By Patrick Tepoorten

The enrollment numbers are in for the North Branch School District and show a continuation of a negative trend that will cost the district over a half a million dollars in state funding this year.

Enrollment is 108 students less than projected for the year. Those projections were used to calculate per pupil state funding. So, with less pupils, there will be less funding. On the bright side, the district is enjoying a slight decrease in class sizes.

Beyond the guesswork involved with trying to predict this year's enrollment, actual numbers are down from 2006 as well. There are 99 fewer students this year than last, with the largest drops coming after fourth, sixth, and eighth grades. District Financial Director Randi Johnson noted that it is customary to gain or lose students at those points in their educations when they change buildings, but she said she was caught off guard by the reduction of 19 students between kindergarten and first grade.

Johnson also supplied the school board with some idea where students are going.

Roughly half are taking advantage of open enrollment to go to other public options, with the largest migration south to the Forest Lake School District. Rush City and Chisago Lakes are also popular destinations.

Of the other half, it is roughly split between private schools and home schooling.

The trends also show a marked increase in the number of students leaving the district. Although, dating back to at least the year 2000 more kids have left the district than arrived, over the last three years that gap has widened considerably.

In 2004, roughly 180 district students chose to open enroll elsewhere, while about 150 kids from outside the district chose North Branch. Just three years later, the amount of students leaving the district has climbed to over 250, while incoming students have fallen to about 125. That's a gap increase from 30 to over 125.

Johnson informed the board that she would return with adjusted budget figures and ideas for short and long-term planning.