RAYMOND, Wis. — Well over $1 million of the Raymond School annual budget is derived from students who utilize open enrollment to attend there from other school districts.
The annual budget submitted by Raymond School officials to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) derives nearly 20% of its income from families that take advantage of the state’s open enrollment policies.
State statute requires every school district in Wisconsin to submit its annual budget to help determine how much funding the district receives from the state for various needs such as special education and general student programming.
In large and small districts, open enrollment dollars can significantly impact how the district funds everything from teacher salaries to sports to enrichment programs.
Open enrollment dollars make big impact
Open enrollment allows families to transfer students to school districts outside their own. The state pays the receiving district a certain amount for each open-enrollment student.
Raymond School District’s total 2022-2023 school year budget was $5,566,273.
For the same year, Wisconsin transferred $8,224 per student to districts for open-enrolled students. Raymond welcomed 137 open enrolled students from surrounding communities for a total of $1,158,553, or just about 20% of the district’s total budget, according to a DPI spreadsheet that tracks how many pupils transfer into and out of districts and the applicable aid attached to each.
With a total student population of just 431 as of the most recent school data, according to U.S. News & World Report, open enrollment students make up a full 31% of the student body at Raymond School.
The district only lost 25 students to open enrollment, or $217,567, as listed on the same spreadsheet.
The state awards $8,618 per student for the current school year. A DPI staffer told Racine County Eye the pupil-and-aid transfer numbers for the 2023-2024 school year have yet to be available.
State prorates returning funds
Open enrollment students impact the districts where they attend school on several levels.
Districts like Raymond that receive open enrollment dollars get the total amount per student once the state receives confirmation the pupil attends the applicable school.
Should the student transfer from the district and either return to their home district or land in another one, the state prorates the amount that follows that child.
Additionally, school districts perform the annual third-Friday count in September, where every student physically in school is counted to help determine the amount of state aid each district receives.
Open-enrollment students who leave after the count still impact these figures. Their presence in the 2022-2023 school year could increase Raymond’s state aid in 2023-2024, even if those same students are absent for the new school year.
Racine County Eye is aware of several families who pulled their children from Raymond School because of the controversy surrounding former Principal Jeff Peterson.
District controversy drives some families away
Peterson was hired as principal of Raymond School in 2021 but came under fire shortly before Superintendent Michael Garvey joined the district and after the election of Gwen Keller and Audrey Kostuch to the school board.
In April 2023, the Raymond School Board put Peterson on a performance improvement plan to address unspecified misconduct concerns. They offered to buy out his remaining contract about six weeks later, but Peterson declined.
The Board put him on paid leave in September 2023 and let him know his contract might not be renewed.
At the time, Megan Rios, former president of the Raymond Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO), said she moved her children to Drought School because the negativity at Raymond was pervasive.
“School board members were in the building, micromanaging Mr. Peterson and the teachers,” she said. “There was a level of bigotry and hatred brought into the walls of the school, and the kids picked up on it, saying racist things like Mexicans are lazy and worthless.”
Rios’s husband is Mexican, and Rios said she could see the light going out of her daughter. Rios pulled her daughter out of Raymond and said the difference is like night and day.
“Her light is back,” Rios explained.
Rios remains involved in Raymond School because she is an alumnus of the school and wants to see it return as a center of the community where everyone is welcome.
“What’s happening at Raymond School is not the Raymond I remember, and is not the Raymond I want my daughter or any other student to experience,” she added.
Another parent who asked to remain anonymous told Racine County Eye that Raymond is their home school, but they removed their children because of parents like Rios.
“This group has made the atmosphere at Raymond so much worse,” they said. “There is a definite level of negativity, and the kids are feeling it.”
This parent supported Peterson’s suspension — not because of his sexual orientation — but because of his poor leadership.
“Anyone who meets Jeff knows he’s gay, and so what?” they said. “His contract non-renewal is about performance. He’s a great teacher but not a great leader because he doesn’t hold teachers accountable.”
Peterson filed a discrimination case with the EEOC, accusing the board of discrimination because of his sexual orientation.
In a 4 to 1 vote on Dec. 6, Peterson’s contract was not renewed.
A group of parents in November also filed a lawsuit against the district to disqualify any actions taken by the board and Garvey after the August 2023 annual community meeting during which residents voted to have Garvey removed and prevent the school board from fighting a discrimination lawsuit, but the school board did not take action.
That vote remains legally binding, according to state statute.
The school district has since filed a motion to dismiss, and a recall effort against Keller and Janell Wise is underway.
Open enrollment impact on current year unknown
How Raymond’s open enrollment numbers might impact the current school year is unknown.
The state won’t have its numbers until mid-2024, and while the Raymond School District has the summary of its 2023-2024 budget posted on its website, Garvey and the school board refused to release the full, line-item budget despite it being a public record.
Racine County Eye has filed an open records request with Raymond and the DPI for the budget but has yet to receive it.
According to the summary, though, Raymond School’s budget is $5,606,440, a $40,167 increase over last year.
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