This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Aug. 1, 2013 - Normandy School District officials announced Thursday afternoon that the number of students intending to transfer from the unaccredited district had risen to 1,151 – or 122 more than the number announced the day before.
Despite the prospect of losing 28 percent of the district’s enrollment of 4,100 students, the officials sounded upbeat during the press conference and community meeting. Superintendent Tyone McNichols didn’t say for sure whether the reduced funding growing out of the transfers would have to be made up through staff reductions and other changes.
McNichols estimated that the district would have to pay $15 million for tuition and transportation costs for the transfers -- about a quarter of the budget.
He also declined to give a breakdown on districts Normandy students were applying to. He noted that school assignments would be chosen at a meeting at the Coordinating School Districts Friday. The Post-Dispatch reported that 453 Normandy students had named Francis Howell as their first choice, and they were all expected to get in.
Instead, McNichols focused on the challenge of educating who have decided to stay, saying “our working mission is a journey toward success and excellence,” an idea he said he would stress to both students and staff. It's an approach, he said, that everyone would “reinforce with each other during the school year.”
He also urged Normandy residents to attend Saturday’s back-to-school rally at the high school at 6701 St. Charles Rock Road. Thursday afternoon’s meeting was at Lucas Crossing Elementary School, 7837 Natural Bridge Road.
