Video: School Absences Hit Your Pocketbook

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COLUMBUS, MISS. (WCBI) – The next time your friend talks about taking their child out of school to go on vacation early, you might not just brush it off. It could be hitting your pocketbook. That’s right, we all pay for school absenteeism. Last year, Columbus schools lost $800,000  in state funds. It was $880,000 in Starkville, contributing to a tax increase this year.

One, two or three missed school days might not seem like a lot…but everyday counts when it comes to academic success.

” It’s clear that if a student missed 10 or more days of absences, that they actually fall behind a year or more behind their peers, ” said Columbus Schools Superintendent, Doctor Philip Hickman.

And if academic setbacks aren’t bad enough, the financial impact is a double whammy.

“Obviously as a district, last year we lost $800,073 and lost revenues due to absences and some of the absences were because we have a rule that a student has to attend school for 4.5 hours and so some parents checked their child out 20 minutes before that time frame but other ones were just students who didn’t come to school,” said Dr. Hickman.

School officials are taking the anti-absenteeism message to the streets, hoping the community will get involved.

” Send your child to school. We have a school nurse in effect to where we can evaluate your child and their performance to see if they need to go home or if they can still go to school but other aspects of it, sometimes beyond parents control, and we want to make sure as a community, we develop and talk to our nonprofit organizations to be able to be resourceful,” said Dr. Hickman.

Some districts are trying to use rewards as an incentive. Dr. Hickman wants community’s support by donating non-cash incentives, like gift certificates, to award those with good attendance.