Current Education Costs for the Rochester School: This may be VERY CONFUSING but it is worth your time to investigate this further and to see that the current cost of educating one resident student is $24,503!
This material is used to determine our education tax rate and can be found in the annual report.
Equalized pupil: Based on a two year average of the ADM. It is designed to create an “average student”, which begins at “1” in terms of costs so that all students throughout the districts are weighted the same. Unique costs such as grade level (7-12 grade students add 0.13, prek decrease 0.46) and economically deprived (add 0.25) either raise the number or lower the number. This equalized pupil number can only reduce by a maximum of 3.5% each year, even when in Rochester’s scenario, the ADM has decreased by 30+ students between 2010 and 2012.
Average Daily Membership (ADM): Full time equivalent number of residential students whose education is paid for by the district of residence from the 11th day through the 30th day of the school year. Rochester’s ADM has decreased by more than 30+ students between 2010 and 2012.
Actual cost per Rochester resident pupil for FY 2012 = $2,425,762/ 99 = $24,503.
(Source: Rochester's budget spending - tuition revenue / Rochester's ADM from last page of annual report
FY 2012)
Proposed budget cost per tuition and resident student for FY 2013 = $3,214,268 / 146 = $22,015
(Rochester School FY 2013 proposed budget / proposed total student count from principal)
Why is actual cost different from Equalized cost: Equalized cost is based upon eq. pupil which, for Rochester, reduces by a maximum of 3.5% each year no matter how much the decrease is in ADM. Actual cost is not a weighted number. It is figured using actual counts for cost analysis.
The declining trend of students in the Rochester School and the SU: Rochester RESIDENT student population has declined by 100 students in 9 years. SU student population has declined over 100 in 2 years. Of those students in the SU, 63% were from Rochester’s ADM decline. There is an estimated total of 120 tuition students, from the four neighboring towns, that attend schools other than Rochester as their school of choice.
What it costs to be part of WNWSU: Rochester’s cost = $890 per student in Superintendent’s budget costs (Superintendent’s budget / total ADM in SU). SU expenses to the district if Rochester becomes an Independent.
The difference between the independent school budget and the school district budget: School district responsible for paying tuition costs and SU costs; the school district is also responsible for the facilities. Independent school tuition set by the Board of Trustees up to state average announced tuition amount (FY 2013, grades 7-12 $12,461, grades k-6 $11,119) unless overtures approved by the sending town School Board. Board of Trustees is responsible for setting tuition charge for instructional services, paying facilities lease agreement, and fundraising to cover excess costs for independent school.