Blaine schools see decreased enrollment

The Blaine school district has seen a decrease of 75 full-time students enrolled since October 2019.

This school year started with 2,076 full-time students in September and then dropped 12 students in October, according to enrollment data.

“Hopefully, we will pick up throughout the year and if we have the chance to have more classes in person, hopefully gain some significant enrollment,” said Amber Porter, executive director of finance and operations for the school district, during the October 26 school board meeting.

Although all grades lost students, the biggest losses came from 11th grade with 26 fewer students compared to that cohort’s 10th grade class last October. Second grade had the second largest decline with 18 fewer students, and fifth grade trailed with 16 fewer than October 2019.

This year’s kindergarten class has nine more students than last year, which is counter to public school trends statewide.

Of the 32,200 full-time students statewide who didn’t enroll at the beginning of this year, the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) data shows about one-third were kindergarteners. Overall, this is a 3 percent year-to-year enrollment decrease, according to OSPI.

District officials worry about the impact on enrollment-based funding, known as the prototypical school funding model, from the state legislature.

The 2020-21 school budget anticipated 2,199 students enrolled but the October enrollment deficit was 135 full-time students. This means there is a projected revenue shortfall of over $2 million, Granger said.

“The budget was healthy enough to cover core operating expenses and retain an ending fund balance meeting board policy,” Porter said in a statement to The Northern Light. “Once schools closed in the spring, the district restricted spending to ensure it could meet financial obligations through 2020-2021.”

The last big budget cut to the school district was during the Great Recession in the 2000s, Porter said. The district reduced programs until several years after economic activity returned to normal, when lost staff and programs were reinstated.

“In many years, maintenance level costs rise faster than the revenues that support them,” Porter said. “The district has made adjustments to programs to ensure we can continue operating.”

Low bus ridership numbers due to remote education have put future funding in question. Last year, the school district received $1,277,837 in transportation funding, plus a one-time hold harmless payment of $123,909 that is not expected to recur, Porter said.

In addition, the local levy brought in $5,504,328 and the state’s Learning Assistance Program (LAP) allotted $1,042,418 to the district.

The school district phased in its third cohort of students, first through third graders split into two groups of hybrid learning, on November 1. Previously, it had phased in kindergarteners into hybrid learning and Point Roberts Primary School’s 11 students started class October 12. About 250 students are now in district buildings per week, Granger said.

About 15 percent of families with students able to do in-person learning opted for their student to continue the semester online, Granger said. A request system will open in December for families who want to change from online to hybrid learning at the beginning of the second semester in January.

The district first opened its doors to about 40 life skills and preschool students on
September 21.

All elementary school students could be phased in before the end of the semester if Covid-19 cases in the county don’t rise, Granger said. Middle school and high school could have sixth and ninth grades learning in the building by November 30, he added.

Granger also worries about losing High Poverty LAP funding, which provided an additional $300,000 to Blaine’s primary and elementary schools. The funding is allocated to schools that have over 50 percent of students on free and reduced meals.

The free or reduced lunch eligibility has dropped from 49.2 percent on average per building to 44.7 percent, Porter said.

Fewer students applied to the free and reduced meal program this year, which Granger believes is because the U.S. Department of Agriculture extended its free summer meal program until the end of the school year.