A growing problem across Kentucky and in other pockets of the United States, the Trigg County Board of Education closed its first meeting of 2023 Thursday night with a dire discussion — again revisiting average daily attendance (ADA) issues plaguing the district.
As things stand now, Director of Personnel and Student Services James Mangels noted Trigg County is “hovering around 90%” — a state formula calculated by the total number of days a student attends, divided by the total number of days in a school year.
In layman’s terms, it means a randomly selected student is likely missing about 10% of this school year. And more simply put, that’s not good.
Along with Mangels and others, District Finance Officer Holly Greene is in the middle of preparing the budget for fiscal year 2023. And for the first time since pre-COVID, ADA statistics matter when factoring incoming SEEK funds to the district.
If this rate continues, Mangels added that the district stands to lose more than a half million dollars in general fund revenue. He said students have been missing for a myriad of reasons this year: COVID-19 concerns, general sickness and health, as well as out-of-school obligations.
Board member Charlene Sheehan brought up a broader issue regarding failures in attendance.
A number of measures are being taken at this time in order to curb truancy and chronic absence. Superintendent Bill Thorpe said 12 teachers from the district are currently making rounds on home visits across the county, visiting with families and children to encourage growth and attendance awareness.
Mangels added that competitions and prizes will always be explored for attendance benchmarks, and that counseling groups have been created in order to better understand a student’s repeated absence.
Discourse on attendance was revisited Thursday because the final draft of the school’s budget is due in May. Greene did note that an increase in SEEK rates from $4,100 to $4,200 — along with the activated lower contribution rate required for the County Employees Retirement System from 26.79% to 23.34% — will positively impact the bottom line.
But as School Attorney Jack Lackey warned, the burden to create and maintain a general fund has clearly shifted from state coffers to local districts, and as property valuation increases, state funding decreases.
In other board news:
— It’s Board Appreciation Month, and Thorpe recognized his associates for their efforts.
Contrary to some recent misinformation on social media, Trigg County’s Board of Education will remain intact for at least the next three years.
