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Costs for Normandy transfer students largely unknown

Saint Louis, Mo. — Most Normandy students who transferred out of their district last year are going to have the opportunity to do the same again this year, while financial certainty for the district is still fleeting.

A circuit court judge has ruled in favor of more than a dozen Normandy students, saying the state board exceeded its authority in changing Normandy’s accreditation status and removing the legal obligation other area schools had to receive them.

As attorneys on behalf of more Normandy families continue to sue for their right to attend a higher quality school, the Normandy School Collaborative and their receiving districts are still attempting to navigate the potentially disastrous problem of funds.

State law allows schools to set their own tuition rates for Normandy students, and statute requires that Normandy foot the bill for any kids wishing to transfer. With well-credentialed schools like Kirkwood and Francis Howell in the mix, Normandy will pay far more to educate one of their students outside of the district, a financial conundrum that nearly bankrupted the school last year, only to be saved at the 11th hour by emergency funds from the state.

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education issued an official recommendation that receiving districts only charge Normandy $7,200 per student in order to help Normandy remain solvent. Opponents of the transfer program say Normandy is bleeding resources into other districts rather than re-investing in its future.

“We’re committed to our stance that we don’t believe transferring students out of an unaccredited district is the solution for that district,” said Jennifer Henry, Communications Manager at Francis Howell School District. “We want to support the DESE’s and Normandy’s plans to rebuild that district.”

Not all schools have decided just what they will charge Normandy students, since it was a court ruling only a few weeks ago that opened the floodgates for transfers for the 2014-2015 year. But those that have landed on a rate are charging well above the DESE recommended amount. Kirkwood is asking for just over $12,000 per student for high school transfer.

Francis Howell is collecting $11,421 per student for Normandy transfers. Unlike some districts like Ritenour, Francis Howell will only be admitting the students specifically named in their respective lawsuits, rather than reading the decisions as applying to any willing Normandy students.

“We will continue to accept transfer students as required by law,” Henry told The Missouri Times.

Normandy’s own rate per student is about $11,000 annually, well over the DESE recommendation and in the ballpark of what most schools will be charging Normandy. A Normandy spokesperson said that any school charging higher than their own rate was, by definition, putting a strain on the school.

Because the breadth of the latest rounds of lawsuits hasn’t become totally clear, Normandy says it’s still struggling to estimate just how much transfer students will cost this year.

“There’s a degree of uncertainty,” said Daphne Dorsey, who conducts public relations for Normandy. “We were under the impression the transfer program would be ending, so we really don’t know how this will play out until we get the bills from these other schools.”