'College in the High School' payment plan discussed

WARDEN — A proposal to help Warden High School students pay for College in the High School classes will be discussed by Warden School Board members at their Nov. 14 meeting.

The proposal was a topic at the Oct. 24 meeting, but board members asked for more research before making a decision.

The College in the High School (CIHS) program allows qualifying WHS juniors and seniors to take courses for college credits. The district has agreements with Big Bend Community College, Eastern Washington University and Central Washington University and offers 10 CIHS classes, five each semester, for the 2019-20 school year.

The schedule includes two classes per year in science, math, English and humanities, and one class each in history and political science for the year. Students can take a maximum of eight classes per year, four classes each semester.

But the classes are college classes, so there’s a fee. Warden is part of a grant program that allows the district to pay the fee for two classes per student, for a maximum of 55 students. Students pay the fees for any other classes they take.

Currently BBCC and EWU classes are $375 per class, while CWU classes are $275 per class. District superintendent Dave LaBounty said students could still take the classes without paying the fee, but that they don’t receive college credit. The course is listed as a college-level course on the student’s WHS transcript.

Currently the high school’s CIHS program has 45 students. The total cost of classes not covered by the grant program for 2019-20 would be $10,575. Whether or not the district would share the cost of the classes after the current school year is one of the questions the board will discuss Nov. 14. Board chair Doug Skone said board members want to be sure the district can keep paying the costs in the long term.

Qualifying WHS students also are eligible for the Running Start program, where juniors and seniors attend college and receive both college and high school credit. Running Start is free to the student.

Skone said he would prefer that the district pay the remaining CIHS costs. Board member Bryce Cox said in his opinion the CIHS program provides more accountability than the Running Start program.

A district patron attending the meeting said some kids she has talked to prefer the Running Start program due to what she called the “drama” at WHS. In order to attract those students back to WHS, district officials have to address what those students see as issues in school culture, she said.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at education@columbiabasinherald.com.