White County rethinks who can attend schools

White County Schools could soon open its doors to more students living outside the county, but doing so could come with a much higher tuition price than the district currently charges.

Director of Schools Kurt Dronebarger introduced the idea during Thursday night’s White County Board of Education meeting as the district looks at declining enrollment, rising costs, and changes being considered by neighboring school systems.

White County already has a policy allowing non-resident students to attend district schools, but administrators have traditionally taken a restrictive approach.

Dronebarger said the district currently has about 10 students from nine families attending under the policy, generally because of what the school system considers a hardship. Those students pay $500 per year in tuition.