PERRY – The Houston County Board of Education approved a lower tuition rate for out-of-county students whose parents work for the school system.

The action took place Tuesday at the board’s regular monthly meeting.

Stephen Thublin, assistant superintendent for finance and business operations, said the tuition of $2,241 per full-time student is $613 less than last year’s charge.

The system had removed its “Local Fair Share” amount of $16.7 million from the budget as required by state regulations this year, he said.

With other amounts removed from the FY10 budget that left $57.1 million divided by 25,498, the number of full-time students at midterm last year, for an average of $2,241. Tuition last year amounted to $2,854 per student.

“In these times of financial hardship, I’m glad to see a decrease in the amount families would have to pay,” said board member Fred Wilson.

In other action Tuesday the board:

° Approved getting together after its meeting Oct. 20 to discuss the system’s strategic plan and review the Balanced Scorecard report from the state. The report should be in toward the end of this month, said Wanda Creel, assistant superintendent for teaching and learning, and will incorporate the revised AYP report from the state Department of Education.

° Approved a revision of its policy governing instructional resources, specifically the use of videos or DVDs in class. The new policy requires showing just excerpts from longer videos so as to allow analysis and discussion. “Sometimes entire periods would be used for video or DVD showings, and that’s not the best use of time for the learning process,” Creel said.

° Approved a supplemental education services waiver request letter for Northside High School. The school used to be in Needs Improvement status under No Child Left Behind, but it is an effective service provider, said Creel. The state Department of Education will vote on the matter in November, she said.