The state’s auditor is sending a message to all of Ohio’s school districts to beware of the pitfalls that can come with open enrollment, which can cost schools up to $1 million.
When a student decides to leave one school district and enroll in another, state funding follows the student to the new district.
But state auditor Dave Yost says his office found that some districts over-extend their open enrollment by taking in too many students and, therefore, need to invest in more resources.
“When open enrollment first came in it was like ‘well let’s get these other people in and the state is gonna send us a check for more kids’ and that’s true up to a point but you gotta watch that tipping point very closely.”
For example, Yost says Coventry Local School District in northeast Ohio could save $1.6 million by reducing open enrollment, which right now makes up 37 percent of its roster.
