District Sets Nonresident Tuition Rates for 2012-13

Students who live outside the district who want to attend Meramec Valley R-III schools will catch a break this coming school year.

Nonresident tuition is being reduced for both high school and elementary school students.

Parents of nonresident students will pay $480.62 a year less for their children to attend Pacific High School, while parents of younger students will pay $526.73 a year less for students to attend any of the five elementary schools, the middle school or Riverbend eighth-grade center.

Revised state statutes require the district to have a tuition rate in place should the district receive a request for a nonresident student to attend a school in the Meramec Valley R-III School District, according to Joel Cracchiolo, business manager.

The recommended tuition rates for the 2012-13 school year are as follows: high school (grades nine-12), $8,449.15; and grades kindergarten-eighth grade, $8,388.30.

The 2012-13 tuition calculation is based on the 2010-2011 ASBR.

The reason for the reduction is the district cut expenditures in 2010-11 by over $3 million as a result of reductions in revenues.

Steps made by the board of education and administration to increase operational efficiency resulted in cuts to department budgets and a reduction in staffing. The 2010-11 cut in expenditures results in a reduction in the tuition for 2012-13.

The reduction in tuition will not have an impact on transportation costs.

If bus service is requested, the transportation department will calculate and bill for related costs of transporting the student, should the district choose to do so.

The district had four nonresident students, all from Lonedell, who paid out of district tuition during the 2011-12 school year.