to other traditional school districts and charter schools this year, resulting in a net loss of $5.8 million due to more students leaving than coming.
That’s concerning to school board member Sarah Devaney, who spoke at a recent school board meeting about the losses at the high school level.
“I think that as a board and district, we need to be concerned about retaining these students,” she said, noting she’d like to see exit surveys done on those leaving the district. “That’s a lot of money. I’d like to see us at a net gain. I think that the level of competition (for students) is going to help the district put together initiatives, programs and even schools to help our students learn. It does put pressure on the district, but the kids are going to win in the end.”
Fulton said schools of choice has been positive for Ypsilanti.
"As your district starts to get smaller, it's hard to offer all the options for your students," he said. "Schools of choice not only helps the students who come here, but it helps educate others. It's a bit of a money game. I don't think it's hurt us at all."
Not part of the program
Two local school districts - Chelsea and Dexter - are currently closed to students outside their boundaries.
Chelsea Superintendent Dave Killips said schools of choice has been discussed in his district.
“Some of the discussions revolved around the belief that we should be cooperating with other school districts to serve children rather than competing with other districts," he said. "Having expenses spent on marketing and attempting to draw students to our district could be better spent on programming for our students. Others spoke to the fact that local tax dollars have been approved by local taxpayers to provide our facilities and system for the children of this school district."
For example, Killips said, if the district sought any local millages - such as a bond or sinking fund - out-of-district families wouldn't be able to vote on the issues and wouldn't pay into the improvements that would benefit their children.
“I believe schools of choice has to remain a local issue for each community," he said.
David Jesse covers K-12 education for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at davidjesse@annarbor.com or at 734-623-2534.
Comments
Shanna
Wed, Jun 9, 2010 : 10:45 a.m.
My comment was removed because it was too long but can be found here... http://www.annarbor.com/community/community_wall/why_my_child_will_not_be_returning_willow_run/
SudoNimAA
Tue, Jun 8, 2010 : 7:06 a.m.
Good point, AnnouncerMan. I can see this extending to other areas like music, theater, academics.
Jay Allen
Mon, Jun 7, 2010 : 10:03 a.m.
Everyone.......Please....... School of "Choice" as it was intended, is a great thing. It does add to the competition, it does allow for what is perceived as a better education. I understand and AGREE with this. However, what happens when coaches over step their bounds and use it as a recruiting tool to build their team? Just like many of the Catholic Schools State wide that do this behind the scenes but publicly deny it? ALL of us have issue with that. Why? Recruiting at the High School level is illegal as per the MHSAA guidelines. I know of a program that does this, actively. As per the guidelines on this forum, I will not share the name of the coach and the program he is associated with, currently. But the information is out there for those who wish to seek and find.
Jay Thomas
Sun, Jun 6, 2010 : 9:20 p.m.
With respect to Ann Arbor not being schools of choice, it was getting harmful to the students of Ann Arbor not to have any reciprocal flow of students into the district, said board member Glenn Nelson, the longest-serving member of the current board. "Getting harmful?" Good grief
Basic Bob
Sun, Jun 6, 2010 : 9:05 p.m.
@Judy, Yes, the good kids leave, but the teachers aren't so lucky. Teachers are only as good as the kids they get. The toughest job in Washtenaw County has to be teaching in Willow Run where the revenue is in steep decline, the (former) administrators are crooked, and even average students go to other districts.
Judy
Sun, Jun 6, 2010 : 7:50 p.m.
We have sent our son to a neighboring district for years. For us, schools of choice is great. The problem, though, is not whether competition is good for kids like mine. The problem is that there are many kids whose families cannot drive them to another school, don't know the benefits of other schools, or whose parents simply don't care. In the end, we leave the most vulnerable children in these districts with poorer quality teachers, substandard curriculum, fewer resources. And, the cycle continues because when the "good" kids leave, the good teachers go too; test scores drop; and the school gets even less.
jns131
Sun, Jun 6, 2010 : 7:12 p.m.
Out Soon? I have to agree with you on Willow Run. I subbed Willow Run in different capacities and realized one thing. Mine will never set foot inside WR ever. She went to charter for 4 years before I took a job inside AAPS. She is now there due to my employment. WR is a rough school and they do pick and choose who gets what. Great to hear you are wise in your years to keep your grandchildren safe. Teachers do not want to deal with difficult children so they keep pushing them into the next grade and on field trips they do not deserve to go. Mine is not going on her field trip due to a low grade. She had a chance to get it up and failed. WR needs to get its act together.
YpsiLivin
Sun, Jun 6, 2010 : 6:18 p.m.
DonBee, I would guess that your home-school estimate is probably close. I have a child with ADHD, I have found that similarly situated parents sometimes pull their children from a regular school setting because their children experience trouble in the classroom, and schools (public and private alike) have little tolerance for kids who don't "fit the mold." The pressure to medicate children is intense, to say the least. For these parents, home-schooling is nominally a "choice" but realistically, it's sometimes the only option for children who are unlikely to succeed in a regular classroom. I have no concrete numbers, but I've seen estimates that suggest that a high proportion of parents who choose to home-school do so because of behavior and maturity issues among their children. This would be consistent with the apparent increase in the number of children diagnosed with ADHD, autism and other conditions that have a pronounced impact on behavior.
Out soon
Sun, Jun 6, 2010 : 5:56 p.m.
Willow Run, may SAY it has changed but it has not! Just last week at Holmes school several students were not allowed to go on a field trip to the water park that were mild distractions to some staff, yet I know of one that was suspended 9 or 10 times and got to go! One child didn't go for not completing some homework and other for reading a book. I hear a lot of these stories about the district and for this reason if my 2 grandsons come to say with me for half a school year next year as is expected they WILL not touch foot in this school. They will go to Ypsilanti or Milan. I have delt with this school district for 20 years and it has gone down hill in so many ways. I truly feel that the Many (not all)find joy in hurting students feelings with no regrets. Then this kids see they reward others that are really bad because they may have self esteem problems and they want to help them. Hello????Do you think that just maybe the ones you hurt for small things may cause more problems later because of how they were treated? What happened to teachers that truly wanted kids to enjoy school and wanted them to learn. I think they are in Saline, Ann Arbor, and Milan. You are lucky if your kids attened these schools. If you don't believe this ask the Principal of Holmes school how many students were not able to attened a field trip. Somethings wrong with teachers if they have so little control that most can't attened. I know the kid personaly that couldn't go on the trip because he was reading when he wasn't supposed to. So I asked around and found out from 2 employees that suspended kids that had been violent were able to go. There Willow Run. Change that kind of treatment and maybe you might get some kids back. It's sad how it has become there. I have 2 kids that were in National Honor Society in Willow Run. Graduated and did great. My youngest is attending another school. It's sad to me it had to come to that. They bring it on themselves.
David Jesse
Sun, Jun 6, 2010 : 4:56 p.m.
Note: The chart was updated to reflect the numbers in Manchester. Manchester has a net gain of two students.
DonBee
Sun, Jun 6, 2010 : 3:31 p.m.
Ypsilivin - Thank you. If I look at the 2007 estimated census data for the country, I get 55,864 school age children. A few of them attend public schools outside the county (some districts cut into Washtenaw County) say 300. If we take the remaining 55,564 and subtract the 52,057 that were in public and private schools it leaves roughly 3,507 home school children. I wonder if it can be right? That is about 6 percent of children home schooled. If it is right roughly 14.7 percent of the children in the county have chosen to not attend public schools ( I am including charters in public schools here - just to be clear). If we look at the numbers in 2007 choosing to not attend traditional districts it comes to 11,996 out of 55,564 in 2007. Or roughly 20 percent. Note I am using 2007 because that is what I can find total census estimates for. I not there is a bubble in private school attendance in 2007. If someone knows a better, newer number of children in the county, I will re-run the calculations.
YpsiLivin
Sun, Jun 6, 2010 : 2:07 p.m.
DonBee, According to a related story on AnnArbor.com, there are 4,459 students enrolled in private schools in Washtenaw County in the 2009-2010 school year. This compares to 4,026 students who were enrolled in private schools in 2002-03. Private school enrollment is an entirely "knowable" number for any given school year. What's less knowable is the number of students who are home-schooled because these children may never come in contact with a regular school. According to the same story, enrollment in public schools in Washtenaw County has declined in each of the last five years from a peak of 48,213 in 2004, while overall enrollment has varied, with three decreasing years and two increasing ones. In all, the private school enrollment in Washtenaw County has varied from a low of about 7.1% to a high of about 9% between 2002-03 and 2009-10. I don't think parents are fleeing to private schools in droves; I do think that the school age population is shrinking.
Heardoc
Sun, Jun 6, 2010 : 2 p.m.
Well, that is what competition is about. There will be winners and there will be losers. Period. We want the best for our kids and we have not attained that for years. The pay has gone up for the teachers but the product they produce is poor. I am sure all the libs and union types hate the idea of competition -- but there is a reason these parents are choosing not to give you their children. If you had a good product then you would not need to worry about your enrollment. Work on the product (better teachers, more motivated teachers) and the children will come -- have a bad product and your system should and will fail. The children do not belong to the district -- the parents owe nothing to the district. Ask the MEA for money -- they seem not to have a problem asking parents for money for a failed school system.
Me Next
Sun, Jun 6, 2010 : 1:07 p.m.
State Education vouchers of $2,000/child/school year is still best. Local control of building & what is taught. State control of who gets to teach in that State; as well as investigation into under-preforming schools. At each grade level does the children Read, Write, & calculate numbers sufficiently. Degrees don't always translate into a child getting the basics required. Children should not be merchandise for taxes. The purpose for the Law to make the basic 3 Rs available can so easily be lost despite restructuring. Localities should not even ask for millage increase to meet the needs of other localities. Localities should not have to accept a deterioration of "Service" with evidence of that jurisdictions' children. any needed revenue to sustain original purpose should come from private donations only. Those schools that lose children should take this opportunity to "Serve" better the ones they have. Do more with less. Localities should not be forced to surrender local school taxes to other localities nor should it be an excuse to raise their local taxes. This could so easily end up in a few in "Ed Organization" profiting & failure of more schools.
David Jesse
Sun, Jun 6, 2010 : 12:08 p.m.
Manchester schools Superintendent Shawn Lewis-Lakin has contacted me this morning to dispute the numbers that were published in this report. Here's his correction to the numbers in the chart above: You are reporting in today's paper that Manchester has a net loss of 42 students through schools of choice. This number is not correct. We have 59 students opting into MCS; there are 57 students who live in MCS who attend elsewhere. You are only showing Washtenaw County students received into Manchester as choice students. That is the number 9. We receive 50 additional choice students from outside Washtenaw County.
cdinsupe
Sun, Jun 6, 2010 : 11:50 a.m.
Curious about the total enrollment of said districts as compared to these lost numbers. (i.e. what % of the potential number of enrolled students chose a different district). Could be an indicator of which school's performance and/or academic options are driving away a higher ratio of students than others. Guess is that WR's number will be very scary, given its small geographic size.
Basic Bob
Sun, Jun 6, 2010 : 9:49 a.m.
@xmo, The difference in per-pupil funding is only relevant for Ann Arbor, since other schools are on equal footing. For AAPS to accept 120 students at the base level does not make a big difference, less than 1% of the total enrollment. The marginal cost for adding these students is not that high, as they have already determined that they have space in the buildings.
rf9
Sun, Jun 6, 2010 : 9:23 a.m.
what wrong with competition and why do these schools spend like they still have students they dont have
Anonymous Due to Bigotry
Sun, Jun 6, 2010 : 8:57 a.m.
No doubt the unions will be doing their best to squash school choice under some excuse about no child being left behind or somesuch. School choice is the only thing that truly forces accountability right now. Unfortunately with systemic barriers in place that ensconce teachers based on seniority rather than competence or effectiveness, layoffs which are forced to occur due to lost revenue aren't likely to be the most effective layoffs but simply the most bureaucratically correct. It's time to do away with the systemic barriers that have been put in place to ensure teachers and administrators job security at the expense of accountability and effectiveness, and which ensure job security based on seniority at the expense of newer teachers even when the newer teachers are more effective than the "senior" ones. No private company or organization could operate effectively with these unfair barriers in place and there's simply no reason why teachers should be entitled to this sort of guaranteed job security at the expense of students.
xmo
Sun, Jun 6, 2010 : 8:47 a.m.
I think the funding per pupil issue will cause problems, this needs to be looked at closer.
DonBee
Sun, Jun 6, 2010 : 7:54 a.m.
Interesting set of number. Thank you David Jesse. Just over 3,800 students in Charters and an unknown number in private schools in the county. It should be obvious that at least some people are not satisfied with the traditional public school offerings. I have not seen any data that indicates why people are leaving traditional public schools. It would be interesting to do a real survey (One with science behind it that the Institute for Social Research does). Maybe the University of Michigan or Eastern can find a PhD student who is looking for a research topic to look at this.