Counting Students: The Key to School Resources

Dr. Pam Deering, CCOSA/OASA Executive Director deering@ccosa.org

In Oklahoma schools, this time of year – while fun for homecoming, football games, and fall weather – is a time for counting students for funding purposes. This year, the task has been burdensome and frustrating beyond belief for our schools. However, school staff are dedicated to getting it right not only to ensure students receive the important services to which they are entitled by law, but also because these counts are fundamental to the support of our schools. This process is more than just numbers –it’s the cornerstone of how schools receive their funding and resources.

Why Does Counting Students Matter?

Each year, school districts receive funding based on the number of students attending school. This funding is vital for:

Classroom Resources: Ensuring that each classroom has the necessary supplies, technology, and textbooks.

Teacher Staffing: Allocating appropriate numbers of teachers and support staff to maintain optimal class sizes, maximize instruction, and support personalized learning.

Support Specialized Services: Providing essential services such as special education, counseling, and extracurricular programs.

School Operations & Safety: Funding for building maintenance, safety measures, and facilities improvements.

Accurate Counts = Resources

While common education funding in Oklahoma is not where it should be, an accurate count of students helps ensure a district receives funding that reflects the true needs of our schools. Learning how to count students for funding and ensuring that key people – teachers, support staff, principals, central office staff, and superintendents – know how important it is to the district is worth the time to communicate and follow up with them during this time. While we know the “counts” are taken from October 1 enrollment data, school districts have until October 31, 2024, to certify their data. They can’t ADD new students. The students from weighted categories must be enrolled on October 1 and be eligible for the categories of weighted funding; however, the school district may still clean up the data and clear errors until the required certification on October 31. If school districts are not counting students or are counting fewer students than they should, the district is losing money for the support of programs and services!

What You Can Do in Your District Between October 1 and October 31

Check Each Weighted Category of Students in Your SIS: Have the person who is responsible for accurate counts of each category of students check their own data against the Student Information System.

Check the Consolidated Report in the WAVE: Print out the Consolidated Report and check it against the data stored in your Student Information System.

Check Your Economically Disadvantaged Fields for All Eligible Students: This includes Free and Reduced Meal forms, Economically Disadvantaged forms, Direct Certification students including Medicaid, and Homeless students certified through the district’s Homeless Liaison.

Remember: Students must be enrolled and eligible for each category on October 1. Cleaning up your data and marking those students correctly in the SIS may occur until October 31 certification.

What You Can Do in Your District Throughout the School Year

Encourage accurate reporting: Ensure that school attendance records are up to date and complete. Have you gotten all of your transportation students identified? You can count them if they live over a mile and a half from their school even if they DON’T ride the bus.

Promote school attendance not only for reporting for funding, but also for instruction: Consistent attendance strengthens school success and helps maintain accurate enrollment data.

Stay informed: Ensure that you or someone in your district is a part of CCOSA’s Student Accounting Zoom network. Stay up to date with OSDE information. Ask lots of questions if you don’t know or understand. Attend workshops on how to maximize student counts for funding. CCOSA offers training and workshops on this topic.

It is our goal to help our schools get the resources they need to provide a high-quality education for every student. Let’s be sure that all of our district staff understand the importance of student counts and that parents understand how important it is for their children to be in school for academic success!

Sincerely,

Pam Deering, Ph.D. CCOSA/OASA Executive Director ■