The Ottawa school district will report a slight decline in the number of students this year. The schools will be down about 20 students. However, Supt. Dean Katt said because there are more students who qualify for free lunches, the school district will receive more state aid. About 50 percent of the students qualify for free school lunches – an indicator of a poor economy. With the additional money, the district will be able to better weather state budget cuts, he said. Katt said he expects that there will be more students coming into the district and he doesn’t expect the decline to continue. Enrollment numbers must be reported to the state Sept. 20.
Tuesday, Sept. 14, 3 p.m.
