Count Day (which lands on Oct. 1 every school year), is right around the corner.

Unfortunately, the 2021-2022 school year’s Count Day falls on a Friday, meaning there will be no late start at the beginning of October.

Because Count Day falls on a Friday, late start was shifted and left out of October. According to MHS attendance clerk Ms. Salaz, the SVVSD district decided “because of times that [students] have to be in a classroom”, they would “[allot] for that”, which left students without a late start this month.

Teachers still prepare by counting attendance. Administrators will work to remove unenrolled students from their rosters before Count Day. The finalized numbers help provide funds for each individual school.

Ms. Salaz said, “Based on the number of students we have in the building, we can sometimes gain more teaching hours, [which increases] our budget.”

She explained that funding from the district as well as the number of staff and teachers entirely depends on the final attendance on Count Day.

Count Day is very important. The resulting funding can be used for various student resources.

Students of Mead High are especially encouraged to attend school on Oct. 1 to properly count towards the funding utilized for their education.