City Schools Enforce Tuition for Out-of-District Students
Walla Walla public schools implement a new policy to stem the loss of state attendance funds caused by students moving from surrounding districts.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The board of the public schools has ruled that hereafter all children of non-residents attending the public schools of this city will be charged a tuition of $1.50 per month for each child, said moneys to be paid strictly in advance. There is this provision, however, that if the non-resident will allow the 'daily attendance' money apportioned to his children to be drawn by this district, then there will be no tuition charged. This ruling was made necessary by the directors owing to the fact that for the past few years this district has had to school quite a large percent of pupils, whose 'attendance money' was drawn by the district from which they moved. The injustice to this district in such cases can easily be seen.
“The injustice to this district in such cases can easily be seen.”
This 1903 school board action highlights a perennial tension in municipal finance: how to fund public services for a growing population when jurisdictional boundaries and funding formulas don't align. It serves as a reminder that the debate over school resources and 'out-of-district' enrollment has been a fixture of Walla Walla civic life for over a century.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.