Should the School Board Continue to Accept Open Enrollment Applications?

If the current size of the classrooms in the are exceeding capacity or infringing upon the ideal student-teacher ratios, why does the Board of Education continue to accept open enrollment applications from outside the district? When pressed on this issue, they claim they are legally bound to do so. Here is my argument otherwise.

Under Wis. Stats. 118.51 (5) (a) 1….. “provides that the nonresident school board may consider:

The availability of space in the schools, programs, classes or grades within the nonresident school district.  In determining the availability of space, the nonresident school board may consider criteria such as class size limits, pupil-teacher ratios, or enrollment projections established by the nonresident school board and may include in its count of occupied spaces…”

Under Hudson School Board Policies:

“Space Considerations:  If the school board wishes to deny students for whom it does not have space, the board must adopt a policy providing that it will consider whether space is available in the schools, programs, classes and grades in the district and what it will consider in making that determination:

• class size limits or student-teacher ratios
• building capacity
• enrollment projections
• other space considerations”

My Conclusion:

There is ample logic and legal guidelines for the school board to reject open enrollment applications based on the Wis. Stats. 118.51 (5) (a) and their own School Board Policies reference to student-teacher ratios and the enrollment projections. Historically, Nancy Sweet could only think of a handful of appeals in the last 10 years that had ever been filed by families being denied first time around. Therefore, it would statistically be in the district’s favor to risk a minimal number of appeals rather than continuing to crowd the classrooms. 

I welcome thoughts from the community, particularly those residing in the district with children attending the public schools.