Article 14:
Open Enrollment
Warrant Article Language
Shall the Amherst School District vote to adopt an open enrollment school program, designating the Clark Wilkins School and the Amherst Middle School as open enrollment schools pursuant to NH RSA 194-D, for the purpose of enabling the district to admit non-resident students to Clark Wilkins School and Amherst Middle School, with one hundred percent (100%) of its eligible resident pupils permitted to attend Clark Wilkins School and Amherst Middle School and up to zero percent (0%) of its resident pupils permitted to attend open enrollment schools located outside of the District, and further, to limit the number of non-resident pupils who may attend Clark Wilkins School and Amherst Middle School under the provisions of RSA 194-D to up to one (1) non resident student. Majority Vote Required.
Recommended by the Amherst School Board (5-0)
Recommended by the Amherst School District Ways & Means (advisory budget committee) (6-0)
BOARD EXPLANATION
New Hampshire’s Open Enrollment Law, RSA 194-D, allows students to enroll in schools outside their assigned district unless a local district takes formal action to define how it will participate. If no action is taken, decisions default to the state framework rather than remaining under local control. Under that default, the sending district must pay the receiving district no less than 80% of the sending district’s average cost per pupil, as determined by the NHDOE using the most recent available data. This has a direct impact on our local school budget. Warrant Article 14 is a proactive measure. It enables the Amherst School District to clearly define how it will participate in open enrollment in a way that aligns with our community values, financial responsibilities, and long-term planning. The article does two key things. First, it designates the Amherst School District as an open-enrollment district but sets the number of students accepted from outside of the district at one (1). At this time, we do not believe the district can accommodate additional students beyond this without changes to staffing or facilities. Second, it sets the percentage of Amherst School District students who may enroll in other SAUs at 0%, providing predictability and stability for the district at this time.
AMHERST WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE COMMENTS
This warrant article allows for the district to adopt an open enrollment school program that would designate the Clark-Wilkins School and the Amherst Middle School as open enrollment schools. This would enable the district to admit non-resident students to each school. The admission details would:
Allow 100% of eligible resident pupils to attend Clark-Wilkins School and Amherst Middle School,
Allow 0% of eligible resident pupils to attend open enrollment schools outside of the district, and,
Limit the number of non-resident pupils who may attend Clark-Wilkins School and Amherst Middle School to no more than one student.
Ahead of any larger state-wide legislation, it makes logical sense to support this warrant article. The Ways and Means Committee supports this warrant article unanimously.
EXPLANATION VIDEO
VOICE OF THE VOTER
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