Kenai Peninsula schools run 258 students short in the count used for state funding

Kenai Peninsula schools were running 258 students short of projections late in the state's fall count, the number the state uses to calculate school funding.

The district's average daily membership, the count the state uses for funding, was 7,881 on Oct. 20, three days before the count period ended, against a projected 8,139, according to an enrollment report for Monday night's school board meeting. The state pays districts on projected enrollment until the count is in, then reconciles with the actual numbers.

In February, the district projected a revenue shortfall of about $7.8 million for this budget year, including about $4.5 million less in state funding than the year before. Its draft annual financial report lists declining enrollment among its ongoing challenges, along with rising health care costs and uncertain state funding.

Soldotna Elementary fell furthest short, at 292 against a projected 348. Soldotna High was 43 short, Chapman School 39, K-Beach Elementary 36, and Kaleidoscope Charter and Skyview Middle 34 each.

A few schools beat their projections. The Connections Program, which the district lists under alternative education, was 47 over at 1,182, and Aurora Borealis Charter was 27 over at 222.

Soldotna Elementary is also on Monday's agenda for another reason. Parents and staff have proposed converting it to a charter, and district leaders have urged the board to reject it, citing a $1.1 million budget discrepancy and the lack of a secured facility.