MANSFIELD – The Mansfield City Schools board of education voted Tuesday to waive Pre-K tuition for the 2022-2023 school year.
Special Education Director Jonathon Burras brought the proposal to waive tuition to the board.
“I feel that this is a very important thing for us to do for our families and for our community, to remove every barrier we can to allow for our youngest kiddos to receive instruction,” Burras said. “I think this is one positive step towards that.”
The vote waives Pre-K tuition for next school year only, but Burras hopes the change will eventually become permanent.
“I think we’re going to trial it for a year and see how that goes,” he said.
Burras said the move will come at a relatively low cost to the district, since Mansfield City Schools already receives state and federal funding for Pre-K students with disabilities and students from low-income families.
Due to the availability of grant funding, tuition makes up a small portion of the Pre-K program’s revenue. Families of students without disabilities pay tuition on a sliding scale based on income that ranges from $0 to $100 per month.
Over the last three fiscal years, the district’s total tuition collection has fallen steadily; with $8,885 in fiscal year 2019, $4,440 in fiscal year 2020 and $580 in fiscal year 2021.
Burras said this was due in part to lower attendance during the pandemic. The district has also been lenient with self-pay families.
“We set it up with families and it’s an honor system for families to pay,” he said. “If they didn’t pay, we didn’t send out send out the hawks.
“We just didn’t think that was the best use of our resources, especially considering we’ve been wanting to go tuition free.”
In a written proposal to the board, Burras stated the district has multiple sources available besides tuition to help fund the district’s Pre-K program, including weighted state foundation funds, the Early Childhood Education Grant and Federal IDEA B grants.
According to Burras, the preschool program currently serves 79 students who have identified disabilities. Mansfield City Schools receives funding for these students through state-weighted foundation funds, based on the disability category.
“The more students with disabilities we serve, the more state funding we are allocated,” Burras said.
The district also received $29,694.32 in federal funding under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act for FY21. Burras reported that IDEA B funding has ranged from about $21,000 to $45,000 over the last five fiscal years. These funds are used to supplement the cost of services and supports for students with disabilities.
The district also receives Early Childhood Education Grant funds to serve students who meet certain criteria (such as age and family income). This year’s allocation of 63 grants totals $252,000.
The district’s Pre-K program, which is five-star rated through the state’s Step Up to Quality system, will move from Springmill STEM Elementary to Sherman Elementary in the fall.
The board also recognized Every Student Every Day Champion Robin Burkhardt, a library paraprofessional at Sherman Elementary.
“She can take any learning standard and turn it into a major event,” Principal Amy Bradley said. “She goes above and beyond every single day.”
Gavin Camack, a seventh grader from Spanish Immersion, was recognized as the county’s representative for the Tri-County Spelling Bee. He was the top speller in Richland County Spelling Bee and placed 7th out of 34 spellers from Crawford, Morrow and Richland counties.
Mehki Bradley was recognized for his athletic achievements. Athletic Director Kevin Porter described Bradley as one of the most dedicated student athletes he’s met.
Bradley is an All-Ohio athlete in football and wrestling. He was named the Ohio Cardinal Conference defensive player of the year last football season and placed seventh at the Ohio High School wrestling tournament.
The board also:
-
Approved a resolution to approve a contract termination with Imperial Autism Services, LLC
-
Approved the purchase of two school busses for $92,589.00 from a cooperative purchasing program through Ohio School Council
-
Approved a $15,000 demolition contract with John’s Drain Service and Excavating for an abandoned house at 153 N. Linden Road. The property will be used to erect a hoop house for the high school.
