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Griffith board caps nonresident high-school enrollment at 50, citing funding pressures
Summary
The Griffith Public Schools board voted 4–1 to adopt resolution 26-4 limiting nonresident open enrollment to 50 students in grades 9–12, saying the policy is intended to protect classroom funding ahead of a 2028 referendum renewal.
The Griffith Public Schools Board of Trustees voted 4–1 to adopt resolution 26-4, setting a cap of 50 nonresident open-enrollment students in grades 9–12 at the high school.
The superintendent told the board the cap is designed to help stabilize revenue as the district prepares for a referendum renewal in 2028. "We know that we're going to renewal for the referendum in 2028, and I think we need to do our due diligence to our taxpayers to do the best we can to secure as much money as we can," the superintendent said. She also noted the district’s online Region Virtual Academy generates about 80% of typical state tuition per student and is part of the district’s strategy to retain instructional dollars.
Board members approved related items in the open-enrollment package in the same meeting. The board approved on first reading the open-enrollment policies with a vote of 4 in favor and 1 abstention, and approved the documentation governing eligibility, checkpoints and disqualifying offenses (including violent offenses, drugs or weapons) with a final tally recorded as 4 in favor and 1 abstain on file.
The superintendent said the open-enrollment plan will concentrate its impact at the high-school level and that the district has outlined annual performance checkpoints that can be used to reassess nonresident students’ continued eligibility. She told the board staff had reviewed state statute and guidelines for open enrollment in Indiana and had drafted documents to ensure the district can deny applicants for enumerated suspensions or expellable offenses.
Opponents raised procedural questions during debate but the motion passed 4–1. The board did not specify an effective date during the discussion; implementation steps and any appeals process were not detailed at the meeting and were described as part of the policy documentation the board approved.
What happens next: The board directed staff to finalize the paperwork and procedures described in the documentation; the superintendent indicated those materials outline who accepts students and how annual reviews will be conducted.
