State's open enrollment plan has limited impact on area schools

The Pleasanton school district is trying to recruit new students to their schools. This billboard in Fort Scott touts the district's preschool program. (Submitted photo)

By Roger Sims, rsims@linncountyjournal.com

The Kansas Legislature’s attempt to give parents and students a wider choice of schools to attend didn’t get very far in the three Linn County school districts. The deadline for non-residents to apply to Prairie View and Jayhawk schools came and went on June 30 without a hoard of non-residents applying for admission.

As it turns out, the Legislature may not have been counting on a school activities association to put a damper open enrollment at the upper grade levels.

The way to system was designed to work is that district would decide how many open classroom slots it would have for out-of-district students for the coming school year. If the number of applicants by June 30 exceeded that number, the district would hold a lottery to decide which students could attend and which would be turned away. 

The lack of out-of-district students applying was expected at Jayhawk USD 346. Superintendent Shawn Thomas said the district’s classes were packed and that his district opted to allow zero non-resident students to apply. He said that the district had already shifted some teachers around to keep some classes at a manageable size.

However, he said that a few non-district students had applied to attend, much like in years before the statute took effect, and they would likely be allowed to enroll.

For the 2023-24 school year, Jayhawk USD 346 had 311 students in Jayhawk Elementary School (grades K – 6), and 247 in grades 7 – 12 in the combined junior-senior high school for a total of 558 students.

With Prairie View USD 362, the district estimated it had 151 total openings for nonresident students for the 2024-25 school year for grades K-12. Parker Elementary School had enough room for 33 students, La Cygne Elementary could handle 39, the middle school 28 and the high school 51.

Enrollment estimates for the district for the coming school year are 821 students, with the grade schools expecting 364 students even split, the middle school anticipating 188 students with the high school enrollment at 269.

In contrast, Pleasanton USD 344 had a head count of 359 students for the year that ended in May 2023 with 178 students in the combined junior-senior high school (grades 7 – 12) and 181 in the elementary school (grades K – 6), according to the Kansas State Department of Education report card.

Prairie View Superintendent Chris Johnson said in the weeks leading up to the June 30 deadline that she had received many calls about out-of-district enrollment. Those calls came from parents from surrounding districts with the most coming from parents living in the Osawatomie USD 367 district.

Although the district prepared for an onslaught of requests, it never materialized. Like Jayhawk, Prairie View had fewer than a dozen requests from out of district, many of which were from teachers or staff members who live outside the district, and all of them were for elementary school openings. Most of those students already had received tentative approval by the district’s board of education.

While the Legislature wanted more school choices for parents and students, it might not have considered the impact of an organization that is mostly known for governing school athletics and other extracurricular activities.

Operating independently, the Kansas State High Schools Activities Association (KSHSAA) did not budge on its requirement that nonresident students remain ineligible for one year before they can participate in activities, including sports, at a new school, Thomas said.

While he indicated he is not opposed to allowing parents to have a choice of districts, Thomas said that likely prevented out-of-district transfers at the upper grade levels.

“Absolutely,” Johnson said when asked if the KSHSAA rule was a factor in the dearth of out-of-district enrollments in the upper grades.

For Don Epps, the superintendent at Pleasanton USD 344, the goal isn’t limiting the number of students, it is encouraging nonresident students to explore the possibilities of a smaller school district.

Smaller class sizes and close proximity to the Southeast Technical Academy for Rural Students (STARS) facility for students who want a hands-on technical education and aren’t overly concerned which school issues their diploma could be a draw for some students.

In an attempt to bring students into the district early, Pleasanton school officials approved placing a billboard in Fort Scott over the summer.

Epps said that increasing the number of students is critical to increasing revenue for the district. For the 2023-24 school year, the state paid districts nearly $17,700 per pupil in state aid.

Pleasanton had