Dartmouth will continue to accept students from outside the district, as the School Committee voted to continue the School Choice program for the 2020-2021 year.

 

At its January 27 meeting, the School Committee voted 4-1 to continue the program, and accept between 30-40 new students through School Choice.

 

School Choice allows students from outside Dartmouth to attend Dartmouth schools. Currently, the program is limited to Dartmouth High School.

 

Outside districts pay Dartmouth schools $5,000 in tuition for each student enrolled in the program.

 

Currently, 103 out-of-town students attend Dartmouth High School through School Choice. They include 28 freshmen, 23 sophomores, 24 juniors, and 28 seniors.

 

With seniors graduating next year, and up to 40 slots opened up, the school district could collect up to $50,000 in additional funding in 2021. Superintendent Bonny Gifford said the new seats will be reviewed to ensure they are spread out across grade levels.

 

To date, the program has generated $1.5 million in funding for Dartmouth schools. In the past, the funding was used to purchase laptops for each student through the district’s one-to-one computing program, fund stipends for music and other supplies, and it helped fund what grant money did not for the high school's new innovation lab.

 

“We’ve been able to fund a variety of programs, a variety of materials, things otherwise we wouldn’t be able to do,” said School Committee Chris Oliver. “The money just wouldn't be there.”

 

Dartmouth Educators Association President Renee Vieira spoke at a public hearing on the School Choice program held before the committee vote. She urged the committee to consider classroom sizing issues, especially in core classes.

 

Member John Nunes cast the lone dissenting vote, noting that while the projects are a boon to the district, he was sticking to his principle in opposing the policy.

 

School funding could get tighter this year too. Dartmouth did not exactly get a windfall in the state’s education reform bill.

 

Last November, Gov. Charlie Baker signed the Student Opportunity Act into law. The education reform plan will increase the state aid available to school districts by $300 million in the next fiscal year. However, Dartmouth schools will only see an increase of $30 per student, or $105,000 in total.

“The reality is we are not one of the ones to benefit from this,” said School Business Administrator Jim Kiely. “We would have received the same amount regardless if the legislation had been enacted.”