District officials throughout Oxford tallied their student counts last Wednesday in hopes of a larger check from the Michigan Department of Education (MDE).

Based on the unofficial numbers, the district is up approximately 239.69 Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) students from last fall, bringing the total count up to 5,917.39.

The state-mandated count day helps to determine how much funding each public school district receives.

The formula is simple – more students equals more state aid.

The fall count day represents 90 percent of a district’s funding, while the previous year’s spring count is just 10 percent.

Oxford Virtual Academy saw the largest growth in numbers, with an increase of approximately 256.14 FTE students.

“I think it’s awesome. It’s a reflection on the quality of instruction and programming that our staff has continued to provide and I’m really proud of them and all the work that’s gone into (OVA) and where it’s at today,” said Superintendent Tim Throne.

According to the preliminary count, Oxford High School has also increased by 62.33 FTE students.

Growth in the district was shown in the Oxford Early College program (up by 52.25), at Lakeville Elementary (up by 9.51), in the Early Childhood program (up 4.99), and at Daniel Axford Elementary (up 5.14).

Oxford Middle School saw the largest decline, with a decrease of 52.04 FTE students.

Other declines in the district included Clear Lake Elementary (down by 41.16), Leonard Elementary (down 13.43), Oxford Bridges High School (down 12.03), Oxford Crossroads Day School (down 11.59) and Oxford Elementary (down 9.63).

All of these count numbers are considered preliminary and won’t be finalized until November.

Oxford Schools currently has six shared time agreements that are not reported as schools, but they do contribute towards the district’s total FTE preliminary count, according to Assistant Superintendent of Student Services Denise Sweat.

Shared time is an agreement between a public school district　and a non public school. The agreement provides for private school students to take non-core classes taught by teachers from the public school district.

Students who had excused absences on Count Day have 30 calendar days to return to school, while students with unexcused absences have 10 school days to return in order to be considered enrolled in the district.

After that, the numbers will be submitted to Oakland Schools for auditing before being submitted to the MDE.

To determine the district’s final FTE, the state takes 90 percent of the current fall year count and 10 percent of the previous year’s audited February count. Those figures are then multiplied by the district’s current year state aid foundation allowance of $7,511 per FTE student. The state then subtracts from that amount assumed local revenue collected via non-homestead property taxes.

Oxford Schools will receive the final audited FTE count by the end of February, according to Sweat.