School Committee approves admission of out-of-state tuition student for 11th grade

The Longmeadow School Committee on July 16 approved accepting an out-of-state student into Longmeadow High School for grade 11 under the district’s tuition policy. The district had previously set the tuition rate at $17,275. Mikaela Maza, a district staff member, explained that tuition paid by an out-of-state family is deposited into a district revolving account created for tuition revenue and that the funds have historically been used to offset special-education or other district costs in the following fiscal year. “Historically, we’ve used it to offset some costs associated to our special ed department expenditures,” Maza said. Committee members asked how billing is handled if a tuition student moves into town midyear. Maza said the district assesses tuition at the beginning of the year and usually again midyear; if the student moves into Longmeadow during the school year, the district would charge only for months the student was not yet a resident and would reimburse accordingly. The committee approved the superintendent’s and principal’s recommendation to accept the student by unanimous roll-call vote. The committee noted that the state’s school-choice program is only open to Massachusetts residents and that out-of-state tuition is a separate process; transportation for out-of-state tuition students is the family’s responsibility.