Novi Community School District - History

History

In 1990 the district began offering the "Here Comes the Bus System," an invention which alerts parents that the school bus is within 2 miles (3.2 km) of the bus stop so that students do not have to wait for long periods of time at bus stops. Parents could pay $25 (about $43.93 when adjusted for inflation) per year and a deposit in order to use the service. In the decade leading up to 2005, the school district's enrollment increased from 3,790 to 6,150 and the budget increased from $29 million (about $43693164.45 when adjusted for inflation) to $60 million (about $70529902.88 when adjusted for inflation). Around 2005 district administrators anticipated that newly-established housing developments in northern and western Novi would add 1,600 houses to the district. In 2005 the school district proposed giving random drug tests to students involved in all extracurricular activities.

In 2010, the Japanese School of Detroit (JSD), an educational institution that offers Japanese classes on Saturdays, announced that it was relocating to Novi. It entered into a 10 year agreement with the school district and began to use Novi Meadows Elementary School to conduct classes. It moved in the northern hemisphere summer of 2011. Superintendent Steve Matthews said that he expected for the Japanese population in the school district to increase due to the move of JSD.

After the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami occurred, the school district advised school staff to be sensitive to students who may have been affected by the disaster, as many of the district's students were Japanese or of Japanese descent.