PORT ANGELES — Port Angeles School District enrollment saw an increase of 73 students in October from September’s count but still remains below the census in October 2010.
Elementary school enrollment lost one student from September to October, and remains at more than 100 students below the district’s expectation for the year.
Enrollment increased in middle school, high school, the North Olympic Peninsula Skills Center and in the Running Start program, district business manager Gail Frick told the School Board on Monday night.
In September, the district reported a loss of 153 students compared with September 2010 enrollment count, representing a potential loss of $810,000 in state funding.
State funding is based on an average of yearly enrollment September through June, and numbers are usually lower at the end of the year than the beginning, Frick said.
The additional students enrolled in October were mostly late-start Running Start students and students at the North Olympic Peninsula Skills Center, she said.
Many of those came from the Forks area, which started classes after the September count date, as did students at Peninsula College, she said.
Running Start is a program in which high school students attend classes at the college for dual high school and college credits, either part- or full-time, and the North Olympic Skills Center is a technical education high school level-program that includes students from five school districts.
A task force has been created to study how to reorganize the district to handle the loss of students and funds.
The loss of students drops most Port Angeles elementary schools’ enrollment levels below the state’s standard of 400 students.
Elementary schools with fewer than 400 students are funded at a lower rate than schools with higher enrollment.
The School Board also approved in a 5-0 vote a renewal of a contract that will cost the district more but which in the end was found to be the cheapest option.
Since 1996, the school district has contracted with Clallam Transit to house buses serving west Port Angeles and Lower Elwha Klallam Reservation students at the transit district’s bus barn at 830 W. Lauridsen Blvd.
This year, Clallam Transit asked the district for an additional $50 per month to rent the space, increasing the space rental to $800 per month, said Karen Ross, district transportation supervisor.
The increase triggered an investigation into the cost of moving the west-end buses to the school’s bus barn at 627 Monroe Road.
When the cost of fuel, maintenance miles and driver hours were factored in, moving the buses back to Monroe Road would cost the district $25,000, Ross said.
The School Board approved renewing the contract with Clallam Transit with the added rent.
The transportation department also received the donation of a $3,500 vehicle diagnostic unit from Rusty’s Foreign Auto, Ross said.
The school district also received a formal request from the Port Angeles Police Department to share a portion of the school resource officer’s salary.
There has been a discussion every year for the past several years, but this is the first time the district has received a formal request, schools superintendent Jane Pryne said.
The amount of the district’s proposed contribution was not discussed.
School resource officers are primarily based in the schools during the school year, responding to calls at those schools and serving as police ambassadors to the students, said Tom Kuch, school resource officer.
Kuch said he has responded to more than 100 calls to schools each year since he took the position in 2006.
While in the schools, Kuch gets to know the faculty, the students and the cultures in each school, he said.
Kuch also provides educational programs and is often approached by students who want to report a crime.
Some of the crimes that have been reported have been serious offenses, he said.
“It’s good to be proactive instead of reactive,” said board member Cindy Kelly.
The board did not make a decision Monday and will consider the request during the budget process.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
