After years of trending downward in enrollment, the Oak Harbor School District appears to have gained some traction.

The official October enrollment count estimated 5,200 students, or 100 students more than originally projected.

The extra students accounted for $400,000 worth of additional state funding, and district leaders are still puzzling over an efficient way to spend it.

At Monday’s school board meeting, Superintendent Rick Schulte said “over enrollment” could require the district to hire four more teachers to comply with the state’s Basic Education Formula.

However, this probably isn’t a feasible option, he said.

“We are below our class size limits at every grade level,” Schulte said.

A contract with the teachers’ union set a maximum class size limit in Oak Harbor schools. Mike Watson, the Oak Harbor Education Association president, said class sizes are balanced and mentioned the closure at Clover Valley Elementary after heavy enrollment decreases.

“We are not full-packed to the gills,” he said.

Most of the growth occurred at the elementary schools, and Schulte said there would be limited space for new teachers. Only two classrooms are currently available. Clover Valley is now used by high school students during the renovation project.

“Hiring four certified teachers would cost us more money than funds we would take in,” he added.

This is because of a mix-factor, which analyzes the credits and the level of experience of each teacher. An experienced teacher hired after Oct. 1 (the filing date) wouldn’t be factored into the average and the state would decrease revenue.

To meet compliance, Schulte said there is a way to do it without hiring. The district files a report each year that pairs an account code with each teacher.

“We have discretion as to what account code we put on teachers,” Schulte said. “For example, an I-728 teacher doesn’t count toward compliance, but we can decide which teachers are I-728.”

If enrollment continues trending upward next year, Schulte said hiring more teachers is worth considering. There are options for hiring teachers that don’t require more space.

“Last year we hired remedial teachers for math and English, who tutored students outside of the classrooms,” he said.

Principals were asked to brainstorm ideas for spending at Thursday’s administration meeting, and a decision will be made at a later date.

“If there are additional resources, we want to use them to benefit our students,” Schulte said. “I mean, we’re not a bank. … Thank goodness.”