There are not quite as many students enrolled in the Okanagan Skaha School District as last year, but in Summerland, the total enrolment numbers were virtually unchanged.
Wendy Hyer, superintendent of the school district, said there were 6,205 students registered throughout the school district this year, down from 6,255 a year ago.
These figures include all Kindergarten to Grade 12 students and those in distance education and the ConnectEd program. They do not reflect the number of full-time equivalent students. Those figures will not be compiled until the end of October.
“Our enrolment is lower than it was last year,” Hyer said. “There’s a slight decline.
In Summerland, there are 1,316 students this year, up from 1,314 last year.
At Summerland Secondary School, the enrolment dropped from 475 last year to 471 this year. Summerland Middle School also saw a slight drop from 316 to 309.
At the elementary schools, the enrolment numbers rose slightly.
Giant’s Head Elementary School’s enrolment rose from 322 to 323 and at Trout Creek Elementary School, the enrolment rose from 201 to 213.
Hyer said the funding for the school district is not tied to enrolment numbers this year, although funding has declined.
This year, the school district received 98.5 per cent of the funding it received last year, and next year the funding will drop again, by the same amount.
The drop this year has resulted in a $1.7 million reduction in funding for the school district.
There are no planned school amalgamations or closures to cope with the funding reduction.
“We wouldn’t have the space to take the kids from one school and put them into other schools,” Hyer said.