CA Story Posted Thur Night ---------------- Germantown, Collierville agree on students staying at Houston — but not on costs Officials from Germantown and Collierville municipal school districts are working on a deal to allow Collierville residents currently attending a Germantown school to stay there for a set number of years. The two districts met Thursday, and agreed it would be best to avoid displacing students who want to continue their education in their current schools — but not who should cover the local costs of educating those kids. Germantown board president Lisa Parker said Collierville offered to look into providing the transportation for Collierville residents to return to Germantown schools, but won’t provide direct funding to Germantown for taking in those students. “They just said they didn’t think they could go back to their board and even discuss that,” Parker said. Parker and Superintendent Jason Manuel met with Collierville Superintendent John Aitken and board chairman Mark Hansen Thursday afternoon, the first of many meetings expected between the two newly-forming municipal districts. The two cities already have cooperative agreements for services like special education, Parker said, and those are likely to stay in place. Parker said as long as space allows, it is “not a huge burden” to take in kids from other districts. Germantown would still get state funding for each child enrolled in its schools, no matter where they live. At a Wednesday night work session, Germantown focused on open enrollment, with first priority for Germantown residents. Manuel said there are approximately 800 Collierville residents at Houston High School, just inside the Germantown border from Collierville, and probably about 200 graduate this year. That leaves 600 Collierville residents in limbo, and Manuel and the board want to allow them to stay. Board member Ken Hoover said that might be easier to promise for high schools than elementary and middle schools. “There’s a good chance everyone who wants to return to Houston will get to do that,” Hoover said. “That’s very, very unlikely to be the case for Cordova residents at Riverdale.” Capacity issues are the problem, Manuel said, adding it wouldn’t have been a problem if the district had been able to acquire Germantown Elementary in the settlement deal with Shelby County Schools. Board member Mark Dely said he believed Collierville should help pay for the education of its residents, no matter where they go to school. “If we’re going to provide the seats for those kids, the city ought to provide funding for those kids,” he said. Hoover warned an agreement like that is a slippery slope. Germantown would have to be willing to enter into a similar agreement with any other district where a Germantown resident decides to attend school. Another consideration discussed — tuition for non-Germantown residents. Hoover said he thinks families understand they may have to pay — and may even be “desperate for the opportunity to write that check.” Hoover said if Germantown residents without children in the district have to pay for the kids in the schools, “It’s only fair to make nonresidents to make the same contribution.” Parker said after the meeting Thursday that tuition was unlikely for at least the first year, although it would be a possibility for a later open enrollment policy. Collierville chairman Hansen said his district opposes any deal involving tuition or funding from his town’s budget. Manuel said Wednesday he was less concerned about the money and more concerned tuition would drive students away from the district. He also said he didn’t want to start a relationship with the Collierville district by demanding money. “I want us to compete for all the students because I want us to be the best school district,” he said.
Posted on: Fri, 31 Jan 2014 03:21:46 +0000
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