Hoping to recruit more students, Centerville-Abington Community Schools might drive one or two buses into other school districts to pick up transfer students.
On February’s state-required count day, CACS had 1,606 students, not including preschoolers. Enrollment is down 20 from Fall 2025, down 67 from one year ago, and down 122 from two years ago. State funding follows each child, so fewer students means less money toward instruction and operating costs for aging buildings.
Thus, CACS officials have been conducting research and speaking with other superintendents about the possibility of picking up transfer students.
Superintendent Mike McCoy said the district isn’t going to grow from within and that they’ve gone many years without busing in students, but they now need to “join the club.” Nettle Creek and Northeastern currently offer that service, he said.
One prior obstacle for CACS to pick up transfer students has been recruiting bus drivers, but it now has a few who are newly licensed or finishing training, making the expansion possible.
During their Feb. 25 meeting, McCoy asked the board to change a policy so CACS could provide transportation for transfer students through centralized pickup and dropoff locations. Transfer students wouldn’t be picked up at their homes.
That policy advanced to a second reading and potential adoption at the board’s next meeting, 7 p.m. March 11, at the administration building, 115 W. South St., Centerville. The public is invited.
McCoy said he’s aware of 20 students within CACS’ boundaries who are homeschooled and 22 participating in online schools. He’s also aware of additional families not counted in those totals who are buying houses in the district but aren’t sending their children to public schools.
McCoy and Assistant Superintendent Sean Stevenson have been brainstorming ideas about the most advantageous locations for transfer student pickups near boundaries. McCoy said pickup sites would be most likely in places where they currently have very few students.
McCoy wants to get the word out about the possibility and determine community interest. Families would need to sign up for busing, and the service would need to pay for itself. If approved, pickups would start in August.
Synchronous learning
McCoy updated the board on synchronous learning plans and provided a demonstration. Further research determined CACS would not need to upgrade its Google Meet subscription for classes longer than an hour because they can go longer through the district’s current online system.
Students can access all their learning programs in one place through the Clever platform, which is connected to their student Gmail accounts.
After the board supported the plans, CACS sent out instructions to families on Feb. 26 in case that service is needed for bad weather.
In other business
- Donation: InfinitPrint Solutions Inc., $693 to sponsor an eighth grader for the spring Washington, D.C., field trip
- Agreement: CACS approved the annual joint service agreement with Centerville-Fayette Special Services with some attorney-recommended changes to provide legal insurance for director Meagan Gilman.
Personnel
- New hire: Dawn Sweet, work-based learning/career coach
- Pending hires: Regina Shepard, CAE cafeteria dishwasher; Autumn Wyatt, CJHS/CSHS substitute teacher
- Departures: Elisha Vecera, CAE Learning Lab; Destinee Guess, RH teaching assistant
A version of this article appeared in the March 4 2026 print edition of the Western Wayne News.