School districts take count of enrollment

In taking the September student head count Wednesday some schools saw their number increase significantly, and some have seen numbers drop, but the common denominator in both cases appears to be the economy.

Michigan’s school aid is based 75 percent on the number of students in attendance on the fourth Wednesday in September and 25 percent on attendance taken on a date in February. The numbers are blended to determine the level of funding each school will receive.

McBain’s numbers are up significantly.

McBain Rural Agricultural Schools’ superintendent Mike Harris said their student count is 1,085, up by 72 compared to last February’s count.

Part of the increase is due to a shared-time teacher partnership with Northern Michigan Christian School, Harris said.

Still, even if the 34 students involved in the collaboration with NMC are taken out, McBain schools are still up by 38.

Some local private schools have experienced a decrease in enrollment due to the tight economy, which is seen as one of the factors driving up enrollment at some public schools, particularly McBain.

Numbers were also up for Lake City Area Schools. Compared to the spring count, the school system is up 5 1/2 students. It had a gain of 10 students over last fall’s 1,153.

But student numbers in Marion took a big hit. Marion Public Schools had a student count of 595, down 62 from last year’s number of 657.

Cadillac Area Public Schools also saw a decrease.

Prior to Wednesday’s count, CAPS Superintendent Paul Liabenow said a projected decrease of 35 students was expected. When the final tally was taken Wednesday, however, the decline in enrollment was actually 53 students. That decrease represents $387,000 in lost revenue, Liabenow said. Fortunately, the district had already budgeted for a loss of 35 students, and will have to make up only the $131,000 portion of the shortfall.

"We are disappointed we lost more than anticipated, but we are not extremely surprised due to the challenges we are facing in our economy," Liabenow said. "We saw an increase at the elementary level but a drop in grades six through twelve."

Student count numbers for Reed City went in the right direction. Official unaudited numbers settled at 1686.24, including elementary, middle school, high school and alternative education students.

The number is up 1.24 from spring 2008 counts, and higher than the number of students estimated for the school’s budget.

Buckley Community Schools had numbers that came in at 413.9, compared to last year’s 398.

"So we went up," said Superintendent Steve Prissel.

That was good news, because the district had budgeted based on last year’s numbers, Prissel said.

"With a lot of districts seeing declining enrollment, we were fortunate to see it go up," Prissel said.

The increase could be due to the high cost of gas, which would make parents less likely to transport students to other districts, Prissel said.

But other positive influences could be the bond the district passed in 2006 to improve facilities and resources.

"I’m proud of the staff. I think they represent us well. We’ve made some good changes in the last three years," Prissel said.

Mesick Consolidated Schools came in at 787, down from last year.

"We are down 10, and part of it, the decrease, is because we had a large graduating class," said Nancy Raymond, secretary to the superintendent.

In Manton Consolidated Schools, the student count was down, but only slightly.

Last year Manton counted 1,057, and on Wednesday the school had 1,054.

"That’s a very minimal change," said Superintendent Mark Parsons.

If everything stays the same, the school district could end up with a blended count number of 1,052, which would be eight more than they budgeted for.

"We’re very, very pleased with the number," Parsons said.

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