The major talking point for members of the USD 253 Board of Education Wednesday night is one that has been at the top of many school board agendas as of late.
The board began its regular meeting with a public hearing on the district’s non-resident student enrollment policy. Per a pending expansion of open enrollment across the state following action by Kansas legislators this year, all school districts will be required to accept any applications from non-resident students so long as it has the capacity to do so.
During a presentation on the item Wednesday night, USD 253 Director of Human Resources Jared Giffin stated the district has a policy currently in place for this exact situation, however, given the expansion he says there will be some notable changes.
Giffin says there are exceptions to the rule including not having to accept students who have been suspended or expelled from their previous district, which is not a new policy but has actually been a longstanding practice. If the number of applications for non-resident students exceeds the available capacity for a district building, the district will have to utilize a lottery system.
Per the policy, current non-resident students attending USD 253 Emporia will have to reapply to the district and there is no guarantee they will be selected. Thankfully, Giffin says he does not expect much change with incoming transfers.
Once students apply for and are accepted into the district they will not have to reapply so long as they remain a student in good standing.
In other business Wednesday, the board voted unanimously to establish the district’s streaming advisory committee which will be responsible for reviewing the future of live streaming and recording for district meetings. The committee’s establishment follows a decision on October 25 by the board to end all live streaming and recording of its meetings based on several factors including legal guidance from the Kansas Association of School Boards earlier this year which recommended having neither recordings or streams of board meetings.
That decision was later paused after public concerns on the matter were brought to the district’s attention. Board President Jami Reever says forming the committee is necessary to ensure they are hearing everyone’s input, especially their stakeholders.
Reever says ultimately the best decision for the board will be the one that best benefits the community.
According to Reever, the committee will comprise district representatives and community members, three of whom have already expressed interest in the role. A date for the committee’s first meeting and a list of its members are currently pending.
For a full review of the board’s meeting from Wednesday night, visit the Boarddocs page at USD253.org. The USD 253 Board of Education will hold its next regular meeting in December.
