Grosse Pointe schools system considers charging tuition to accept outside students

Tution would cost $13,000 for students outside Grosse Pointe

GROSSE POINTE, Mich. – Public schools are already charging tuition in Birmingham and Bloomfield Hills and now the Grosse Pointe Public School system is looking at the idea to keep programs at their current levels.

Grosse Pointe Public Schools said Lansing needs to send more money, so the idea was brought up out of necessity. The schools need to cut $2 million from the budget or find another income stream.

Superintendent Gary Niehaus said it's purely a numbers game.

"We're graduating a senior class of 700, and we're bringing in 450 or 425 kindergartners," Niehaus said.

The school district is considering bringing in outside students to make up the difference, even though the district has refused to get involved in the school-of-choice program.

The tuition would cover the all-in cost of a Grosse Pointe education -- roughly $13,000 -- but could go up or down, depending on updated calculations.

Students would have to have good behavior and attendance records and keep a good grade point average to stay. The tuition amount is steep for some residents.

"Well, it sounds high to me," resident Andrea Rodriguez said. "I think it should be more affordable, but I would surely welcome them."

"I don't know how I feel about charging kids to go to school," resident Stephanie Nicholson said. "I don't know how I feel about that, but we might as well fill the schools, and maybe they can find a way to make everyone happy."

"I think it's fine if they want to pay," resident Donna Smith said. "Our children pay tuition to go to private schools, and we pay taxes."


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