LIVINGSTON COUNTY — All districts in Livingston County are projected to see enrollment decreases from the 2023-2024 school year, according to internal numbers and the results of Michigan's first Count Day.
The first Count Day of 2024-2025 took place Wednesday, Oct. 2. Count Day happens twice per year and is used to measure enrollment, which determines how much funding each school district gets from the state.
Funding is divvied up using counts in October (90%) and February (10%). For the current school year, state funding is set at $9,608 per student.
Any students not in attendance Oct. 2, but previously enrolled, can still be counted. They must attend school within 10 days of an unexcused absence or within 30 days of an excused absence.
Here's how enrollment stacks up per district, based on preliminary numbers:
Brighton
Brighton Area Schools is down eight students compared to last fall, according to Superintendent Matthew Outlaw. Most of the district’s loss came from Bridge Alternative High School. There were 58 students enrolled at Bridge on Count Day.
"The big change ... is that there are so many alternative programs that are now available for this small population of students," Outlaw said. "Each school district has its own alternative program, the county runs its own alternative program and there are more online options, as well. This program had 110 students in 2018-19, but enrollment has been trending downward since then.”
BAS projected a flat enrollment for budgeting. Outlaw said the slight decline won’t have a “significant impact” on the district’s budget this year.
Outlaw said growth in most grade cohorts is a sign BAS “continues to be a destination district” for students.
"Population studies continue to talk about the declining birthrate throughout the nation and especially in Michigan,” Outlaw said. “We have not been heavily impacted by this yet in Brighton, but we will need to continue to monitor these population trends."
Fowlerville
Fowlerville Community Schools reported 2,408.5 full-time equivalent students, according to the district. That number is unaudited. The district's audited student count last fall was 2,502.66 FTE. The district projected a loss of 70 students in its newest budget.
Hartland
Hartland Consolidated Schools accounted for 4,965 students when the 2024-25 budget was adopted in June. The district’s preliminary student count was 4,998, according to Superintendent Chuck Hughes. That number is down from the district’s fall 2023 count by 52 students.
The good news, Hughes said, is the count is still higher than expected.
“There are many reasons for the enrollment decline, such as affordable housing, families choosing to have less children, people who no longer have children in the district choosing to stay put and not sell their home ... ” Hughes said. “At this point in time, we are regularly adjusting to 'right size’ the district."
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Howell
Howell Public Schools won’t have its fall count number for several weeks, according to Director of Communications Thomas Gould. The district’s fall 2023 count was 6,705, Gould said. HPS budgeted for a decrease of 56 students, for a projected enrollment of 6,649.
Pinckney
Pinckney Community Schools had a count of 2,025 on Oct. 2, according to Superintendent Rick Todd. The district budgeted for an enrollment of 1,981.
PCS had 2,040 students in October 2023.
— Contact reporter Evan Sasiela at esasiela@livingstondaily.com . Follow him on X @SalsaEvan . Reporter Mitchell Boatman contributed to this story.
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: School districts in Livingston County continue to see declining enrollment
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