BETHEL TWP. — A family reached out to News Center 7′s Monica Castro after seeing the story about a high school senior’s fight to stay in the Tipp City School District.
Their daughter had previously been open enrolled but the district did away with that this year.
Kim Hopping put her daughter, Karlie, in the Tipp City School District back when she was in the seventh grade.
“When she got into Tipp she began to flourish, alot. She started to get into clubs and activities,” Hopping said.
Karlie had been under the district’s open enrollment policy, but the policy changed this year.
“In the spring they voted to abolish open enrollment. We asked if we could pay tuition, we were told no. The wouldn’t have a tuition policy,” Hopping said.
Hopping said she was forced to put her daughter in the Tecumseh Local Schools District for her senior year.
“You can’t make friends in a pandemic at a new school, your senior year,” she said.
It also impacted her academics and activities she was involved in, like swimming.
“She’s been sad, she doesn’t want to let a lot of people know, but she’s been sad,” Hopping said.
News Center 7′s Monica Castro spoke with Tipp City’s Superintendent, Mark Stefanik, about the decision to end open enrollment.
“I wasn’t here. what I have heard is that the district considers capacity and they monitor where the student enrollment size is currently and monitor any projections of growth,” he said.
It’s a decision the board of education looks at every year. By closing it this year, it impacted about 35 student.
Stefanik was asked if grandfathering seniors, like Karlie, was a conversation he had with the board.
“It wasn’t a conversation after I arrived. In the state policy basically you make the decision but with 435 there is no language in the state provision about grandfathering folks in.”
Hopping said she feels for her daughter, but other students won’t finish their senior year at the high school.
“People like to say why didn’t you move, well not everyone’s circumstances in life are the same. There are special circumstances that have no allowed us to move,” she explained.
While Hopping said she’s hired an attorney to fight the decision, she hopes the board will change its mind.
“My hope is the next school board or even the current school board would be more compassionate about people’s situations,” she said.
The family has started an online petition. They say this isn’t just for their daughter but to support a handful of other students that are in the same situation because of open enrollment ending.