Mount Pleasant Finance Committee Eyes Home school Program Expansion, District Partnerships
MOUNT PLEASANT — The Mount Pleasant Community School District’s finance committee met Friday to explore expanding its home school assistance program (HSAP) and setting up 28E agreements with neighboring districts.
The conversation centered on how the district can meet increasing demand from families both inside and outside the district who want to access home school support while retaining connections to their home districts for activities like sports and extracurricular.
Lynn Haffner, who oversees the HSAP alongside Dr. Butler, explained that the program currently serves about 118 students, nearing its capacity. With Iowa law capping caseloads at 50 students per full-time teacher (or 25 per half-time teacher), the district has already discussed hiring an additional half-time staff member to accommodate next year’s numbers.
The committee considered formal agreements that would let students from districts like Danville, New London, and Mediapolis stay enrolled at home for sports while accessing Mount Pleasant’s HSAP. Funding would be split between the districts, with Mount Pleasant receiving about 0.3 weighting per student.
Committee members raised concerns about quickly hitting capacity, Dr. Butler urged a cautious approach. Administrators discussed drafting a template agreement, and the board will revisit the issue at a later meeting.