Brandon School student count was down by 17 students, while Goodrich enrollment grew by 71 following the offical state school count on Sept. 24, 2003. The drop in enrollment will cost the Brandon District about $113,900 while Goodrich will net about $475,700 in additional state revenue.
The decrease is due in part, says Bart Jenniches, Brandon School District superintendent to housing costs.
“Right now the growth is in the seventh through 12th grade,” said Jenniches. “The count indicates the students entering our schools are a little older.”
Jenniches attributes the higher cost of housing in the Brandon area attracting older families who can afford more expensive homes.
Each year on the fourth Wednesday of September school districts statewide report the number of students enrolled. Each district then receives $6,700 per student each year from the state. Eighty percent of the foundation money is collected based on September count and 20 percent is collected in February.
Jan Doolittle, a consultant in pupil personel services, school auditing, and other laws that apply to membership funding for Oakland Schools says that the changes in enrollment fit into a pattern Oakland County.
“We have an older population, coming out of the southeast of the county,” said Doolittle. The southern part of the county moved to the northwest to South Lyon, Walled lake, Oxford, Clarkston, and Lake Orion, areas. The southern part (of the county) the children are gone and people are staying in their homes including Ferndale, Hazel Park, and Royal Oak.
Other factors of enrollment change include Schools of choice, non-public schools and changes in labor.
In Goodrich, the overall district count from the Sept. 24, 2003 count date was 2,086, up by 72 students since 2002, said Green.
“We won’t have any trouble this year with class size,” said Goodrich Board of Education President Michael Thorp. “We’re growing by about 60 to 80 students every year, low end, and we have to be prepared for that.”
The district also gained more students through this year’s implementation of the Young Fives program.
Kindergarten, first, and second-grade students increased by 27 students this year, while third, fourth, and fifth-grade classes decreased by 12 students. Thorp attributes the decrease to a “big class of about 30 kids moving through the district.”
Goodrich High School showed the largest increase in the district, with a total of 656 students, 43 more than in 2002, while Goodrich Middle School showed a decrease of five students.
Overall growth in the district is associated with the desirability of the area, says Thorp.
“There’s lots of growth. It’s a beautiful area to live in, wonderful people, and if I do say so myself, an outstanding school district.”
The increase will bring $ 482,400 in state funds to the district.
“That adds a couple or three teachers and bus runs, and helps us keep programs running, but it isn’t a big windfall,” said Thorp. “But we’re in the pleasant position of being prepared for state cuts.”

(Staff writer Elizabeth Lowe contributed to this story.)