All seven members of the Wayland Board of Education Monday night cautiously voted to endorse the Early College/Allegan County program through Lake Michigan College.
Through the ECAC, students can graduate high school with an associate’s degree, beginning this fall with about 50 students, perhaps as many as 10 students in Wayland eligible to participate at the Allegan Tech Center. Though the program has been touted as free, it would cost the local district a portion of its state aid funding.
Wayland Superintendent Norm Taylor said state aid cost for each student in the fall would be $2,522.78, so if 10 students enroll, the expense would be more than $25,000. He added that the local school district would lose two halves of state aid and then in the third year recoup about half.
“So we’d pay about $100,000 to finance education (over three years) beyond K-12,” he said.
Taylor said about $46,000 is being spent now for almost two dozen students to take between three and 12 credits, particularly in advanced placement calculus.
But with this program, he said his misgivings as that, “The state is having difficulty funding us properly for 13 years (K-12), and the down the road it could be funding us for as much as 15 years.”
But he told school board members, “Whether or not you endorse this resolution (of support), it wouldn’t affect our ability to participate.”
Board Trustee Gary Wood, before the vote was taken, said, “I’m struggling with this. We have a lot of other things we have to pay for besides committing $100,000 to something that’s outside our charge. The question is, is this something we can afford to do this year?”
The ECAC program extends high school by one year, allowing students to graduate with both a high school diploma and an associate’s degree, or LMC credits that can be transferred to a four-year university.
· All ECAC students will attend college classes at the Tech Center in Allegan.
· Students can choose between an associate of arts degree and an associate’s of applied sciences in business degree.
· ECAC is a three-year plan where students take a mix of high school courses and college courses each year of 11th, 12th and 13th year.
· Students will not pay for classes, books or transportation to the Tech Center for college courses.
· ECAC students can participate in high school sports and extra-curricular activities during 11th and 12th grade as course schedules permit; and can participate in college intramural sports teams and clubs during the 13th year as course schedules permit.
· Students will receive guidance from an administrator or advisor for individual needs throughout the three years
ECAC students must apply; selection is based on GPA and test scores and recommendations. Each student and his/her family will also be interviewed by the ECAC Advisory Team.
Students must apply during their 10th grade year. Each year, 50 students from across the Allegan Area ESA will be accepted into the program. Those 50 slots will be split among the AAESA’s seven districts – Allegan, Fennville, Hopkins, Martin, Otsego, Plainwell and Wayland.
