Schools report enrollment ups and downs

COLUMBIA BASIN - Some Columbia Basin school districts are more crowded and some have extra wiggle room, according to initial enrollment counts.

The state provides funding based on the number of students attending school within a district.

Ephrata, Moses Lake, Othello, Quincy and Soap Lake reported increases in enrollment.

Royal City, Wahluke and Warden reported decreases in enrollment.

The districts noted school enrollment numbers change during the year.

Ephrata reported 2,160 full-time students counted for the month of September.

District Superintendent Jerry Simon said the school district based its budget on 2,122 students.

"We're feeling pretty good about that," Simon said.

The district is operating conservatively because enrollment could change significantly at the end of the year, he said.

Moses Lake reported 7,112 full-time students, approximately 150 students more than last year, said Assistant Superintendent of Business and Operations Monte Redal.

The number is 200 more students than the district budgeted for, Redal said.

"We learned the lesson (in 2001-2002) to be conservative about our budgeting," Redal said.

Enrollment decreased by 130 students in the 2001 school year, he said.

Othello School District had a total head count of 3,467 students, an increase of 140 students, said Administrative Assistant Lucy Fleishman. The number includes both full-time and part-time students.

Quincy School District reported 2,415 full-time students this year, an increase of 72 students.

"We put together very conservative estimates for the budget, and so we're substantially above our budgeted number for the year," Superintendent Burton Dickerson said at a board meeting, when numbers were announced.

Royal School District Business Manager Clinton Sherman said the school district's full-time enrollment was 1,400, nine students fewer than last year.

"I don't worry about it until January," Sherman said.

He said the state provides funding based on a district's budgeted counts until January, and then switches to actual enrollment counts.

Even though the number of students is below last year, it is still more than the district's budgeted amount, Sherman noted.

Soap Lake School District Superintendent John Adkins said 487 full-time students were counted in September, an increase of 42 students compared with last year's count.

"September, I think not just in Soap Lake but in most other districts, it comes in strong," he noted.

The school district budgeted conservatively for approximately 440 students, he said.

Wahluke School District reported an increase of 85 students in overall head count, and a decrease of about 14 students enrolled full time, reported District Superintendent Gary Greene.

The head count is 1,941 students, and the full-time count is 1,829 students.

The school district budgeted for 1,780 full-time students, he said.

"We're very conservative when we budget our (full-time enrollment)," Greene said.

Warden School District Superintendent Sandra Sheldon said enrollment counts were at 959 students, 13 students fewer than last year.

"(The number) probably isn't real significant, with last year being a year for some reason that spiked," Sheldon said.

She noted in the 2006-2007 school year, 950 students were counted.