BROOKINGS – There are 3,411 students enrolled in the Brookings School District, according to the latest numbers. This is an increase of 70 students compared to the 2016-2017 school year.

When planning and budgeting for the 2017-2018 school year, the district projected an enrollment of 3,390 students, 21 students fewer than actual enrollment.

These 21 extra students mean $110,000 in additional funding for the school.

The district was able to add an English as a Learned Language teaching assistant position, costing an estimated $35,000.

But the 3,411 count does not consist only of full-time students. Some high schoolers, for example, might be part-time students and count toward the total enrollment number.

The number could have been higher, too, said Brookings School District Business Manager Brian Lueders.

“Last week when I sent the board report out, we were at 80 (additional) students, and in a week, we lost 10.”

The district came up with their projected number based on the findings of Weiwei Zhang, director of the state data center. Her projections indicated total enrollment for 2017-2018 to be 3,421 students.

When planning for the 2017-2018 school year, however, the district wanted to be more conservative in their estimates.

This was “just to make sure that it didn’t happen again where we budgeted for 80 (more students), and we only got 50 or 20 or whatever it would be,” Lueders said. “It was just being cautious.”

The enrollment number can still change, of course, as students come into the district or leave due to, say, their family moving.

Contact Eric Sandbulte at esandbulte@brookingsregister.com.