Members of the Little Compton School Committee could vote next month on whether to raise tuition for its out-of-district students, after four years of no increases.

Currently, Little Compton charges out-of-town residents $6,000 per year to send their children to Wilbur McMahon, and this year 34 such students are enrolled here, bringing in just over $200,000. That tuition amount hasn’t changed in four years, but committee member Michael Rocha said at last week’s meeting that it’s time to consider it:

“It seems like our budgets keep going up and up every year,” he said. “But we flatline on our tuition rate at $6,000. If you look at the amount of increasing costs that this district has taken on, that is not reflected” in the tuition rate.

Committee members estimated it costs about $26,000 to $29,000 per year to educate each Little Compton student, and committee chairman Travis Auty later said that if out-of-district students were taken out of the equation, the cost would be approximately $31,000 per pupil. Meanwhile, Little Compton pays $16,000 to the Portsmouth school department for every local student who attends Portsmouth High School.

Given those numbers, Rocha said, “we’re not being responsible by not keeping our numbers in line.”

Auty said at the meeting that while he is not opposed to an increase, it needs to be considered carefully in light of the economic times and the situation Tiverton, which recently closed the Fort Barton School starting next year, is going through. Perception is reality, he said.

“I think about the parents who want to send their child here, and the rate at which it’s at, and I would hate to see an increase that inhibits” future out-of-district enrollment, he said. “I am sensitive to what’s going on in Tiverton right now. I do also think that taking advantage of the situation that they’re going through is not a good look for our community and us being neighborly.”

Superintendent Dr. Laurie Dias-Mitchell agreed that Little Compton should tread lightly on the issue, and must be transparent as officials discuss potential increases. Referring to Rocha’s comparison of what Little Compton pays vs. what it’s charged by Portsmouth, she said they’re vastly different animals:

“We don’t have a high school,” she said, adding that it costs more to educate a high school student than a grade or middle schooler.

“We have no choice but to outsource (those high schoolers). Our tuition families do have options, and they will exercise those options if the tuition rate is not attractive. There’s the difference — they have opted to come here. We have no options.”

Auty said he hasn’t settled on a rate, or even a structure, for any potential increases, though a theoretical flat $500 hike was discussed informally at last week’s meeting.

Instead, he proposed a few ideas, including keeping things as is, or approving an increase with or without financial incentives for families of students who excel academically, have a solid attendance record, or are “good citizens” in school.

He admitted he doesn’t know if such an incentive system is even possible. But in any case, he said, it needs to be a community discussion and “we really want to get the conversation going. It’s very important that the public takes part in this.”

School committee members are expected to hold a workshop with public discussion on the matter at the beginning of next month’s meeting, and could possibly take a vote at that time.

— With reports by Christian Silvia