Dalton Public Schools’ $855 out-of-district tuition is outdated and doesn’t cover the true costs of educating a child, officials say.
Out-of-district tuition “hasn’t moved at all in (five) years, despite the fact it costs more and more to educate children,” said Dalton Board of Education Chairman Steve Williams. “We have a board policy that we’re supposed to look at it every year and, candidly, we haven’t done it.”
The last increase was a $207 hike in the 2005-06 school year, records show.
Board members still are in the discussion stage, but they agree it’s time to increase tuition, Mr. Williams said. The subject is on tap for the board’s Feb. 8 meeting.
Dalton schools have more than 400 out-of-district students, mostly from Whitfield County, but also from Catoosa, Gordon, Murray and Walker counties and even Hamilton County, Tenn., he said.