COCISD to increase PreK-4 tuition

COCISD held their monthly board meeting on May 26 to discuss adjusting PreK-4 tuition. Currently, the district's tuition rate is $1,000 a semester, totaling $2,000 for a full academic year. COCISD is proposing that the tuition is doubled to $2,000 a semester, totaling $4,000 a year.

“Pre-K is a full-day program. To qualify for the Pre-K program, the student must be four years old on or before Sept. 1, come from a family with an income at or below subsistence levels, or is unable to speak the English Language. A tuition-based program of $1,000 per semester is available for families who don’t meet income or language-based requirements,” according to a statement from the district.

During the meeting, the COCISD Chief Financial Officer Adam Jenke stated the district has not increased the PreK-4 tuition within the decade.

“Each year, we currently have to submit a request to the Commissioner of Education, requesting a approval for our tuition rate associated with our district. We are capped out, based on calculated expenditure that TEA provides,” Jenke said.

Jenke said that the cap is roughly $7,800.

COCISD assesses how much it costs to educate a student for the COCSID and the Pre-K program by reviewing the prior expenditures, future expenditures, and current data. Jenke stated that that number puts us somewhere in the “high 4s, low 5s”.

COCISD is also considering other factors associated with increasing the cost of Pre-K-4 tuition, including associated daycare cost. Jenke stated that the lowest daycare rate discovered in the district is roughly $27 a day, which is about $4,500 a year.

“We do not want to go into competition with daycares, but we also want to make sure that we are compensating for something else associated with our programs. We certainly don't want to exceed any thresholds,” said Jenke.

The board motion to approve the tuition rate increase for students eligible for the free kindergarten program and authorizes the superintendent to submit the proposed tuition rate to the commissioner of education for approval. 

In other business:

• COCISD board Vice President M.J. Coker will replace Paul Buchanan as board President. In addition, William Baker was named the new board Vice President and Alec McGowen is named the new board secretary.
• T.J. Strickland and Daniel Williams were announced as the newest members of the board after the May 2 trustee election.
• Paul Buchanan and Dale Richards were recognized as outgoing members.
• The board held the annual review of Board Policy.
• The board approved the monthly financial report.
• The board approved the tax collection report.
• The board approved a budget amendment.

The next regular scheduled board meeting will be held on June 22.