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NEWPORT — As of this month, enrollment at many schools in Pend Oreille and West Bonner Counties is higher than what districts budgeted for over the summer.
Newport School District’s count for October is 1,155 full-time equivalent students — 62 FTEs over the district’s budget, and nine FTEs more than in September.
Between months, there was a five-FTE increase at Stratton Elementary School to 369; a one-FTE increase at Pend Oreille River School to 41; and a three-FTE increase at Home Link to 192. Sadie Halstead Middle School is at 296 FTEs, increasing by less than one, while Newport High School is at 192, decreasing by less than one.
“It is early in the school year, so those numbers can change,” Newport business manager Belynda Best said. “And sometimes change drastically.”
Washington state funds districts based on enrollment, with an average of 21 students funding one teacher. Though Newport High saw a slight decrease, all five schools are over-budget by at least 1 FTE.
Around this time last year, the district was a “significant” 40 FTEs under-budget, according to now-retired business manager Debra Buttrey. The district expects FTE counts to continue decreasing over the next four years, with FTEs trending downward since the 2023–2024 school year.
“We still try to remain conservative and just watch our numbers monthly,” Best said.
Selkirk School District is over-budget by less than one FTE. While Selkirk Elementary School is four FTEs over-budget at 97, Selkirk Middle and High Schools are three under-budget at 119.
“Our October numbers were just slightly higher than September,” Selkirk business manager Lauren Cain wrote in an email.
Unlike Newport and Selkirk, Cusick School District is 10 FTEs under- budget.
Enrollment at Bess Herian Elementary School, Cusick Junior/ Senior High School and HomePride ALE decreased between months. Bess Herian Elementary is at 111 FTEs after decreasing by two; Cusick Junior/Senior High is at 140 decreasing by less than one; and HomePride is at 113 after decreasing by less than one.
Cusick budgeted 111 FTEs for Bess Herian Elementary, 156 for Cusick Junior/Senior High and 107 for HomePride.
Across the border, West Bonner County School District is four FTEs under-budget. However, Idaho state funds districts based on attendance rather than enrollment, and the elementary schools and junior/senior high school have average daily attendance rates of 95.5% and 92.7%. District-wide, the average daily attendance rate is above 92%.
“The numbers are what we predicted to have in each building, but not necessarily the hard numbers we’re building the budget off of,” said Kendra Salesky, West Bonner County business manager, of the district’s budgeted FTE counts.
Idaho Hill Elementary School is eight FTEs under- budget at 122 FTEs; Priest Lake Elementary School is two over-budget at 38; Priest River Elementary School is 59 over-budget at 347; Priest River Lamanna Junior/ Senior High School is 37 under-budget at 354; and Home Learning Network is 20 under-budget at 67.
The district counted 928 students in late September, an eight-student increase from mid-September.
“928 is the head count, but what really counts in the FTEs is they hit 878,” said Kim Spacek, West Bonner County superintendent. “Because they take away the kids who aren’t here daily.”
