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Concord committee reviews draft limited open-enrollment policy, recommends 0 cap for students leaving district
Summary
At a July 22 committee meeting the Concord School Board's Communication & Policy Committee reviewed a draft limited open-enrollment policy to admit nonresident students to Concord High School, discussed capacity (30 students/180 seats; 3% cap), recommended tuition at 90% of per-pupil cost, clarified special-education payment responsibility, and agreed to revisit the draft before public hearing.
The Communication & Policy Committee of the Concord School Board met July 22 to review a draft limited open-enrollment policy that would designate Concord High School as the district's sole open-enrollment site and set rules for admissions, tuition and program capacity.
Chair Kara Meeker opened the meeting and said the committee's charge was to "hear about the draft open enrollment policy for Concord School District" and offer edits before the full board considers it. Superintendent Tim Herbert led the presentation and framed the proposal as a way to let neighboring-district students access specific Concord High programs "when we had seats available," while preserving seats and instructional quality for resident students.
Why it matters: The draft would allow nonresident students to enroll in Concord High courses when seats exist, but it includes limits and financial safeguards intended to protect Concord students and district finances. Committee members focused on three practical issues: how many nonresident students the school would accept, how much sending districts would pay, and who covers special-education costs if a student requires supports.
Key details from the draft and committee discussion: - Capacity and limits: Administrators recommended limiting open-enrollment participation to roughly 30 nonresident full-time equivalents (about 180 course seats), equal to about 3% of Concord High School's enrollment. Concord's current staffing-based maximum capacity for grades 9-12 was cited as 1,400 students; the goal is to avoid inflating class sizes beyond the mid-20s.
- Tuition: The draft reflects state law that sending districts may be charged no less than 80% of their average per-pupil cost; the administration told the committee it would recommend charging 90% to strike a balance between affordability for families and fiscal prudence for Concord. Administrators said MOUs or individual contracts with sending districts would set the exact dollar amounts and that charges cannot exceed Concord's own per-pupil cost.
- Special education: The committee was explicit that special-education costs and decision-making remain the responsibility of the sending district under current law. Herbert said if Concord staff are used to provide services, the sending district must reimburse Concord for that staff time and Concord must be able to provide a free appropriate public education before accepting a student requiring specialized supports.
- Application and reporting timing: The draft currently sets an application cutoff of June 15 so staff can process applications and meet state reporting deadlines tied to ADM counts (administrators noted state reporting is effectively due around July 15). Committee members asked for clarity on the application timeline and noted the need for a dedicated review committee during the June/July transition.
- No application fee and parental payments: Committee members recommended making "no application fee shall be charged" prominent in the policy. The administration said parents may also apply and pay tuition directly if a sending district refuses to authorize attendance; those parent-paid students would count toward the 3% cap unless grandfathered by prior MOUs.
- Outgoing students and transportation: The committee agreed to set the number of Concord students allowed to attend out-of-district open-enrollment schools at 0 for the policy under discussion, meaning Concord would not pay tuition for students who choose to attend other districts under open enrollment. Herbert reiterated that Concord would not provide transportation for nonresident students attending Concord High School; transportation responsibility rests with the sending district or the family.
Process and next steps: Committee members asked the administration to clean up language (consistent use of "student" vs. "pupil," define terms such as "parent," spell out acronyms like IEP and FAPE, and remove duplicate paragraphs). The committee agreed to review a revised draft in August and to coordinate scheduling so the required public hearing and first reading can meet the 15-to-30-day notice window before a final vote; no motion on the policy was taken at this meeting.
Representative quotes: "We are at this point in time not considering any of our other schools in the district," Superintendent Tim Herbert said, explaining that the draft focuses only on Concord High School. "The limitation is set at 0," Chair Kara Meeker said when the committee discussed whether Concord would fund students attending out-of-district schools under open enrollment.
The committee took no formal votes on the policy; it concluded the meeting after agreeing to further edits, another committee review in August and planning for a public hearing during the regular board process. The meeting adjourned at 6:35 p.m.
