LIMA — Bath school board members have begun discussion on possibly terminating or scaling back its College Credit Plus partnership with Rhodes State College because of its cost.
Bath and other school districts throughout the state previously had offered dual enrollment, contracts worked out with districts and universities to get college credit while in high school. However, as the trend to take college courses became more popular, the Ohio legislature became concerned with classes offered actually being college level. The Ohio General Assembly switched from dual enrollment to the College Credit Plus program to assure classes were more challenging, however the move also came at a cost.
“We were able to work out a deal where the colleges were able to count the students on their enrollment,” Bath Superintendent Dale Lewellen said. “We had a zero dollar deal.”
However, the changes now have the district paying out what Lewellen estimated as 95 percent of the costs with CCP. Board members accepted those costs Tuesday at its board meeting to the tune of $25,000 to $40,000. Lewellen said it was time for the board to evaluate the benefits and the costs.
“We have to make an assessment,” Lewellen said. “We may have to scale back.”
Lewellen said he understood that the state wanted to ensure that students were receiving college-level education. However, he said the cost is heavy for school districts.
“I believe they can address it without the financial burden,” Lewellen said.
Lewellen said he had heard concerns in other areas of the state with the program, but said he felt that Bath and other schools in northwestern Ohio were meeting the challenges of making the classes through dual enrollment. He said he hopes something can be done because students that know where they plan to go to school get a maximum benefit out of the program.
Bath also sponsors CCP at the school with Findlay University, as well as signed agreements with other local universities. Lewellen said that “Rhodes was not the bad guy” in the situation, as other schools had already been charging according to the new regulations. He said the district has about a four to six month window to make a decision, which would be effective for the 2018-19 school year. The changes would only affect classes on the Bath campus and taught by Bath teachers.
