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Northern Rural Schools Get Sparcity Aid

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Wisconsin's most rural school districts...including several in the Northwoods...are getting money from the state to help meet expenses.

Department of Public Instruction spokesperson Tom McCarthy says the state allocates sparcity aid to small, rural districts who are required to provide curriculum and services, but don't have the student numbers to easily afford it...

"....designed to help districts alleviate budget pressures that come when you don't have economies of scale or you have larger transportation issues caused by economies of scale or classroom issues, again caused by economies of scale. Small, rural districts have unique financial pressures put on them by the fact they don't have as many students. They're often in areas with less population and less economic flexibility...."

For the next school year, 141 districts qualified for sparsity aid based on enrollments of 745 or fewer students and membership of less than 10 pupils per square mile of the district’s geographic area.

Among the districts in the Northwoods, Lakeland Union High School picked up the most, at just over $200,000, Lac du Flambeau $155,000, Three Lakes picked up $139,000 with money going to several other districts. The money will be sent out in September.

A listing of the districts and dollar amounts ishere.

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