By Richard Paris, Florence
School year 2017 we have 99 out of district students who pay nothing! That’s 1 in 7 kids in our schools paying nothing, while if your child goes into Missoula, you need to pay about $2,000.00 per year or $10,000 per year for a private school, minus of course if they are on scholarship. Since Florence attracts out of district children, this tuition is should be a non issue!
If we followed suit, we would gain an additional $198,000 for our budget! (this would be 25% of the principal per year). With the student to teacher ratio of about 15:1 this consists of possible 6+ additional teachers. Another cost to the Florence taxpayer of a minimum of $195,000 per year (I am using a super low $30,000 per teacher!) This of course doesn’t include the additional non-certified staff needed for the 99 additional children! Then we can add another ½ admin at least costing another $40,000!
Cost to educate a student in Montana $11,348 minus the ANB money received for a H.S. student -$6,691 and the amount the Florence taxpayer is making up is $ 4,657 per student loss! (OPI website)
Now multiply that by 99 students and we are short $461,043. But that is not the complete amount we are covering. Add the additional amount of 6.5 teachers and ½ admin and at a minimum you add $195,000 for teachers and $40,000 for admin. That’s another $235,000. We don’t know how many teachers exactly, going off student to teacher ratios and no idea how many non-certified staff!
99 out of district students are costing us approximately $696,043 or divide by 99 equals a burden of $7,030.74 a year for out of district students!
Yet the out of district parents have the nerve to show up and demand we pass this for their children! Every out of district person should not have a right to speak! After all they are not invested, pay nothing and yet demand. How dare they!
This bond is seriously flawed in so many ways. The math has changed twice as to how much the taxpayers of Florence will be liable for. Has it changed again, Mr. Scully?
Has the money been secured and at what interest rate? On a principal amount of $800,000 per year the difference of a point is major and will affect the taxpayers of Florence. With over 30% of the Florence students on the free lunch program, how can their parents in Florence afford another $550 or $950+ per year as stated in the article two different times! If the out of district people are so verbal, let them put their money where their mouths are, just like the people who send their children into Missoula!
Finally, have the plans been sent out to bid? When was the last time a school, or state, or government bid has ever come in on budget? How can we trust a person with $15,975,000, who can’t manage what we have now or multiple 12 months by $79 and he answers $600!
My answer is 99 reasons to vote no!