By Crystal Hayduk
Many public school districts are seeing a decline in student numbers due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Chelsea School District (CSD) is no exception.
Superintendent Julie Helber reported the estimated Oct. 7 student count is 2,317— 114 fewer than last year’s fall count of 2,431. This number includes a total of 58 School of Choice students—31 from the previous two school years, and 27 who enrolled for 2020-21. It also includes 26 children of employees who reside in other districts, enrolled under a separate program.
The student count is preliminary until the end of the customary 30-day count window.
Pandemic response required adjustments in how a student’s attendance is counted in a virtual or hybrid format.
According to a memo dated Aug. 21 from Kyle L. Guerrant, Michigan Department of Education’s (MDE) deputy superintendent, the state’s Return to Learn legislation modified the traditional requirement for 180 days of physical attendance to a measurement of two-way interaction between teachers and students. The interaction is defined as teacher-initiated communication with a response from the student, which must be relevant to course content, and can occur through a variety of platform options.
Helber said the district is counting virtual/remote learning attendance by documenting teacher/student interactions through face-to-face, email, phone, or video communication. “In order to count for state aid membership, these two-way interactions must happen once in each class every week for four consecutive weeks following the count day on Wednesday,” she said. “We were able to capture most of our students through video communication.”
An accurate student count is essential because it is the basis for school funding. School districts receive a state-determined dollar amount per pupil, the Foundation Allowance. It is the revenue source that provides most of the money for day-to-day operations, including staff salaries, course programming, instructional materials for students and staff, and more.
CSD’s 2020-21 Foundation Allowance will be $8,138 per student, the same as last year.
Helber said the district is fortunate that the state is using information from last year’s final count and this year’s count to determine an estimated enrollment number as a funding factor during the pandemic.
William DiSessa, MDE spokesperson, described the state’s super blend weighted formula for student count as the sum of 75 percent of the 2020 fiscal year (FY) enrollment and 25 percent of the 2021 FY enrollment.
Plugging in 75 percent of CSD’s blended enrollment figure from FY 2020 (2,430.09) and 25 percent of FY 2021 (currently estimated at 2,317) to the equation results in an estimated number of 2,401.82, said Helber.
Helber confirmed a variety of reasons for the drop in the student count. Some families have chosen to homeschool; or enroll their children in private, charter, or other schools that are providing in-person instruction. Some families with the youngest learners have chosen to delay school entry.
The next legislated count day is expected to be Feb. 10, 2021.
