Morgan Hill Unified School District missed out on $3.3 million in potential state funds because of student absenteeism in the 2016–17 school year.
This nugget of information was introduced at the Oct. 17 school board meeting after a question from trustee David Gerard during a presentation led by Linda Row, the district’s director of student services and enrollment. The district loses $60 per day per student when a student is absent from school, whether the absence is excused or unexcused.
“Those dollars ($3.3 million) would have gone directly in the general fund, which can be used for a wide variety of purposes within the district, including hiring staff,” Row said.
The district’s general fund was a little more than $74.5 million in 2016–17. (The general fund is made up of a variety of state and federal sources.)
Morgan Hill’s six elementary and two K–8 schools compiled attendance rates ranging from 94.98 percent to 96.36 percent for the 2016–17 school year, with PA Walsh STEAM Academy at the low end and Los Paseos Elementary at the high end.
Trustee Tom Arnett said he would think twice about planning any vacations that would force his children from missing any school days after learning of the financial impact.
“To me, it was pretty startling to hear how much money we lose (due to absenteeism),” Arnett said. “It’s a hit to our schools… .We need to get the word out there that little absences add up and have an impact to all our schools.”
At the secondary sites, both middle schools, Britton and Martin Murphy, were above 95 percent but short of 96 percent, while Live Oak High School came in at just over 94 percent and Ann Sobrato High School at above 95 percent. Central Continuation High School recorded a 87.25 percent attendance rate for 2016-17, according to the report.
If all schools within the district maintained a 96 percent attendance rate, the school district would have been granted $3.3 million in additional funds from the state.
“All of our school climate initiatives are aimed in part at increasing student attendance by working to ensure that our schools are safe, welcoming and engaging places for students,” Row added.
What is chronic absenteeism?
The state defines a chronic absenteeism as a student who is absent for any reason on 10 percent or more of the school days in the school year, when the total number of days the student is absent is divided by the total number of days the student is enrolled. Students who miss nine days in the first semester—excused or unexcused—are considered chronically absent, according to Row’s presentation.
In Morgan Hill, three primary schools (El Toro, PA Walsh, Barrett) and one secondary school (Live Oak) had a 10 percent and higher absenteeism rate. Central, which works with the most at-risk students, showed a 58.6 percent rate, however. Conversely, Los Paseos was a district-best 4.2 percent absenteeism rate and Sobrato was the lowest among secondaries at 7.9 percent.
“In addition, students who are chronically absent … have poorer educational outcomes than their peers who attend more regularly,” Row said.
To combat persistent absences by any one student, the school site first sends three notification letters home with parent contact, intervention and support. If that doesn’t encourage parents to ensure their kid is attending school, the district then holds a School Attendance Review Board Hearing that may include mediation from the district attorney’s office. In worst cases, a criminal complaint can be filed against the parent.
“There is no way to exaggerate the importance of being in the classroom consistently each day. … Studies show a clear and strong relationship between high attendance and high achievement,” Superintendent Steve Betando said. “Consistent attendance habits start as early as kindergarten as do habits of achievement. That consistency will lead them on one path or another, we want it to be the path of success.”
Expulsions and Suspensions
Also part of Row’s presentation was a summary of the district’s suspensions and expulsions from the 2016–17 school year with comparisons to previous school years.
At Morgan Hill public schools, there were seven incidents that resulted in 11 expulsions, which was the same number from the 2015-16 school year. However, expulsions have been on a steep decline since 2009-10 when there were 40 district-wide, according to the report.
Broken down by grade level, four expulsions were 12th grade students, three expulsions each were eighth and ninth graders while the other one was a 10th grader. All of the expelled students were Hispanic and from low socioeconomic status families.
Those students do have a chance at readmission when they have met all of the terms of their rehab plan, according to the report. In fact, 43 students have been readmitted over the last five years. The school board votes on each case.
The number of suspensions jumped a bit during the 2016–17 year with the district logging 401 suspensions among 320 students. In the previous year, there were 324 suspensions among 229 students. The seven-year data provided, however, shows a steep decline from 750 suspensions among 524 students in the 2010–11 school year.
Middle school students accumulated the most suspensions in 2016–17, which Row said is “very typical,” with 70 among 43 seventh graders and 83 among 68 eighth graders.
