Open‑enrollment phase‑out debated at Arrowhead workshop as route to smaller referendum ask

At a public workshop, administration recommended phasing out new open‑enrollment (non‑resident) seats after the current cohort as a way to reduce future capital needs and shrink the size of a capital referendum. "With open enrollment transfer amount at about $10,000 per student, it's less than per‑member revenue and doesn't pay for building costs," a presenter said.

Administrators showed current OE totals (252 students) and modeled phased reductions year by year (examples used in the slides included 219 → 198 → 136 → 79 → 43 → 0). They proposed accepting the current seventh‑grade cohort through to the high school but closing enrollment to new non‑resident students thereafter to give families notice and to have a predictable resident population for referendum planning.

Board members and administration discussed sibling rules, statutory seat‑setting (January each year) and outreach: if the board decides to cut OE, they would announce quickly and then establish the January seat counts accordingly. Concerns were raised about impacts on athletics and educational opportunities for current non‑resident students; one board member called that argument a "scare tactic," while others said there is some validity to athletic impacts. Administrators recommended polling (School Perceptions) and community advisory input before finalizing policy.

No policy change was approved at the workshop. The board asked administration to survey the community and report back with public‑engagement results and refined OE scenarios before any formal action.