May LM 2019 Special Issue_press

Southern Super Region ... cont’d.

CUSD #4

Collinsville CUSD #10

Enrollment: 657 Type: preK–12

FY18: $58,652

Enrollment: 6,350 FY18: $1.5 million Type: preK–12 FY19: $1.5 million

FY19: $44,931 As is the case in most rural districts, CUSD #4 Superintendent Scott Riddle said the district relies heavily on the community to help support the educational and extracurricular opportunities for students. When the state pro-rated general state aid, the district saw a reduction in staff and programming and was forced to close two elementary schools and consolidate into one elementary and one middle school/ high school building, causing over-crowding and large class sizes. To cope, Riddle said, the district rented space from a local church for its early childhood program and one section of kindergarten. Because of EBF, Riddle said, the narrative has changed. CUSD #4 has hired additional staff at the early primary grades to help reduce class size, as well as add a part-time social worker to work with the social emotional needs of our students. In addition, EBF has allowed the district to update its digital math curriculum for K-12, Riddle said. “Even though our EBF was minimal compared to many districts, the additional funds were stretched as far as possible to give the greatest impact for our students,” Riddle said. “This approach has been the norm for most districts for the past decade. It is just nice to have a little more funds to stretch.”

Pro-ration cost Collinsville CUSD #10 about $20 million in state funding, so the district is using its Evidence-Based Funding dollars to dig out of that hole, Superintendent Dr. Robert Green said. The first EBF payment last school year helped the district reach a new contract with its teacher’s union. With the contract settled, the district is now investing dollars to bring back positions that were cut, Green said. An assistant principal and ESL teacher were both hired with EBF dollars. EBF dollars were also used to hire some additional teachers to provide more academic support for students. Furthermore, Collinsville CUSD #10 used EBF dollars, as well as some Title I dollars, to hire instructional and data coaches, Green noted. “You don’t have a lot of flexibility with Title I so EBF really gave us some more flexibility,” he said. In addition to personnel, EBF dollars were dedicated to boosting the district’s STEM program. Moving forward, Green said, the district plans to bring back about three staff members per year. The next position will be a counselor at the high school, a principal and another teacher. “We’re trying to take care of our current instructional needs and get a better handle on the problems we face,” Green said. “EBF has really been a great thing for us. Money doesn’t solve everything, but it certainly helps.”

26 LMMay 2019 Special Edition