Jan. 21 marked the 100th day that the Fountain Hills Unified School District has been in session for the 2019-20 school year.

Along with being a milestone signaling that the end of the year is near, the 100th day is also important when it comes to creating the budget for the next year.

On the 100th day, a count of a district’s enrollment, or average daily membership (ADM), determines how much state funding the district will be receive the following year.

Last year’s count for FHUSD was 1,324.8 students. This year’s count, while not set in stone yet, is projected to be 1,312.3.

FHUSD leadership is happy to see such a small decline in its student body, an ongoing trend over the past couple of years.

“Our projection right now compared to last year’s count is a total change of minus 12 students,” Superintendent Dr. Robert Allen said. “So that is a pretty constant small decline for us. We have been typical graduating more than 120 kids and bringing in 75 to 80 kids at the kindergarten level. So that difference of 40 students is being offset by a lot of students entering in the middle grades.”

Based on the projected count, Allen said he believes that next year’s budget will look largely the same.

“We know that the per pupil amount is going to go up again as part of the Governor’s budget for the 20 by 2020 increases, though we don’t know the exact amount yet,” Dr. Allen said. “I am assuming that, based on this (100th day count), next year’s budget to this year’s budget will be fairly similar. I won’t say right now if it will be higher or lower but it should be similar.”

Allen credits the academic success of the three FHUSD school sites for attracting more students.

“It is very encouraging,” Dr. Allen said. “An A+ elementary, a B middle school and an A high school, I think all of those things play a big role in bringing people to the district.”