GILROY
– Thanks to an unanticipated growth spurt, Gilroy Unified School
District could receive nearly half-a-million dollars from the state
this school year, despite California’s tight-budget times.
GILROY – Thanks to an unanticipated growth spurt, Gilroy Unified School District could receive nearly half-a-million dollars from the state this school year, despite California’s tight-budget times.
More than 100 new students – costing the state $4,700 each – enrolled at GUSD elementary and middle schools since Dec. 20, the district is reporting. The jump is 10 times greater than last year’s increase at GUSD and comes at a time of the year when the district typically sees a decline in students.
“It’s just kind of an anomaly, I don’t know what to attribute it to specifically,” said Juanita Contin, the district’s director of enrollment. “A lot of our enrollment reflects the economy. It’s less expensive here than in some of our surrounding areas.”
The extra money brought in by the student upswing will be useful in absorbing roughly $2.7 million in cuts over the next year and a half.
“Whatever additional revenue we get is helpful in times like these,” Contin said.
In many instances, additional revenue from an increase of students is offset by costs of hiring more teachers. The state requires kindergarten through third-grade classrooms to have no more than 20 students per teacher.
For GUSD, however, the enrollment growth is especially beneficial.
“We have (room) at most of the school sites affected by this, so there won’t be a need to hire more teachers,” Contin said. “In most of the cases, students enrolled in their neighborhood school.”
Unless the new students actually come to class regularly, the additional $470,000 from the state is no sure thing. The state pays districts based on attendance, not overall enrollment.
“We still have to get these new students through the door and attending classes,” Contin said.
Paying districts based on attendance is one of several other state policies GUSD is lobbying to have changed, at least until the budget crisis is over.
Earlier this month, school board trustees approved a resolution that now sits on the desks of the governor and state legislators.
