The Open Enrollment Factor

Open enrollment is a mechanism in Iowa Public Schools that permits resident students from one school district to enroll in a different public school. On the books since 1989, families wishing to utilize open enrollment must file paperwork with the district of residence and the receiving district by March 1 of the preceding school year for students entering grades 1-12 or by September 1 of the current school year for students entering kindergarten. Provided those deadlines are met, the receiving school district has the authority to unilaterally accept those applications unless they have determined there is insufficient classroom space. Applications outside that deadline can only be approved by the resident district acting first if good cause exists. Once a student open enrolls into another school district, the funding follows them into the receiving school district. For this year the funding is $7,048 per student plus supplements.

One also has to remember that open enrollment is a two way street. While Hudson is lucky insofar as we are net positive in open enrollment, that isn't the case in a lot of districts. I have many colleagues who are 'upside down' when it comes to open enrollment. This means they have far more students leaving than they do entering. Others consider it a 'win' if they are net zero: an equal number entering and an equal number leaving. In case you were curious, last year we had 46 students open enroll out of the district compared to 100 that open enrolled in to the district. 

The point is that open enrollment isn't a new phenomenon and the recent burst of open enrollment into our district is merely a return to the original intent in law; albeit with a temporary waiver of the traditional timeline. In the mid 2000s, several school districts in Iowa implemented policies that enabled them to deny open enrollment out of their districts, while at the same time accepting open enroll students from surrounding school districts. Think of it this way: a resident student in Hudson could go there, but a student there-could not come here. Prior to this change in policy, Hudson schools had benefited from a larger number of open enrollees into the district. Once the policy was enacted, open enrollment into Hudson dropped off dramatically. 

The influx of open enrollees over the summer came about due to a change in state law. During the waning days of the last legislative session, the General Assembly passed legislation outlawing policies that had permitted districts to deny open enrollment 'out' applications. At the same time, they waived the March 1/September 1 deadline for this first year only. Looking forward to the 2022-2023 school year the normal deadlines will apply. 

Because of the change to law and the waiving of the deadline, over the course of the summer we experienced an unusual number of applications for open enrollment into our school district. As the applications came in, we monitored our class and section size and if our class sections weren't full, we accepted those applications. Not only did it enable us to fill section sizes without needing to add employees, it will generate additional revenue. This infusion of capital will make it much easier to provide a broader range of opportunities for our students and create balance in our classes. At it's barest minimum it creates tremendous efficiency in operation. From a purely mathematical standpoint, a classroom of 20 pupils bears a lower cost [per pupil] than one of 15. Extrapolated across the system, this will allow us to make key investments in other programs that benefit the whole. This year we are examining early childhood programming and career and technical education. 

Think about this. Some have inquired about additional early childhood programs such as transitional kindergarten. In order to offer a program like this, there must be enough students to make it solvent. Open enrollment and the funding that flows to Hudson because of it very well could be the key to making an option like this a reality. Here is another example. For years at the high school we have struggled to employ a Family and Consumer Science (FCS) teacher. Why? Because we simply don't have enough students to fill out those classes. The result has been a shared position with another school district that is not very attractive and tends to turn over on an almost annual basis. It is very difficult to build a program when faced with constant turnover. This is further exacerbated by the fact that on any given year, Iowa only produces a handful of FCS teachers. When the need is in excess of 20 teachers to meet the statewide need annually, why would anyone choose to work a part time job in two separate districts? We are lucky that we have been able to hire an interim instructor for this school year. At the same time, we have made an offer of employment for a full time FCS teacher next year. When this decision was made, it was prior to the influx in open enrollment and was based on the premise of growth in residential enrollment. There is no mistake the open enrollment windfall has taken the pressure off this decision: one that needed to be made in order to attract and retain a quality employee. The fact of the matter is that the benefits of growth in enrollment through both residential and open enrollment are numerous and will open doors for the district to expand programs and access to students. 

In closing, perhaps a mathematical explanation makes the most sense. When the fiscal year 2022 budget was certified, I budgeted revenue from open enrollment at $592,032. Based on our most recent calculations, that number is now anticipated to be in the vicinity of $916,240. That is a net increase of $324,208.