Board hears update on new nonresident enrollment timeline; district reports 91 current nonresident students

Geary County Schools officials reviewed the district’s procedures for nonresident enrollment under recent state legislative requirements and outlined the 2025 schedule for the online portal and capacity reporting.

Dr. Gustafson told the board the 2025 nonresident portal must be open Jan. 1–June 15 and that capacity reports will be posted by May 1 based on the district’s February 20 count. The office will review applications from June 16 to July 15 and notify families by July 30, though staff said they plan to inform families earlier when possible.

Gustafson said the district received 14 portal applications during last year’s short window; 13 of those were for military families and therefore were not subject to the nonresident statute’s limits because children at Fort Riley are exempt. The district currently has 91 nonresident students overall, with 47 enrolled in town schools and 44 at post schools, she said.

Board members asked whether the district tracks residents who enroll elsewhere; staff said they do not currently collect outbound transfer targets. Gustafson said the most common reasons families list on their applications are parent employment (including district employees bringing children to district schools) and dissatisfaction with the student’s attendance boundary.

The board discussion also covered the technical schedule: the district will use the February count to prepare capacity reports for an April board review and May 1 posting, and it will continue the same “student in good standing” screening language the board approved last year.