PORT ANGELES — Port Angeles School District students are improving test scores and graduation rates, but declining enrollment and decreased funding per student are major chall­enges the district must overcome.

That was the message Schools Superintendent Jane Pryne told 25 members of the Port Angeles Business Association this week.

As of the September student count, Port Angeles schools lost 153 students this year, including 103 full-time students at the elementary level.

Of those, 93 moved out of the region or out of state; 42 moved to Sequim; 10 to Crescent, four went to Queen of Angels, the Catholic elementary school in Port Angeles; and four began home-school programs, Pryne said.

This represents $810,000 less in state funding for Port Angeles schools after state education cuts, she said.

Early estimates for October show that the district regained 10 students in the first week, she said.

Most of those students lost were at the elementary school level, despite an unexpected increase of more than 40 kindergartners, Pryne said.

When elementary schools have fewer than 400 students, the district receives less funding per student, she said.

A task force has been created to study how to handle the loss, which brings most of Port Angeles elementary schools to enrollment levels below the state’s standard of 400 students.

Sick children

At Tuesday’s PABA breakfast meeting, a parent of a former Franklin Elementary School student said her child often was sick because of conditions at the school and asked if the aging school would be closed.

Pryne said she didn’t know yet.

“That’s what we’re talking about,” she said.

The problem is that Franklin was built for three classrooms per grade, while the other school in central Port Angeles, the rebuilt Jefferson Elementary School, is built for two classrooms per grade, she said.

The district also has been unable to sell unused school properties, she said.

Not a single real estate agent showed up when the properties were officially listed as being available for sale, Pryne said.

Arts and music

Extracurricular activities such as art and music are safe for now, thanks to a property tax levy approved by voters several years ago.

Most students in the middle and high school levels are involved in some kind of extracurricular activities, but there is an effort to get 100 percent of students involved in an activity and personally connected to an adult leader, Pryne said.

That effort is spurred by the loss of three young people to suicide last year, including two students and a former student, she said.

After-school clubs

Clubs held during lunch or after school are key to connecting students to caring adults.

Many students haven’t found existing clubs that meet their current interests, so a committee is examining 51 student suggestions for new clubs, Pryne said.

“We want to get them before they drop out or check out,” she said.

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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.