In an effort to attract and retain teachers, the Wilton Board of Education is considering a policy change that would allow children of teachers who live outside the district to attend Wilton schools tuition-free.
At the Thursday, May 7 BOE meeting, Superintendent Kevin Smith said that updating the policy would bring it back to what it was prior to 2017, when district teachers from out of town could have their children attend Wilton schools for free as long as space allowed.
In 2017, Smith explained, the board introduced a tuition charge at 30% of the annual per-pupil expense of that year for any children of staff members who were hired after July 1, 2017.
So for a district that spends close to $25,000 per pupil, according to the Bureau of Fiscal Service, 30% would be around $7,500 a year in tuition.
Smith said he has been considering requesting the policy change for some time as competition grows for highly-qualified teachers across the region.
“This is a policy that could, with the deletion of that provision, serve to help make us a little bit more marketable for some of the best staff out there,” Smith said.
Smith added that he looked at the distribution of children for staff employed by the district and the vast majority are of staff who were hired prior to 2017.
“But I think it was a marketing opportunity,” Smith said.
Board member Pam Ely agreed.
“It’s a good draw,” Ely said.
Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources and General Administration Maria Coleman said the conversation is a timely one.
“In real estate, it’s still a seller’s market. In hiring, in the field of education, it is very much a buyer’s market,” she said. “And we are seeing more now than ever before candidates that are looking for the total package, candidates that are looking for opportunities that are closer to home. So they’re less willing to travel for work because they’re thinking about the work-life balance.“
Coleman said the tuition is a factor that may prevent a qualified candidate from bringing their children to Wilton.
“So, I would very much support it,” Coleman said of the policy update.
Thursday’s discussion was the first read of the policy change. The policy will come back again for possible action at the next meeting of the board, scheduled for Thursday, May 21.