Spencer County superintendent: county-line change added nearly 90 nonresident students; district will seek tuition agreement with Shelby

Dr. Foster told the Spencer County Board of Education on Nov. 11 that a county-line change and a Shelby County referendum altered property tax rolls and increased nonresident enrollment in Spencer schools.

"Right now, we have 89 nonresidents that attend the Spencer County School. That's up 51 from last year," Dr. Foster said, summarizing the district’s latest counts. The initial public data that prompted concerns listed about 240 properties; after review the district concluded the accurate impact is 118 listed entries that corresponded to 118 recorded lines but, after cleaning duplicates, amounts to 18 affected households with 37 school‑age students who remain in Spencer schools this year.

Dr. Foster estimated the 118 transferred properties represented roughly $33 million in net taxable value that moved to Shelby County’s tax roll and calculated a loss in local revenue in the range of about $250,000 this year while Spencer still educates the affected students. He told the board the district has been offering hardship transfers this year and is now exploring policy options for 2025–26.

Several policy options were presented for board consideration: negotiate a targeted tuition agreement with Shelby County under KRS tuition-agreement language (which hinges on whether Shelby’s board finds attendance in Spencer "convenient"), grandfather current affected homes, study a nonresident tuition charge (Shelby charges $3,200 per nonresident; Spencer currently charges $0), and examine the general-fund and capacity impact of added nonresident students.

Board counsel was referenced for statutory interpretation and Dr. Foster said he had a meeting scheduled with Shelby County leadership to discuss a possible targeted agreement. Board members emphasized transportation constraints and fairness to families who received the property-change notice abruptly.

Next steps: staff will pursue talks with Shelby County, quantify ongoing fiscal impact for the 2025–26 budget, and return with policy recommendations and a notification timeline for any enrollment or tuition changes.