Elmhurst D205 Charges Students $18,519 For Attendance

ELMHURST, IL – Elmhurst School District 205 is charging $18,519 for the attendance of two students who do not live in the district.

Last week, the school board unanimously approved a resolution disenrolling the pair, referred to as "Student G" and "Student H." Board President Athena Arvanitis was absent from the meeting.

According to the resolution, the students have not been residents since the beginning of the school year.

The resolution, which Patch obtained through a public records request, did not indicate whether the students were from one family.

Last month, the board approved resolutions disenrolling five students who the district said did not live in its jurisdiction. In those cases, the resolutions did not require any tuition to be paid.

In a statement to Patch last month, Tonya Daniels, the district's spokesperson, said the details of each case vary, but "our goal is always to handle these situations with sensitivity and to minimize impact on the students' education."

School districts have ways to find out whether students live in their jurisdictions. Some send mailers to every student's house and look into those that get returned.

The Elmhurst school board's discussions about the resolutions were behind closed doors, which is allowed under the state's open meetings law.

As of last school year, Elmhurst's enrollment was 8,209. The number has declined 4.6 percent over the last eight years, with enrollment at 8,599 in 2018, according to state records.