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Official numbers of fundable students in the Moffat County School District have remained steady since preliminary estimates released earlier this year, school officials said.

Nov. 10 was the final deadline for school administrators to turn in a final count of their students, which will be used to determine how state funding is allocated.

Currently, the school district has counted 2,310 students for whom they can receive state funding.

Last year, the final tally was 2, 236.5.

The 3 percent increase marks the first in a decade for Moffat County and one of the only enrollment increases among Western Slope school districts.

Enrollment has been steadily declining in Moffat County for the past 10 years, district Finance Director Mark Rydberg said.

However, this year, the district replaced an outgoing senior class of 169 students with an incoming kindergarten class of 209, which accounts for much of the increase of about 45 students.

Among state budget woes and funding concerns in the coming years, an increase in enrollment is a bright spot for Moffat County schools.

Because funding is based on pupils, the district could see about $300,000 more from the state.

“There were not a lot of schools on the Western Slope that had an increase,” Rydberg said. “Most of them declined, and we were one of the only ones that didn’t.”

While Steamboat Springs saw a small increase, other districts across the area were surprised to hear Moffat County has more students than last year.

“It’s good that somebody is seeing that,” said Theresa Hamilton, director of district-wide services at Garfield School District in Rifle. “Extra kids are extra money in your pocket.”

South Routt School District also saw a decline, losing 4.5 funded students to end with a final count of 382.5.

Dina Murray, business manger at South Routt, said that because of the per-pupil funding system, her school would receive significantly less money.

“If we lose one kid, that’s almost $10,000,” Murray said. “If you had a rise, that’s awesome. It’s something school districts want to see.”

Rydberg agreed, but said if the growth were too large, it would be difficult to accommodate so many new students.

“A 3 percent growth is a manageable number,” he said. “We did add some staff to deal with class sizes, but it’s not like we gained 15 percent. I think most of our class sizes are still below the target number.”

Every school district receives a certain amount of funding per pupil, which is multiplied by the final number from the October count for the total allocation.

However, the state is facing a significant budget shortfall. Rydberg thinks the actual per-pupil dollar amount will decline, so even with 45 extra students, Moffat County might not reap the full benefits of increased enrollment.

“That way, they’re trying to spread the pain around equally,” Rydberg said.

Nicole Inglis can be reached at 875-1793, or ninglis@craigdailypress.com.