Elmbrook Says No More New Chapter 220 Students Next Fall

For the second consecutive year, Elmbrook will not accept any new Chapter 220 students, even siblings of participating students — as families urged the district to keep an open mind about reopening seats in the future.

"One day don't just cut it for good — don't lock it out completely," father Sam Jackoyo urged members of Elmbrook's Chapter 220 Planning Council Tuesday.

Elmbrook is not alone in phasing out of the Chapter 220 program. Many Milwaukee suburban school districts for years have stopped accepting new minority Milwaukee students in the voluntary integration program. They have cited the fact that, unlike the state's Open Enrollment program, Chapter 220 aid does not increase the total revenue that districts can collect.

The total number of new Chapter 220 students accepted annually by participating districts has dropped from "a few hundred" to 87, said Michele Hoffman, Elmbrook's student services supervisor.

The last time Elmbrook added new Chapter 220 seats was in 2010-11 when 10 new students were enrolled — six kindergarteners, four first-graders and five more in various K-5 grades, Hoffman said.

The 248 students already attending Elmbrook schools through Chapter 220 can remain, 80 of whom are at the high schools. Elmbrook does receive about $3.5 million in revenue for those students, but that does not cover the cost of educating them.

The 248-student enrollment is down from 325 in the 2002-03 school year. Eighteen Elmbrook resident students are attending Milwaukee specialty schools this year under the same program.

Some school districts are not allowed to accept any more Chapter 220 students because they have at least 30 percent minority enrollment, Elmbrook board member Meg Wartman noted. Hoffman said she did not know Elmbrook's total minority enrollment.

Elmbrook had been one of the largest participants in the program, but last fall the School Board voted to add no new students in 2011-12, while increasing the number of Open Enrollment students accepted.

The Elmbrook School Board voted 6-1 Tuesday to again offer no new Chapter 220 seats in 2012-13. The board will debate in January what to do with Open Enrollment seats for next school year. This year Elmbrook has 630 open enrollment students.

Board member Bob Ziegler, as he did last year, voted against the freeze.

At the planning council meeting that preceded the School Board meeting, Ziegler made a compromise motion to accept siblings of existing Chapter 220 students. The motion failed 7-3, with two Chapter 220 parents on the council joining Ziegler in voting in favor, while Superintendent Matt Gibson and the six other School Board members voted against.

Ziegler handed out data showing that Chapter 220 minority students at Elmbrook scored substantially higher than their minority peers in Milwaukee Public Schools. Depending on subject area, the percentage of Elmbrook's Chapter 220 students who scored advanced or proficient was 23 percent to 48 percent higher than their peers in MPS, he said.

For example, 84 percent of Elmbrook's Chapter 220 students scored as proficient or advanced in reading, compared to 56 percent of MPS students.

Ziegler said a friend in the Whitefish Bay school district told him, "it isn't about what outside students do to your level of achievement. It's what you do to them."

Gibson said he took no joy in recommending no new students be accepted, saying it was purely based on financial reasons because he has previously been a strong supporter of the program and its "higher values" of education and integration.

"So many things are compromised lately" by finances, he said.

Jackoyo, whose is a senior and a member of its homecoming court, was effusive in his praise for the Elmbrook School District and its high achievement.

"I know these decisions are hard," he said, but added: "I thought the kids from Milwaukee provided a good diversity for the district."

Whether it be next year or three years from now, if the district's finances improve, Jackoyo urged the board to consider reopening new seats.

Qiana Collins, whose daughters Breana and Ariana attend and , respectively, said she would like to move into Elmbrook when she can take care of medical debt and afford a new home. If Elmbrook eliminated the Chapter 220 program altogether, she said she would rent in the district to keep her daughters in Elmbrook.

She said her daughter Breana, who joined Elmbrook in first grade, was thriving at East High, playing basketball and serving on the student council.

But the issue of educating students who do not live in Elmbrook's district — whether they come from the Chapter 220 program or open enrollment, has become a key issue for several School Board members who say Elmbrook should restrict nonresidents and focus on educating its resident children. With tight finances and little state aid, property taxpayers can not afford to educate nonresident students, they say.

Chief proponents of this philosophy have been Board President Tom Gehl and board member Glen Allgaier.

"This is going to sound harsh," said Allgaier, adding, "It's a gift to be accepted into the Chapter 220 program. And it's not a guarantee."

Board member Jean Lambert told Jackoyo she was open to considering new seats next year, if finances permitted it. But right now Elmbrook can't afford to educate more Chapter 220 students within state revenue limits.

"I'm open to not closing the door permanently," she said.