School enrollments change little from last year

The numbers are in for this fall's student enrollment at the Flathead Valley's public schools.

The bottom line: Not much changed.

Enrollment in grades kindergarten through eight is down two students, from 8,855 in October 2004 to 8,853 this October.

In the high schools, numbers are up 19 countywide, from 4,437 last year to 4,456 this year.

Individual schools - particularly smaller rurals where bare-bones budgets offer virtually no buffer against the cut in state funding that comes from a drop in student numbers - saw some critical enrollment changes.

Fair-Mont-Egan, for example, lost just over 11 percent of its student body from last October - from 144 to 128.

West Glacier Elementary dropped 9.4 percent by losing only three students, going from 32 last October to 29 this month.

And Olney-Bissell's loss of six students - from 79 down to 73 in K-8 - translates into a 7.6 percent drop.

Pleasant Valley lost 20 percent of its enrollment. But the isolated school is an anomaly when its population is taken into account: Five children last October, four this October.

There was a bit of gain in the rural schools, too.

Deer Park leads had 5.6 percent growth - moving up from 107 last year to 113 this October.

Cayuse Prairie gained seven students, from 166 to 173.

Helena Flats went up 4.1 percent when it added eight students, growing from 194 up to 202 elementary students.

The remaining gains and losses among rural elementaries dipped below four percent.

The schools with the biggest changes in straight-out enrollment numbers were those with the biggest enrollment.

Columbia Falls elementary dropped 44 students - 1,640 down to 1,596 in grades K-8 - but was only a 2.7 percent loss. Columbia Falls High School went from 863 to 862 students.

Kalispell elementary schools gained 42 - up from 2,476 to 2,518 - a 1.7 percent gain. Kalispell's high school district grew, too - by 28 students, up from 2,466 last year to 2,494 for students in grades 9-12 at Flathead High School and Kalispell Junior High.

Kalispell was the only public school district that showed growth in both the elementary and high school.

Bigfork and Whitefish traded trends in their elementary and high school districts.

Bigfork's elementary count last October was 498; this year it was 492. The high school grew from 366 to 375.

In Whitefish, the elementary population was 1,199 last year and 1,197 this fall. High school numbers went the other direction, from 742 down to 725.

Each year the state counts noses in classrooms on the first Monday of October. That came on Oct. 3 this year.

In a count that factors in half-day kindergarten attendance and other variables, these numbers are averaged with a similar count in the spring to provide the basis for state funding for the following school year.

It helps put less emphasis on the October figures - and the resulting budget impact - giving a more realistic average attendance and reflecting migration in and out of a school.

Each elementary and secondary school also receives a basic entitlement from the state, just to cover some of the costs for opening doors, equipping classrooms and other essentials for running a school.

Reporter Nancy Kimball can be reached at 758-4483 or by e-mail at nkimball@dailyinterlake.com