Alternative middle school in jeopardy
Just halfway into a three-year agreement with Indian Prairie Unit District 204, Naperville Unit District 203 officials fear they may need to pull out of the newly created Middle School Academy at Indian Plains High School.
District 203 Assistant Superintendent of Student Services and Special Education Kitty Murphy says the $9,471 per student price tag, combined with a low-referral rate and uncertain future of state funding sources, may force the district to look for a less costly alternative to the school created for academically and behaviorally challenged middle schoolers across both districts.
Each district pays for 15 seats in the academy but is reimbursed only for students who actually attend class. Currently Indian Prairie has 13 students enrolled and Naperville 203 has three. Until Monday, there was only one.
“The program is a solid one with a good curriculum and good staff but it's a question of how bad are our needs and if we didn't have it, what would we do?” Murphy told Naperville board members late Monday. “We have 15 slots but not that many referrals but we're paying for 15 so we need to continue to assess the need for it. If we didn't have it, where would students attend?”
The district has a January deadline by which to inform Indian Prairie if it wants out of the third year of the contract. Naperville Superintendent Mark Mitrovich said administrators would be making a recommendation to the board.
“The reality is we're going to have kids who will need this program. I don't care what we do. The issue is what can we afford,” Mitrovich said. “So when we come back, it isn't just a recommendation to drop this contract. It's going to include an alternative because the kids will be there.”
Indian Plains Principal Cecelia Tobin said she understands District 203 is watching its dollars but hopes it sees the program through the end of the contract.
“After discussions we had over the summer we were hoping our referral service from District 203 would increase as they begin using it more as an academic intervention rather than just for disciplinary reasons,” Tobin said. “We're here for that purpose and we would love to have our program full so we could serve as many students as possible.”
Tobin said she would like to see more than the one District 203 board member who has visited the school come in before deciding to back out.
“We've had a great experience with the school team from District 203 because they're truly working in the best interest of their students and we've had a great working relationship,” she said. “We just have had limited visiting from the school board so I'm not sure they're getting a firsthand picture of what their investment is.”
Either way, Mitrovich said his district is in a tricky situation.
“On the one hand, we'd love to have 15 (students) so were getting the bang for our dollar,” he said. “On the other hand, we like only having three. There's no clean answer.”