Local School Districts Receive Sparsity Aid
Friday, September 14th, 2018 -- 11:07 AM
-The state’s small, sparsely populated school districts are sharing $25 million in aid payments that can be used to offset any costs the district incurs in educating its students.Sparsity aid is paid on the third Monday in September. The Department of Public Instruction’s 2019-21 budget request seeks to revise the sparsity aid program to include any school district that has less than 10 members per square mile even if district membership is more than 745. Based on membership projections, approximately 85 school districts would be eligible for the second tier sparsity payment of $100 per member. The budget request would require an additional $9.79 million in each year of the biennium for a total allocation of $70 million for sparsity aid.
Sparsity aid was enacted as part of the 2007-09 state budget and based on recommendations from the State Superintendent’s Advisory Council on Rural Schools, Libraries, and Communities. Some local school districts receiving sparsity aid include Granton with $97,200, Greenwood with $170,800, Loyal with $220,800, Owen-Withee with $196,000 and Thorp with $237,200.
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