Goodrich-The district opened last week with fewer Schools of Choice students.
A total of 52 new Schools of Choice students enrolled in Goodrich Schools for the 2012-13 school year compared to 91 SOC students in the district for the 2011-12 school year.
‘We’re busting at the seams in the high school,? said Scott Bogner, district superintendent. ‘We are seeing families coming in the district buying homes here. They are not all Schools of Choice students. As expected the high school enrollment is flat.?
In April the board voted 6-1 to join the Schools of Choice to include the schools within Genesee County. Then by a 6-2 vote, the board joined the contiguous school districts in Lapeer and Oakland counties. The district will determine the application window and the number of students to be accepted into the district. The vote allowed the district to close the SOC students for grades 7-12 and accept SOC students for grades kindergarten-6th.
‘Currently there’s a gap between kindergarten enrollment and the number of students in the high school,? added Bogner. ‘We’ll have a better picture of the enrollment following the Oct. 3 statewide count day.?
For the past five years the number of SOC students has grown steadily’from 125 SOC students in the 2007-08 school year to 293 SOC students in the 2011-12 school year. Financially, the SOC program has been a boost to the district’s sagging revenues. Based on the current $6,846 per student, the SOC was grossing about $2,005,878.
Currently, SOC students comprise about 12 percent of the total operational funding of the district based on revenues of about $16 million.