CC/E board discusses open enrollment
Supe fears changes could impact small schools most
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Clay Central/Everly Superintendent Kevin Wood is concerned that a recent change in state open enrollment rules will have an adverse affect on small rural school districts across Iowa.
Parents can now enroll their children in any public school regardless of where they live at any point throughout the year thanks to a new law signed last month by Gov. Kim Reynolds. It removes the March 1 deadline to declare their intention to switch districts and took effect immediately, meaning families no longer need to give a reason to send their student to a new district anytime throughout the year as long as the new district accepts them.
Wood on June 29 called the development "unfortunate" during the CC/E board's regular meeting. He had hoped the governor wouldn't sign the legislation, but ultimately believed it was another step towards passing Reynolds' voucher bill that faltered during the last session.
"It opens the floodgates, in my opinion. It's going to make it hard to track some frequent flier families," he said. "We no longer have, 'Well, you didn't meet the deadline.' They can leave [the district] whenever."
Wood believed the change would hurt small districts most and create a "tracking nightmare" for business managers. They're the ones who will be charged with tracking each open-enrolled student's state tuition money, which follows them to wherever they choose to go.
Wood said the only potential restriction on no-limit open enrollment is extracurricular eligibility. Students who move out of their home district will still have to wait 90 days before they're eligible to participate in sports or other activities, which could make some families with older children think twice before jumping ship to another school.
"We're just hoping the number is small enough," Wood said.
CC/E's PK-6 enrollment is already 80 students. Taking the glass-half-full approach, Wood said there might be some students who enroll into the district because of the new rules.
"That's the hope," he said.
• LED lighting approved
In other business, the board unanimously approved a bid from Premium Quality Lighting (PQL) worth $21,035.40 with a rebate estimate of $3,736 from Alliant Energy, which would bring the overall price to $17,299. According to discussion, the lights will pay for themselves over the next half decade, as they are more energy-efficient than the current ones.
PQL has previously installed lights in the Royal building's gym and music room. Board Member Brian Schmidt noted CC/E's low enrollment numbers and wondered if the upgrade would be able to pay for itself if the long-term viability of the district is uncertain. Wood said that was taken into consideration when seeking bids, and he ultimately deemed the new lights a worthy investment.
"Over the next five years, I think it will certainly save us," he said.
The district can use funds from the PPEL and SAVE accounts to pay for the lights. PQL was the lone bidder on the project.
"We have plenty available for capital projects like this," Wood noted.
• Safari Daycare update
Wood reported that Safari Daycare passed all its state inspections and is free to open in the Royal building whenever owner Dani Muller deems fit.
"It's been kind of a journey," Wood said.
Back in February, Muller shared her plan to open a daycare location in the Royal school for children ages 2 and up as well as before- and after-school care. She said the daycare would have a maximum capacity of 57 children.
Safari's Milford location offers a full-service daycare center for children ages infant to 6 years old.
