Schools
Springfield School Board Reluctantly Votes Yes on Vo-Tech Tuitions
In vote, board makes clear that result would be different if not for legal obligation.
When voting in favor of paying tuition for Springfield students attending Union County's Vo-Tech School, Springfield school officials emphasized they were only doing so because they had to.
Last year, the school board informed the vo-tech system they from the school. The board contended that in light of the district's complete , they were not legally obligated to pay the tuition. The Vo-Tech school agreed to accept the students without tuition payments. Parents questioned the Board's legal right to stop payments and criticized the district for not notifying them of their intentions.
Ultimately, the Board opted to make the payments, fearing prohibitive cost of litigation.
Find out what's happening in Springfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
At their meeting on Monday, Sept. 19, the board voted to enter a tuition agreement with the County Vo-Tech School. Before the vote, board members criticized the school for a recent, tax-payer funded promotional mailing. During the vote, they made their reluctance clear.
"[I vote] yes, under protest because we're under a legal obligation to do so," Board member Jacqueline Shanes said.
Find out what's happening in Springfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
