W. Glacier enrollment deadline is Thursday

Parents who want to enroll their students at West Glacier Elementary School in 2010-11 must sign up by Thursday.

The school is imposing a registration deadline so it can determine whether it needs to request additional funding from the state Office of Public Instruction in 2010-11.

Usually a district’s budget is based largely on previous years’ enrollment, but if a school experiences sudden growth, it can apply for state funding based on its actual enrollment, Principal Cortni King said.

The deadline to apply for extra funding is June 1, she added.

So far, 27 students have enrolled at West Glacier for 2010-11 — an increase of two students over this year.

But King suspects more families, including those beyond the West Glacier district, might be considering enrolling.

Canyon Elementary in nearby Hungry Horse is expected to close in 2011-12 due to budget deficits in the Columbia Falls School District.

When the school closes, some families might choose to send their students to West Glacier because it is closer than schools in Columbia Falls.

“Although the bulk of the fallout is anticipated after the completion of the 2010-2011 school year, [West Glacier Elementary] anticipates that some families may opt to leave Canyon this year, knowing that it will only be open one more year,” King said in a press release.

The Columbia Falls school board said in March that Canyon Elementary likely will only remain open through 2010-11.

School officials had considered closing the school at the end of this school year, a move that could have saved the district about $900,000 and eliminated the quarter-million-dollar shortfall the Columbia Falls elementary district faces in 2010-11.

Outcry from teachers and parents in the Canyon community helped convince the school board to keep Canyon Elementary open through 2010-11.

But the 2011-12 budget shortfall is expected to be even larger than next year’s, and board members in March said Canyon likely will close after one more year, unless the state Legislature allots the districts more money or the district receives a boost in enrollment.