Hollister
– San Benito High School saw an increase in the attendance rate
over the last half of its school year – a period during which
truancy is generally up for the school.
Hollister – San Benito High School saw an increase in the attendance rate over the last half of its school year – a period during which truancy is generally up for the school.
Administrators were pleased to see that attendance was up at the high school this year from last year, and specifically that much of that increase was concentrated to the second half of the year, when attendance often declines. The 1.4 percent increase in daily attendance will lead to a $232,738 increase in state funding for the school.
“Overall kids are coming to school, and it’s reflected in our attendance, and that’s reflected in our finances,” SBHS Director of Finance and Operations Jim Koenig said.
Average daily attendance is a strong factor in determining state funding for school districts. The state provides a certain revenue limit – more than $6,000 for San Benito High School District – per unit of average daily attendance.
San Benito High School saw an overall increase of average daily attendance by 36 units this year as compared to last year, from an average of 2,671 students in attendance per day last year to 2,707 this year.
While the high school’s administrators were excited to see the increase in revenue limits, they were equally en-thused by the increase in the percentage of students who were in class every day.
Typically springtime and sunny weather bring an increase in truancy, but this year, SBHS saw an average of 94.09 percent of students in attendance from the beginning of March through the end of April – the latest point the average daily attendance has been calculated.
“Ninety-four percent is a very good attendance rate for this time of year,” Koenig said. “So there’s been an improvement in the number of kids coming to school every day.”
Last year during approximately this same period of time, the high school had an average of 92.10 percent of students in attendance.
Administrators pointed out this increase directly correlated with the introduction of their new telephone messaging service, which is used to notify parents if their children are absent or tardy to any class period.
The Board of Trustees approved the purchase of the new autodial system in February, with the hope that it would result in an increase in daily attendance. The new system costs the district $11,792 a year, an approximately $10,000 increase from the previous phone system.
The overall attendance rate at the high school remains only slightly improved from last year, with an average of 93.4 percent of students in attendance this year, up from 93.05 percent last year. Most of the increase in revenue comes from an increase in enrollment at the high school.
The high school’s administrators hope that with increased enrollment correlated with increased attendance rate, they will start to see begin to see even more state funding in the future.
