Schools

Officials Say IB Program Brought 44 Families to Farmington Schools

Administrators provide an overview of the International Baccalaureate program during Tuesday's school board meeting.

The Farmington Public Schools International Baccalaureate (IB) program has begun to do something that school officials hoped it would when they launched the rigorous course of studies in 2011. 

On Tuesday, assistant superintendent Catherine Cost told school board members that 44 families had moved to the district to enroll their students in the IB diploma programme. 

"That has meant, this year alone, a net increase of over $434,000 to our general fund," she said. 

Officials voted three years ago to withdraw from the International Academy (IA), which cost the district $500,000 for 65 students, and use those funds to implement IB. Board member Howard Wallach pointed out that more than 250-300 students are taking advantage of the more rigorous curriculum, using the same dollars. 

Students also appear to be sticking with the program, Cost said. Among current juniors and sophomores, only seven have returned to their home schools, and all current freshman are still enrolled. Demographically, IB students reflect the population at Harrison High School, where the program is housed, she added.

The average class size for grades 9 and 10 is 21.3, with 32 students in the largest class. While lower class sizes exist, Cost said, "we know they're going to grow, they just need time."

Coming in under budget


Board member Murray Kahn, who has been a vocal critic of the program, questioned budget numbers, which Cost said show the program is "considerably under budget." A spreadsheet included in the presentation shows annual costs in the first full year of more than $256,000, with costs rising to $405,000 in 2012-2013 (due to increased staffing and new materials), then dropping to an estimated $382,000 this year and $271,000 in 2014-2015. 

Factoring in funds that are no longer going to the IA, the program is expected to save the district more than $230,000 next year. 

Cost explained that, with the exception of the IB program director, staffing costs aren't broken out, but are part of the general fund. The same holds true for staff teaching Advanced Placement or Honors courses. 

"There's no reckoning for what it's actually costing," Kahn said. "I don't think that's proper for a program that was given a certain budget to spend a certain amount of money to teach these kids."

Supt. Sue Zurvalec said the board gave administrators the guideline to "repurpose" funds that went to the IA, which were also part of the General Fund. "If these students weren't in these classes, they would be taking something else, that's the bottom line, that's why there's no additional cost."

"It's done exactly what we said, as a board, we hoped for," board member Priscilla Brouillette said. "It's bringing a very powerful program to many, many more students than could ever have attended the International Academy."



Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Farmington-Farmington Hills