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Poverty continues to rise in Janesville schools

JANESVILLE — The number of low-income students continues to rise in the Janesville School District.

The proportion of students who qualify for free or reduced lunch under the federal lunch program rose from 31.44 percent in 2006-07 to 33.07 percent in 2007-08.

The Janesville School Board will hear a report on these and other student demographics when it meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

The proportion of students considered low income has risen steadily for at least the past 10 years.

Overall enrollment as of September 2008 was up by 195, to 10,549, but that is due to the new 4-year-old kindergarten program, known as Preschool 4 Janesville, or P4J.

The number of students in kindergarten through 12th grade dropped by 173.

The Hispanic population is the fastest-growing of the ethnic groups. Hispanic students make up 8.2 percent of the district’s enrollment this school year. The number of Hispanic students rose from 778 the previous year to 866.

Not all Hispanic students need help learning English, but the district also has seen a surge in the number of students who need help in this area, and most of them are Spanish speakers.

The number of homeless students was 315 in 2007-08, compared with 312 the previous year.

Wilson Elementary School had the highest rate of low-income students, 99.1 percent. Next in line were Jackson Elementary, 54 percent, and Madison Elementary, 51.5 percent.

The proportion of black students remains steady this year, at 6 percent, or 638 students.

The number of students identified as Asian remains unchanged, at 236.

The number of white students actually rose for the first time in many years, from 8,685 last year to 8,788 this year. Whites now account for 83.2 percent of the enrollment.

One number that has not yet been released is the enrollment as of Jan. 9, when the state-mandated headcount was taken. District officials have been documenting students who weren’t in school Jan. 9 before they have to report it to the state. They promise the count will be available Tuesday.

Perhaps the most important number as the school board and administration prepare next year’s budget is the number of students who will walk through the doors next September.

Officials are concerned that families hit by layoffs over the past eight months might leave town to find work after school ends in June. A big drop in enrollment would mean a big drop in school revenue.

Officials are considering a survey of parents next month to find out how many are considering leaving.

ON THE AGENDA

The Janesville School Board meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Educational Services Center, 527 S. Franklin St.

The agenda includes:

-- Approval of snow-day makeup dates and an additional date that could be used if weather forces a school closing again this year. The Janesville Education Association is expected to finalize its picks for makeup dates tonight. This also will be discussed when the board’s personnel committee meets at 6:15 p.m.

-- Approval of a committee of district staff members who will interview candidates for superintendent in March. This also will be discussed when the board’s personnel committee meets at 6:15 p.m.

-- A vote on a second reading of a new policy that would allow sports teams to raise money to buy equipment.

-- An update on planning for the introduction of foreign-language instruction in elementary schools.

-- A closed session to consider preliminary teacher layoff notices for performance reasons.

The board also meets at 5 p.m. Tuesday to hear a presentation from Energy Education Inc., regarding an energy-conservation program that the company is trying to sell to the district.

And, the board meets in closed session at 5:50 p.m. to approve or reject the expulsions of six students.

The main meeting will be shown live on Janesville cable channels 96 and 993 and replayed on Thursday and Sunday at midnight, 3 a.m., 6 a.m., noon, 3 p.m., 6 p.m. and 9 p.m.