City School may deny future nonresidents

Local News

Discussion

PLEASE NOTE: There is a 150 word maximum for comments. All comments greater than 150 words in length will be deleted in their entirety.

ALSO NOTE: Derisive name-calling of an individual or group will result in the entire comment being deleted. This includes the terms "stupid" and "idiot" and similar references.

Welcome to our new online comments feature. Before you can join the discussion, you must first register with Disqus and verify your email address.

Once you do, your comments will post after they have been reviewed by a moderator.

We welcome your thoughts and your opinions, including unpopular ones. We ask only that you keep the conversation civil and clean.

Not all comments are deemed printable. Some are disqualified, at the newspaper’s discretion, for a number of reasons. Here are some typical practices to avoid in trying to get your comment printed:

There is a 150 word maximum for comments. All comments greater than 150 words in length will be deleted in their entirety.

Don’t state as a fact something that is unsubstantiated or that our editors wouldn't know to be true.

Don’t presume someone’s guilt in a case when it hasn't been established by a court.

Don’t assail or impugn an identifiable individual or group. If you have that kind of criticism, sign your name and submit it as a Letter to the Editor. (There is some leeway on this in connection with public officials, but it is not unconditional.)

Don’t use profanity. This includes the term “tea bagger.”

Don’t be incendiary or tasteless. Those qualities are subjective, of course, and our editors will be the arbiters.

Do not identify yourself in the main content area of the article content form. Only by enforcing this rule can the moderators prevent unscrupulous commenters from falsely identifying themselves as someone they are not.

Don't type in all caps. It is considered the Internet equivalent of shouting.

In sports articles, do not criticize officiating.

Remember, moderators are not allowed to edit any article comments. If an article comment fails any of the above criteria, the entire comment will be deleted.

We monitor comments Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Approval of comments outside these times may be delayed.

comments powered by Disqus

November 22, 2009

Enrolled students can still graduate

By STEPHEN BARTLETT The Press Republican Sun Nov 22, 2009, 10:41 PM EST

PLATTSBURGH — Plattsburgh City School District plans to stop accepting nonresident students.

The policy revisions have yet to be approved, but when that occurs, the district will no longer allow families who live outside district boundaries to pay tuition to send their children to city schools.

Nonresident students already enrolled will be allowed to continue through graduation.

"Based on all the information gathered and the discussion, I definitely can understand the logic of not being able to lower the tuition," said Plattsburgh City School Superintendent James "Jake" Short.

"So, given that, I can understand the logic of now is the time to stop the practice of accepting nonresident students."

RISING TUITION
The revisions, read at a recent School Board meeting, state that the day after the new policy is adopted, Plattsburgh City School will not enroll any more nonresident students.

Those students currently enrolled as nonresidents can continue their education through graduation, as long as they remain continuously enrolled as a nonresident student.

From 1999 to 2002, roughly 112 nonresident students attended Plattsburgh city schools per year.

For the 1998-99 school year, school officials began a schedule that ramped up tuition through a formula that essentially mirrors the local taxpayer share to educate students.

Annual tuition for the 2001-02 school year was $1,410 for elementary students and $2,506 in the secondary grades.

Tuition for nonresident students this year was $2,895 for elementary and $9,416 for grades 6-12.

Only 19 nonresident students enrolled this school year.

OPTIONS
School officials discussed whether to lower tuition, stop accepting nonresident students or keep everything as is.

"Tuition is established based on a calculation of the local taxpayer share toward education," Short said. "Any lowering of the tuition rate could be considered a gift of public funds, so it was taken out of consideration."

The district does not provide transportation for nonresident students.

FORUM INPUT
A community forum in October further solidified the decision to revise district policy to no longer accept the students.

"Comments made at the forum helped base our decision to discontinue this long-standing practice to accept nonresident students," School Board member Dr. Richard Robbins said in a press release.

The School Board is expected to approve the policy revisions at its Dec. 10 meeting.

"There is not as much a downside to the elimination of nonresidents' access for the district, given the shrinking number of people interested," Short said.

"It will be more a case of shaping the future size and mission of the schools to match the City of Plattsburgh proper."

E-mail Stephen Bartlett at: sbartlett@pressrepublican.com