Three school districts in Oconto County will receive a sparsity aid payment of $300 per student for the 2015-16 school year that can be used to support school programs. School districts in Gillett, Lena and Suring are among the 137 small rural districts to receive sparsity aid, according to a statement by the Department of Public Instruction.
“The necessity of providing quality instructional and educational services to small numbers of students presents a fiscal challenge to our rural school districts,” State Superintendent Tony Evers said. “This aid supports these schools, which are so often the backbone of their community.”
Eligibility for the aid is based on 2014-15 enrollment of no more than 725 students and fewer than 10 students per square mile. The enrollment and aid amounts for the three districts are Gillett, 596 students, $178,800; Lena, 405 student, $121,500; and Suring, 416 students, $124,800.
Sparsity aid, originally created as part of the 2007-09 budget, was a recommendation of the State Superintendent’s Rural Schools Advisory Council. In each of the previous years, the budgeted appropriation was less than eligibility so districts received a prorated per pupil payment. The 2015-17 budget provided $17.32 million per year for sparsity aid, which fully funds the program for the 2015-16 school year at $300 per student.
The Department of Public Instruction calculated 2015-16 school year sparsity aid using 2014-15 membership of 57,728 students in the 137 eligible districts. Student enrollment in these schools represents roughly 6.8 percent of total public school enrollment.
Sparsity aid will be paid on the third Monday in September to each district’s general fund.
