First Promise Students Graduate

By Elizabeth Hicks

Hicks@CountyWideNewspaper.com

                As the school year draws to a close, many Kalamazoo Public School seniors are contemplating what to do after graduation. Thanks to the Kalamazoo Promise, these soon to be graduates have many choices that their predecessors did not have, the chance to go to college for free.

                Through the Kalamazoo Promise, these graduates of Kalamazoo Public School can receive up to 100 percent of their tuition paid if they attend a public Michigan University or Community College.

                High school students aren’t the only ones learning about the Kalamazoo Promise. At Arcadia Elementary, students learn what the Promise means, how they can benefit from it and what they need to do to be eligible for the Promise.

                Kalamazoo Public Schools will enroll many new students for the upcoming school year because of the Kalamazoo Promise. As of January 2006, KPS has had a net enrollment of 65 more students since the announcement of the Kalamazoo Promise than over the same period in the 2004-2005 school year.

                Janice Brown, Kalamazoo Public Schools Superintendent, said that they would have to hire new teachers for the upcoming school year to accommodate all of the new students.

                Currently, enrollment in the Kalamazoo school district is down to 10,200, from more than 11,800 ten years ago. Because of the enrollment decreases, two elementary schools, along with other vacant space, have been put to use for other things, including offices, computer labs, art and music rooms and smaller K-3 classes, which average just 18 students each.

                With the increase in enrollment, Kalamazoo Public Schools staff will have to figure out how to create more space for the new enrollees. Enrollment increases for the next school year will not only affect space but the district’s budget too.

                Increased need for textbooks and supplies for the next school year is very likely. Any extra textbooks that are needed will be purchased through the school district’s general fund, according to Superintendent Brown.

                The school district is also expecting an increase in the amount of money it receives from state tax dollars because of increased enrollment. The current minimum state foundation grant is $6,875 per student.

Home owners in the Kalamazoo School district are also benefiting from the Kalamazoo Promise. Many Kalamazoo city residents putting their houses up for sale are boasting that they are “Kalamazoo Promise Qualified”.

                Students moving into the Kalamazoo school district will not only increase student enrollment in Kalamazoo Public schools but will decrease attendance in schools in the surrounding areas, including three local charter schools, the Catholic Schools of Greater Kalamazoo, the Kalamazoo Christian School Association and Portage Public Schools.

                "I’m just not that worried," stated Larry Baker, superintendent of the K-Christian schools, "we offer things KPS can’t offer. We pray in our schools. We talk about Jesus."

                For now, the Kalamazoo Promise program is set to run indefinitely. John Manske, the school district’s attorney, said donors assured Kalamazoo Public Schools that all students currently enrolled will be covered by the Promise.

"Right now, this is in place for KPS and it will continue year after year," Manske told the Gazette. "It’s in place until we are told otherwise."

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