Homewood-Flossmoor High School continues to be a destination school and school administrators are working hard to make certain each of the 2,767 students enrolled lives within the District 233 boundaries.
Assistant Principal Jim Schmidt, who is responsible for student attendance, reported to the district’s Finance Committee in December that for the 2024-25 school year 277 students transferred to H-F.
Over summer 2025, the office did 793 resident in-person verifications. H-F uses a program that has a high degree of accuracy on current resident addresses, he said.
Of the 793 that came in, 92 were incoming freshmen from feeder schools; 391 were returning students; 215 were transferred.
“So far, this year we’ve denied 131 students that came through in-person, compared to 121 denials the entire 24-25 school year,” Schmidt said.
“We have students who are coming in all the time,” he said, telling committee members that between Oct. 10 and Dec. 1, 17 new families came in asking for admission to H-F. He expects that number to rise again by the end of January.
The admissions office team includes two residency officers who make inquiries throughout the year at students’ homes to verify addresses, but many are done in summer. “Once we get into the school year, they’re our front line. They meet with all of our new families,” Schmidt said.
New this year is student registrations being done through an online platform.
Schmidt shared the breakdown for student families: 1,950 are homeowners, 267 are in shared custody, 474 are leasing, and 38 are classified as unhoused.
When the district is suspicious of a residency claim, the investigation can take between three and six weeks. When Schmidt believes the student doesn’t reside in District 233, the evidence is presented to the parent or guardian who makes a decision whether to withdraw or challenge the district’s findings.
Schmidt said the district uses two law firms to handle residency issues.
“Last year seven families withdrew when challenged and one challenged (the district). This year 10 withdrew, and there is one hearing (scheduled),” Schmidt said. “The last hearing that we just did, the cost for that hearing officer was $2,100.”
Flossmoor District 161 and Homewood District 153 are the feeder schools for H-F. Each district faces questions of residency but each district uses a different system in checking students’ residency. Schmidt said they are working for better coordination.
