LETTER: WSB Addresses Cost Per Student

The following is a letter to the editor. To submit your own, email michael.ryan@patch.com

By The Windham School Board

February 24, 2012

To the Windham Community:

Over the past several months, there has been discussion in our community about the cost per student to educate our students in the Windham School District.  We have had numerous inquiries from citizens, and would like to take this opportunity to provide some information and context on this question. 

The table below details the cost per student as reported to the State Board of Education.  The State does not take a straight average but rather considers several factors in their calculation of this metric.

Based on economics of scale, the cost per student at Windham High School has decreased as the number of students has increased, and we fully expect this trend to continue.  In 2009, as a community, we made the decision to open Windham High School with freshmen and sophomores only.  That sophomore class (now our senior class) is an unusually small class for us. That year, we also had some of the higher principal and interest payments on the high school bonds.  In the 2010-2011 school year, our high school population grew to three grades with our seniors remaining at Salem High School.  Between the two years, there was a 16% decrease in the costs per student at the high school level.  

(See Attached Chart)

Also of note, during this period, our cost per student for our elementary population was below the State average. 

In the current year, we now have four classes at Windham High School, although our senior class is unusually small with approximately 130 students.  This is an important context for this cost metric as, with fewer students, the economies that we recognize today, and will continue to recognize in the future with a full complement of high school students, were not fully realized in the first two years after we opened the high school. In the current year (which is not yet complete), we are estimating that the overall cost per student in the District will decrease from last year and be in the $12,100-$12,300 range.  Towns (including Windham) will not report to the State until the school year is complete and cost data for the school year is finalized. 

As always, please feel free to reach out to any of us with questions or concerns.  You can send a comment to the Windham School Board at http://www.windhamsd.org.

Sincerely,

The Windham School Board