Classes resumed at Haines School Monday with a combined district enrollment of 305 students, exactly matching the official count in October 2010 and one student more than was enrolled on the first day in 2009.
“It’s amazing it has stayed even all these years,” superintendent Michael Byer said this week. Byer set his budget on an estimate of 290 students, in line with previous years when the district has underestimated projected enrollment.
If the numbers hold until the state’s official count date at the end of October, the district will see about $85,000 more in funding than projected. “That’s good. It will help pay for contracts and things this next year,” Byer said.
Class size ranges from 15 students in kindergarten to 33 in 11th grade. There are 11 students at Mosquito Lake School; 10 are required for keeping the school open. Ten students are enrolled in the district’s home-school program.