District reports higher-than-projected start-of-year enrollment, warns attendance affects funding

The Benicia Unified School District reported on Sept. 4 that its current enrollment is 4,402 students, 111 more than the projection used in the district's adopted budget. The district's business official presented the update and explained how attendance, not just enrollment, affects state funding.

Business staff said the budget projection used an enrollment of 4,284 with an assumed ADA (average daily attendance) of 94 percent. The district's actual start-of-year counts reached 4,402 on the first day and settled near 4,395 at the end of the district's first 10-day warm-body count; the count on Sept. 4 was reported as 4,402.

"That is 111 more students from projection," the business official said. The increases were concentrated in transitional kindergarten, kindergarten and ninth grade. Of the new residents, 64 came into the district this year and 17 of those were admitted under the Allen bill (students whose parent or guardian works in the district and qualifies for admission), the presentation said.

District staff cautioned that funding is based on ADA over the funding year, which captures attendance from now through April. The district historically records ADA in the mid-90s; the staff said the current start-of-year ADA is 94 percent and that the district must maintain or improve that rate to realize any funding gains associated with higher enrollment.

For next-year projections, the district reiterated that smaller kindergarten cohorts in recent years could lead to lower enrollment in future years unless trends change. The official said the district will continue to monitor counts and will report the official October 1 (CBEDS) enrollment that becomes the historical record for the year.

No budget changes were adopted at the meeting; staff will continue to track attendance and return with any necessary budget adjustments if attendance trends change.