The Spotsylvania County School Board is considering allowing children of full-time employees who live out of the district to attend county schools tuition-free.
"We do see that this policy would be great for retention of our employees," Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Brenda Seals said at last night's School Board meeting.
Current policy requires students who aren't Spotsylvania residents to pay tuition of roughly $2,000 a year.
The school division will analyze the cost per child annually, Seals said, but does not anticipate it to exceed the amount of per pupil allocation from the state.
The new policy will affect about 80 students in the upcoming school year.
Attending the schools tuition-free will be a privilege based on the student's attendance, academic progress and behavior. It will also depend on space, program availability and grade-level capacity.
If feasible, students will attend the school in which the employee works or a feeder school. Students will submit annual applications to the principal to be admitted.
Applications are due June 1 before school begins in the fall.
Parents will be responsible for providing transportation. Children of temporary, hourly and substitute employees are excluded from the policy.
School Board members will have a chance to revisit the issue at the next meeting, June 30, when they may make revisions and approve the policy.
Karen Bolipata 540/374-5418
Email: kbolipata@freelancestar.com