POULSBO — Fewer students than were projected have settled into North Kitsap schools for the 2015-16 school year.

But the enrollment number is still up over last school year, thanks to a new way of counting kindergarten students, and that means more average-daily-attendance funding from the state.

The state lowered the qualifications elementary schools must meet to receive funding for all-day kindergarten. Each student is now counted as one full-time equivalent, or FTE, rather than 0.5 as in past years.

“While in our budget we actually have fewer students, we are showing an increase [in] enrollment because of that increase in FTE,” said Paula Bailey, outgoing director of business, finance and operations, in a school board meeting Aug. 6. “In fact, there is an 89 FTE decrease, but the kindergarten increase of 175 actually provides an increase in FTE by 88.”

Although the average FTE kindergarteners in the district is 215, Bailey said, “Last year when we did our budget we budgeted for 204. This year when we do our budget, we’re budgeting for 390.”

Five of six local elementary schools qualified for the increase in kindergarten funding. “Based on the way the state allocated it, Gordon did not qualify,” said Kelly Pearson, the new director of business, finance and operations.

The school district has since hired more teachers to compensate for the larger enrollment. “We made a staffing increase in order to reduce those class levels funded by the state,” Bailey said. “We have a compliance element. If we don’t staff at those levels … the state will come back and take back the money. We need to make sure that our class sizes, from a district average, stay at those levels so that we’re receiving and maximizing the funding from the state.”

Superintendent Patty Page added, “The district will keep monitoring it the rest of the year. In order to meet the class-size reduction, if it costs us more to meet that than we’re going to receive, we may choose not to receive it. We’ll still work on class size, absolutely, but we’re going to have to do a cost analysis [and] see where we are.”

The North Kitsap School District unanimously approved the budget resolution for the 2015-16 school year, including the additional state funding for all-day kindergarten. It has hired an additional six teachers for this school year.

“It’s the right thing to do for our students,” Pearson said. Regarding future funding, “The Legislature has consistently said publicly they will not take any funding away from the school districts anywhere. I assume they would maintain funding and hopefully increase it.”