Schools

District's Enrollment Drops Lower Than Projected

Huron Valley has 150 fewer students than in fall 2010, according to unofficial tally.

An unofficial tally of the number of students in the Huron Valley school district shows that enrollment has dropped, but not by as much as officials had projected.

"It is encouraging that it is slightly higher than budgeted, and we will have a confirmation of the count in November," said Janet Roberts, director of community relations.

According to Roberts, the district unofficially has 9,947 students, down from 150 in fall 2010. However, the district had projected a decrease of 212 students from last fall.

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The district also projected a blended count decrease of 197 students for the 2011-2012 school year. A blended count is the combination of the fall count, and spring count. Using a formula dictated by the state, the district blends the two numbers to come up with a final enrollment number for state-aid purposes.

Count day was on Oct. 5 this year, and the numbers won't be official until they are audited and confirmed by the state.

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Student counts help to determine the amount of state aid a district will receive, which is why districts push to have all students present and accounted for on count days. Some schools districts, such as Detroit Public Schools, have gone as far as to hold pizza parties and ice cream socials in order to bolster attendance.

"Based on the unaudited count, and considering the new blended formula from the state, our blended decrease would be 164 students," Roberts said.

This is 33 students less than the district anticipated losing, so the district should receive approximately $226,000 in additional state aid based on the state's $6,948 per student.

In addition, Roberts said the district was pleased to see that only a few kids left the district after the earlier this year.

"We only had about a dozen students go to another district as a result of the closing of HMS," Roberts said. "Granted, we do not want anyone to leave HVS, but we respect the right of parents to choose their educational options."

Official, audited, count day numbers are expected in November. 


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