Wednesday was Student Count Day across the state for district schools.
It’s an important day when it comes to the amount of per pupil school aid the district receives from state.
In Chelsea, Superintendent Andy Ingall said the district number was 2,433 students, down 55 students from the fall count in 2012.
“I would divide that number into two areas, representing a loss of 18 (students) and a loss of 37 (students) totaling 55,” he said via email.
The loss of 18 students can be attributed to the Cassidy Lake Special Alternative Incarceration (Department of Corrections) Facility, he said, explaining that as of Sept. 30, the district no longer runs the program.
“We are no longer the program operator, instead the department is running the program ‘in house’, and there were 18 FTE in the program at our count day last fall,” he said.
Explaining the loss of the additional 37 students, Ingall said, “This would be the number, which represents the loss we’ve seen K-12 in our classrooms. “
He said 244 seniors graduated last June while there are only 158 kindergarteners this year.
However, the district did have 136 new students enroll during the summer.
“That means we had approximately 87 student leave the district, for a net change of minus 37,” he said.
The Oct. 2 count numbers account for 90 percent of the district’s per pupil funding from the state.
