Caldwell County School officials are waiting to increase the district's minimum dropout age because the district is not prepared to implement a program to prevent students from dropping out past the age of 16.
More than 100 districts have increased their dropout age to 18 voluntarily, in part, to receive a $10-thousand incentive from the Commonwealth.
According to state law, all districts must increase their dropout age to 18 within four years.
Caldwell will wait until the 2017/18 school year. Superintendent Carrell Boyd says the program could be costly and expansive for a small district like Caldwell.
"So, it’s not as simple as having a program in place, it’s also the fight in trying to get the backgrounds of these students to let them see that this is going to lead to their success – having an education," he said. "You know, I wish we could say we’re one hundred percent complete at that, but we’re not at this stage."
Boyd says his district will explore implementing the law sooner, but until then, the district will continue to work hard to prevent students from dropping out at any age.
