By Tabitha Evans Moore, EDITOR & PUBLISHER

LYNCHBURG, Tenn. — All school-aged children in the State of Tennessee are entitled to free public education in the school district in which they reside. Sometimes, however, there are compelling reasons for a child to transfer from one school district to another.

For example, teachers who live in other counties but teach in Moore County often prefer that their children attend the same school system where they teach. Sometimes a child will transfer to avoid bullying at their previous school. At other times, a school’s strengths are a better match for the student’s need – whether that be a high performance or a special education requirement.

Whatever the reason, there’s a cost associated with educating that transfer student, and many systems like Moore County don’t feel it’s fair to ask local property taxpayers to foot that bill, and so they charge out-of-district tuition. In Moore County, that rate is $400 per student with a $1200 cap per family. State law allows up to $5,000 per student annually in non-resident tuition.

On Monday night, the Moore County board of Education voted unanimously to leave non-resident student tuition rates at their current level for the 2025-26 school year. Jammie Cashion made the motion, and Ed Cashion seconded it. It passed unanimously with yes votes also coming from Chair Tanya Vann, Carrie Barnett, and Kaleigh Fletcher.

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Amount equals actual costs

That amount isn’t arbitrary. It equals “the amount of local funds actually used for school purposes by the school district per student during the preceding school year minus any funds received from the student’s resident district,” according to the online policy. To read the complete policy, click here.

Per Director of Schools Chad Moorehead, there are 65 non-resident students currently attending Moore County schools. Per Board policy, 18 of those do not pay tuition because one or both parents works inside the Moore County School District.

Based on February’s TISA estimate, the state provides $6,875 per pupil in funding –which means the 46 non-resident students generate $446,875 in state funding.

According to a survey of other South Central school districts that Director Moorehead conducted last year, parents in surrounding counties pay between $300 (Fayetteville) and $2,000 (Lawrence County) annually in non-resident tuition. Other South Central districts like Coffee County, Franklin County, and Lincoln County do not charge non-resident tuition.

“Tuition levels being lower than what the state allows us to charge waters down
our local per pupil expenditure, but brings in significant state funding,” Director Moorehead explained. “However, we do not accept students if it would cause us to
have to hire teachers.”

Director Moorehead also stressed that accepting non-resident students is at his discretion and that they can be turned away or removed if the become a behavior, attendance, or academic issue.

Board of Education meeting take place on the second Monday of each month at either the MCHS Library or the Moore County Board of Education Building at 6 p.m. They are open to the public and any individual may address the Board during the public input period.  To read their public comment policy, click here.

The next Moore County School Board meeting will take place on Monday, April 14. You can obtain a copy of the agenda here. •

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