123 small, rural school districts to receive $14.9 million in sparsity aid

School districts that have fewer than 10 students per square mile will share $14.9 million in state categorical aid specifically targeted to help small, rural districts provide educational services for their students.

For the 2010-11 school year, 123 school districts are eligible for $14,948,100 that the governor and Legislature allocated to sparsity aid in the state's 2009-11 state budget. To be eligible for this aid, each district must enroll no more than 725 students, have less than 10 students per square mile of district territory, and have more than 20 percent of its students qualified for free or reduced-price school meals based on family income. This year, average poverty rates for eligible districts increased to 44.3 percent, up 3.7 percentage points from last year's average and more than 7 percentage points higher than the state average for the 2009-10 school year.

"School districts that will receive this aid educate about 53,100 students, which represents about 6 percent of our total student population," said State Superintendent Tony Evers. "The small size of these rural districts can provide for closer school and home relationships, one of many qualities of rural Wisconsin that makes it a good place for raising families and educating children."

Evers also noted that, through the State Superintendent's Rural Advisory Council, small, rural districts identified a number of common challenges. "Rural districts experience declining enrollment, rapidly rising property values, low median income, and higher transportation costs than other districts. They also lack economies of scale and have large geographic boundaries that sometimes make it difficult to provide the education and skills students need to graduate ready for the workforce or further education," he said.

Districts were eligible for $15.9 million in sparsity aid, which required that payments be prorated at 94 percent. Aid will be paid on the third Monday in September.

Among recommendations in the state superintendent's "Fair Funding for Our Future" education reform framework is one to increase sparsity aid to support small, rural schools. "Small, rural school districts serve a significantly higher percentage of low-income families than the statewide average. Increased sparsity aid will support their work to provide solid educational opportunities for their students," Evers said.

A list of school districts receiving sparsity aid is available in the complete news release.

Last updated on 7/13/2010 5:10:55 PM