Wayland Union Schools Supt. told the Board of Education Monday evening that “It’s a night of data.” Indeed, it was.

Assistant Supt. for Instruction Theresa Fulk provided plenty of stats, most interestingly the official student enrollment count from last fall, which showed a slight decrease to 2,760 full-time equivalent (FTEs) or 56.23 FTEs fewer than reported in the fall of 2022.

Fulk acknowledged that the slight drop also means a slight decrease in state aid, much of which is determined on a per-pupil basis.

She also said the school district’s largest ever student county was 3,044,93, so this year’s total was still better than 90 percent of the highest ever.

Fulk said data has been showing that “We are making great progress academically” since the Covid pandemic drove the scores down. She added that attendance figures continue to improve.

In other business Monday, the school board:

• Was presented with information from developer Chris VanRyn about a parcel in Leighton Township that may be included in the Wayland district rather than Caledonia as soon as the Allegan and Kent Intermediate School Districts come to agreement and the state approved the move. The land is located near the Paris Ridge Elementary School, and covers 144th Avenue between 2nd and 4th streets. VanRyn and VLVR Ventures want to put in a residential development on the parcel.
• Agreed to pay a revised amount of $1,738,334 for the middle school stadium project as part of the bond project approved almost a year ago.