School enrollment moves up slightly to 266 students

School enrollment is heading in the right direction, but just slightly.

After counting 257 students during the state-mandated annual tally last year, this year’s Wrangell enrollment count was at 266 as of last week, said Schools Superintendent Bill Burr.

The school district had estimated 263 students when it put together its budget for the 2022-2023 school year. State funding, which provides more than 60% of the district’s operating budget, is based on enrollment, with districts statewide required to submit their count every October.

The high school count is up a little this year, Burr said. But the small overall increase in enrollment is not going to solve the district’s financial problems, he explained.

The Wrangell district has been using one-time federal pandemic relief aid to patch revenue gaps in its budget the past three school years. Before the pandemic drove some families to homeschool their children, the district counted just over 300 students. In addition, the community has lost population in recent years, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Besides using the $1 million in federal pandemic aid to help cover the budget, the district has benefitted from a state “hold harmless” program that provides for a gradual reduction in funding for schools hit by large enrollment drops. This is the last year Wrangell will receive any hold-harmless funding.

If enrollment numbers remain the same for next year, with a similar mix of special education students, for which the state contributes a higher funding rate, the district could be down about $100,000 in state money for 2023-2024, said Tammy Stromberg, the district’s business manager.

That would equal about 2% of the overall operating budget for the schools.

The district this year expects to receive about $3.1 million from the state. The borough contribution is $1.617 million, the highest it’s ever been.

The state’s per-student funding formula has not changed in more than five years, despite strong lobbying by school districts statewide for legislators and the governor to approve an increase.