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Dillingham City School District sees spike in enrollment, increased budget

KDLG

Dillingham City School District enrolled more students than projected this year, which brought in $400,000 more from the state than the school board anticipated when it formulated the 2017-2018 budget.

Dillingham City School District has seen a spike in enrollment this year. Currently, 488 students are enrolled. That is 14 more students than the district projected for this year when the school board formulated the 2017-2018 school budget.

Those extra students are significant for the school budget because state’s financial contribution to schools is based on an enrollment count in October.

“So the projected budget for this year was based on 474 students. When the additional students showed up, our fund was increased by a little bit over $400,000,” said superintendent Glen Szymoniak.

Part of the reason budget increase is so steep is the school enrolled several more special education students than anticipated. The state contribution for those students is significantly higher than for other students.

The district has revised the budget to reflect the increased funding.

“The big project that will bite into that $400,000 will be the handicap access ramp that was built over the summer. That went considerably over budget by about $120,000. It still leaves us with a healthy fund balance for the board to do future planning with,” said Szymoniak.

In the rest of the Bristol Bay area, this year’s enrollment numbers are largely in line with expectations. Southwest Region School District is teaching 590 elementary, middle and high school students. The Lake and Peninsula School District has 300 youth enrolled.

The Bristol Bay Borough School District’s enrollment is at 108 students. That is somewhat lower than its average of about 120 students for the past three years. However, superintendent Bill Hill says that student numbers at the Bristol Bay Borough Schools have been fluctuating throughout the year and that the budget has not been significantly affected.