ENROLLMENT
Schools are funded based on Average Daily Attendance and have been until the covid scare. The school reported an enrollment level of 244 students at the end of March. This is down 24 students from the end of May 2023
The current administrators make it sound like the state changed a long standing policy of funding based on enrollment numbers. That is not the case. When the covid scare occurred, the state temporarily funded the schools based on the enrollment numbers.
GVSD wanted to capitalize on this by attracting more students and didn’t close the school for as long as other districts did. As the word spread around more families and students were attracted to the GVSD, especially SpED students.
As with all tax funded institutions, the GVSD continues to operate without making any adjustments or efforts to identify the waste and reduce expenses.
Businesses expand and contract based on revenue and customer base.
The GVSD is just like a business in regards to the number of students, which represent the customer base and the revenue is adjusted by their attendance.
As the enrollment numbers drop, the revenue will drop and the school should already have a plan to address the drop in enrollment and subsequently the reduction in funding based on the lower attendance.
The school hasn’t developed a plan to implement as the enrollment declines but maintains the current level of spending.
Lowman has 4 students and is staffed by a teacher with a opening for a full-time para-professional.
Is the Lowman school capable of funding itself?