Decatur Schools Don't Expect Room For New Tuition Students In K-5

Enrollment in the lower grades has grown so much the City Schools of Decatur doesn't expect any openings for new tuition students in kindergarten through grade 5 next school year.

Decatur Associate Superintendent Thomas Van Soelen said the system will only consider tuition applications in grades 6-12 for now.

Enrollment in Decatur schools is around 3,200 and rose about 12 percent for this school year compared to about 7 percent for the previous year.

Much of the growth was in pre-kindergarten, kindergarten and the lower grades, according to a Power Point presentation about enrollment calculations.

Van Soelen said the school system made the change this month so out-of-district parents who might have considered the tuition route could seek other options.

The school system webpage says, "Families with children in [grades K-5] or who need specialized services may submit applications but their applications will not be considered until this webpage indicates there is an opening in that grade or program."

Tuition students live outside the Decatur city limits; their parents pay for them to attend the City Schools of Decatur.

Van Soelen said the system now has 153 paying tuition students and 135 courtesty tuition students.

Courtesty tuition students are the children of school system employees who attend Decatur schools free, and they will not be affected by the change, Van Soelen said. Tuition for pre-K students is handled by a separate department.

The schools recently lowered tuition to $548 per month for 10 months. Previously the rate was $611 per month.

For more information about tuition and the City Schools of Decatur, visit the system's webpage at http://www.csdecatur.net/tuition.