The Haines Borough School District is committed to keeping the Mosquito Lake School open this year, but superintendent Michael Byer made no promises about next year at Tuesday’s school board meeting.

Following a recent fall-time tradition, the board meeting was held at the elementary school at 27 Mile Haines Highway.

The district will lose about $250,000 this year if enrollment there doesn’t reach 10 students by the time of an official count in October, Byer told an audience that included parents of Mosquito Lake students. There are nine enrolled.

“We’re a little concerned about that. The way the state funds schools, without 10 students (state) funding is reduced to a point where they don’t take the school’s footprint into account and provide additional funding for the school itself,” Byer explained.

“It’s still not October. We’re still hoping that maybe someone might appear and we can get 10 through the month of October, but we’re going to keep the school open this year… And we’re certainly hoping that in the spring there could be a solid projection that we could have 10 or over next year. It’s still early. We’re still hopeful because this is a great school. We believe in it and support it.”

Byer said if highway residents had any ideas for how to up enrollment he’d be happy to hear them. “I understand it’s been down to nine before. We’re very hopeful things will work out.”

Parent Amy Jacobson asked if the school had to close, could it reopen again when there were enough students.

Byer replied: “It could definitely reopen again. I don’t think there’s anything to preclude that from happening. If there were enough students to get funding for the school from the state, I think that could definitely, easily happen.”

Board member Anne Marie Palmieri pointed out that a decision on closing the school falls to the school board, not the state. “We’ve made the decision this year, that the school would stay open regardless of the number of kids,” she said.

Byer reported district enrollment at 268.5 students, including 106 in elementary grades K-5, 57 in middle school grades 6-8, 84.5 in the high school, nine at Mosquito Lake and 12 enrolled through the district’s homeschool program.

The number is 17 fewer students than were enrolled last year, but 15.5 more than the district projected during budgeting last spring, he said.