By Thomas J. McKillen
Managing Editor

Since the 1998-99 school year, families have had more choices of which public school their student could attend.
That was the first for open enrollment, which allowed students in one district to attend a school in another district, provided the outside district had available seats. In the first year of the program, there were 2,464 student transfers statewide, according to a report on open enrollment issued by the Legislative Fiscal Bureau in January 2009. That figure increased to 25,898 by the 2007-08 school year.
Patrick Gasper, a spokesperson for the state Department of Public Instruction, noted that the open enrollment enrollment has been utilized by parents statewide. Gasper noted that out of 425 school district, there are only two which hasn’t had any students transferring into their schools through open enrollment.
The period for parents to apply for open enrollment for the next school year ended last week. Several school districts were recently asked they experiences they have had with open enrollment.

Hartford Union High School
According to the most recent figures posted on the state Department of Public Instruction, 32 student transferred into HUHS for the 2008-09 school year while 67 students transferred out. Financially, that meant that the district was receiving $180,525 through students coming into the district while losing $404,625 through students leaving —a net loss of $224,100.
Superintendent Michael Kremer made the case for the district in the article “Why would choose to attend Hartford Union High School,” which is posted on the district Web site.  Kremer cited 13 reasons why parents should consider HUHS as the place to educate their children.
“HUHS, and our student population, are blessed with ‘a caring staff’ willing to do whatever is necessary to ensure a student succeeds. During my short time here, I have found staff members willing to give up whatever time is necessary, if asked, to ensure a learner is not left behind,” Kremer wrote. “We are committed to excellence in teaching and continually work to ensure that our teachers have the opportunities and support they need to grow and learn so they’re able to apply the most effective instructional practices in the classroom.”
Kremer later added: “We have a school board committed to becoming the highest performing team in the State, always focusing on ‘what’s best for kids.’”

School District of Hartford Joint 1
According to information from the DPI, in 2008-09 32 students came into the district while 144 students left. Financially, the district received $168,075 through students coming in while losing $768,233.80 through students leaving.
Mark Smits, Superintendent of the School District of Hartford, noted that many of the students who are “leaving” the district never were in the district in the first place. Rather, the families have moved into district but the students are continuing their education at their existing schools.
“The kids were never in the system in the first place,” Smits said.
The second reason parents choose open enrollment outside of the district is geography. Smits noted there were subdivisions within the School District of Hartford that were closer to schools in the Erin or Rubicon districts. The third reason cited by parents is employment reasons, as parents want their children closer to their places of employment outside the district.

School District of Slinger
According to information from the School District of Slinger, 154 students came into the district in 2008-09 while 44 left. For the current school year, 189 students are coming into the district while 45.5 are leaving.
Superintendent Robert Reynolds said the district had a gain of approximately $700,000 the previous school year and $900,000 this school school year.
Reynolds noted that many students leaving the district through open enrollment never were in the district schools. Rather, the family moved into the district from another community and they used to open enrollment to continue to allow their children to attend their existing school.
As for reasons why families choose to have their children attend the district schools or schools elsewhere, Reynolds said that district staff surveyed participants two years ago.
“In general, those coming in ranked the quality of curriculum and instruction, the level of personal communication, and quality of facilities as their top reasons for attending,” Reynolds stated in response to a reporter’s emailed questions. “The majority of those open enrolling out indicated they had recently moved into the Slinger District, but decided to allow their children to stay at their original home schools because of friends etc.  To be fair and accurate, even though it was small minority, some of the parents of those leaving did tell us they didn't feel we were meeting their child's needs.”

West Bend Joint School District
According to information from the district, 165 students left West Bend through open enrollment while 125 came in, a net loss of $252,284.30. For this year, 192 students left through open enrollment while 121 students came in, according to the district’s enrollment count on the third Friday in September (Sept. 21. The third Friday in September is used as the base for state enrollment projections). The information from the district stated the financial impact of this year’s open enrollment has not yet been determined.
Kathy Zarling, administrator of pupil services, noted that the challenge with presenting open enrollment figures is that they “change daily.” She noted that even with more students leaving the district through open enrollment, the number of students educated by the district continues to increase.
The district surveyed families involved in open enrollment last year. In the survey, 54 out of 89 families involved in open enrollment out of the district and 28 out of 43 families involved in open enrollment into the district were contacted. According to the survey:
•Among parents of resident students attending public schools elsewhere, the main reasons cited were schools close to parents homes, workplace, day care or relatives. Education options,  including virtual education opportunities, were also mentioned
•Among parents of nonresident students coming into the district, the main reasons cited were educational options with the West Bend district, proximity and changes in family circumstances.