District proposes new alternative/flexible school at Fast Ice to stem enrollment losses

Midland Public Schools administrators presented a plan March 16 for a new district school to operate at the Fast Ice facility, aimed at providing both a true alternative pathway for credit‑deficient high‑school students and a flexible learning program that could expand across grade levels.

Lucas Pelis, who said he oversees several district programs, described the proposal as a way to keep students in the district who have left for fully virtual or alternative programs. "It really amounts to 271 students ... so that's roughly $2.7 million in FTE that we lose," Pelis said, citing district enrollment slides.

The initial pilot would enroll about 25 students already living in the district who are struggling academically or credit‑deficient; the district expects the state to treat the site as a new school for licensing purposes even though no new building would be constructed. Pelis said the district would initially use its current online provider (referred to in the presentation as "egeneuity") to start the flexible program and later branch to other providers or develop district‑created online courses.

Under the plan, one pathway would serve grades 11–12 students at high risk of not graduating; the flexible pathway would begin with grades 9–12 and could expand to grades 6–12 and elementary in response to demand. The proposal includes staffing, furniture and startup costs to be paid from district funds and revenue tied to state foundation allowance for enrolled students.

Board members asked clarifying questions about program design, what prompted students to leave and the licensing timeline. Pelis said state approval steps are in progress and that the administration will bring a formal action item back to the board next month for consideration.

Next steps: administration to return for formal approval; further work planned with state officials on school licensing and program details prior to implementation.