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R-2 Enrollment
Continues Downward Trend; Salaries, Graduation Rates Up The 2005-06 school year proved to be a year of ups and downs for the Chillicothe R-2 School District - at least as far as the district's “Report Card” is concerned. The graduation rate went up, as did the attendance rate. The enrollment went down, along with the number of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunches. The amount of money spent on each pupil went up and so did the salaries of the districts administrators and teachers. Prepared annually by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education as required by state law, the Chillicothe R-2 School District's report card shows that number of students enrolled in the district dropped by 54 from the year previous to 1,874. Students that were enrolled in R-2 classes logged an attendance rate of 95 percent, (slightly higher than the 2005 rate) and fewer of them were eligible to qualify for the free or reduced-price lunch program. According to DESE stats, 38.8 percent (or 722) qualified for the program, which is down 46 from the year earlier. The graduation rate for Chillicothe R-2 School District in 2005-06 was 92.1 percent, up from 89 percent. Superintendent Dale Wallace noted the rate is calculated by the number of freshmen who enter high school graduate four years later. On the other end of the spectrum, the district's dropout rate (calculated from the number of students who report to school that year and later drop out) jumped from 2.8 percent to 4.9 percent - a five-year high. Wallace said it is hoped that the district's new Chillicothe Alternative Center for Education, which is in its inaugural year, will keep “at risk” students in school. Chillicothe's teachers and administrators were paid more in 2006 than the year previous. According to the report, teachers in the Chillicothe R-2 school district were paid an average regular term salary of $38,892. That figure, stats show, is $2,045 less than the statewide average. Chillicothe R-2 Administrators were paid an average of $72,725, less than the statewide average of $75,236. |
