By Casey Curtis
Leader Staff Writer
Oakland County students who don’t live in the Oxford school district, but still want to attend its schools are out of luck next year.
For the second consecutive year, he Oxford Board of Education May 10 decided to not participate in the out-of-district Schools of Choice program.
The Schools of Choice program was established to provide additional education options for children and their parents.
Under the program, if a parent feels their child will benefit by attending a participating public school district outside their home district, they would be allowed this choice, if there was space available.
Superintendent Virginia Brennan-Kyro said the decision to once again not participate in that program stems from the recent budget cuts and a constantly increasing student population.
She wants to make sure Oxford children aren’t left out.
‘I think that it’s very important that we keep those slots and spaces available because we’re still growing,? she said.
The Schools of Choice program started in Oxford six years ago, allowing any student in Oakland County to attend Oxford Schools if they wished.
For the first three years, Leonard Elementary was the only school accepting students outside the district and as a result, it began growing rapidly, according to school officials.
Oxford High School only had a few slots open for the Schools of Choice program and the middle school had none.
For the 2004-05 school year, the board of education decided not to participate in the program due to budget constraints and increasing enrollment from in-district students