ED, out-of-district students [FP]

Forest Park Review (Bob Skolnik):

In a recent community meeting about crime, Mayor Anthony Calderone and Village Administrator Michael Sturino agreed with residents who complained that kids who did not live in Forest Park were attending Forest Park public schools.

Sturino complained that some other districts do a better job with residency issues. District 91 Superintendent Randolph Tinder did not take too kindly to those remarks and strongly defends the district's work on the issue.

Tinder goes on to defend District 91. Tinder does investigate allegations, but 2/3 of the allegations are incorrect.

An important policy issue is overlooked in the article. The state reimburses school districts based on the number of students enrolled in April and May.

So, booting non-residents costs the school district money. If a district boots a bunch of students then maybe it can cut a teacher next year. But to cut one third-grade teacher next year may require booting ten second-grade students this year.

Unless non-resident students are a major problem, it’s unlikely the district can save money by expelling non-residents. Investing resources in detecting non-resident students has to be seen as a cost-benefit problem.