Schools

Brighton Schools to Tally Students for Count Day

The fall Count Day is Wednesday.

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Count Day is Wednesday in Brighton and allΒ Michigan public schools.Β 

Count Day is when all public schools in Michigan tally the number of students attending their schools.Β Count information is critical to districts, because each student translates into state funding.

Superintendent Greg Gray's addresses the importance ofΒ Count Day for Brighton SchoolsΒ in hisΒ weekly Friday letter.

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"This is a very important day for our school system as 90 percentΒ of our funding comes from the documented attendance on this day," he wrote.Β "Please be sure to make every effort to have your children attend on this very important day. However, if they do not feel well or have to be absent we still have 30 days to count them if we have documentation for their absence on this day."

Pupils must be in attendance and receive instruction in all classes to be counted, according to theΒ Michigan Department of Education.Β For studentsΒ not in attendance, they may be counted for:
  • 30 calendar days for excused absence following count day.
  • 10 school days for unexcused absence following count day.
  • 45 days for suspended students following count day.
School funding through Count DaysΒ is mandated through theState School Aid Act, which has amendments that go into effect Tuesday.Β The funding schools receive is based on a blend of both winter and fall studentΒ count data during the same year. That means the 2013-14 school year allocation is based on data from February, which represents 10 percent of state funding,Β and October, which representsΒ 90 ofΒ state funding.Β 

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