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More than half the school districts in the four-county Milwaukee metro area saw enrollment decreases at the start of this school year, according to data released by the state last week that provides a preliminary count of kids in public schools this year.

But while many traditional districts adjust for fewer students, enrollment is up - way up - in some of Wisconsin's largest virtual charter schools, where students do most or all instruction online and don't need to live anywhere near the district where that school is located.

The uptick in virtual school enrollment comes on the heels of new state legislation that lengthened the period for families to enroll in the state's open enrollment program. In 2011-'12, more than 37,300 students used the program to attend a school outside their home district.

The legislation, supported by many Republicans who favor more school choice, may have benefited virtual programs and other charter schools because they could spend more time recruiting students and families. But it's caused headaches for district leaders and business managers trying to keep track of where kids are - and how much state aid money should come or go with them.

"It's a conundrum," said Blake Peuse, superintendent of the Northern Ozaukee School District. "It was more predictable even just a few years ago."

State enrollment counts are important because they help determine how much state funding a district receives and how much money it can raise under state-imposed revenue caps.

In the fall, districts use the updated enrollment numbers to complete their budgets and set the property tax levy. Sustained drops in enrollment generally mean less money for districts; enrollment increases generally help a district's bottom line.

But as more students use open enrollment, the traditional third Friday of September enrollment count becomes a less accurate picture of how many kids are being educated in a district.

For example, data posted to the Department of Public Instruction website last week shows an unaudited enrollment count of 850 students this year in Northern Ozaukee, down from 879 last year.

But there were fewer heartbeats in seats than that on Sept. 21.

That's because the district, based in Fredonia, also hosts Wisconsin Virtual Learning, an online K-12 charter school that has a total enrollment of 725 students this year, 14 of whom are district residents.

Northern Ozaukee counts the district residents in its virtual charter school, but not the more than 700 other nonresident students. Those students get included in the September count of their home districts.

Districts who receive students through open enrollment collect a set amount of money from the open enrollees' home districts at a later date.

In the metro area, 30 of the 51 area school districts in Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington and Waukesha counties counted fewer students this September than last fall.

Milwaukee Public Schools continued its enrollment decline this year, dropping 1.34% from last year to 84,736 students in September 2012, according to the state's preliminary data.

But that number includes students who use open enrollment to leave the district and receive their education elsewhere. Last year, 5,944 Milwaukee resident students took advantage of that option.

Ten of Milwaukee County's 18 school districts saw enrollment increases this September. Franklin Public Schools saw an increase of 81 students for an approximate 2% enrollment increase, and Greenfield saw 72 more students for a 2.3% increase.

West Allis-West Milwaukee also saw about a 2% increase, with 174 more students this year compared with last year.

"The past three years we have seen an increase in younger residential students and their families moving into our district," said Brian Vissers, spokesman for West Allis-West Milwaukee.

Suburban districts drop

Meanwhile, some of the districts losing the most students - beyond MPS - are in wealthier suburbs.

All five Ozaukee County districts lost enrollment.

Twelve of Waukesha County's 19 school districts saw enrollment declines, according to the preliminary counts. One of them, the Mukwonago School District, lost 126 students this year, a 2.6% decrease from last year.

Superintendent Paul Strobel said the number wasn't a surprise. The district graduated a class of 400 students last year and has an incoming class of fewer than 300. The county's birthrate is declining, and fewer homes are being built in the area, he said.

"Every year a percentage of families graduate their last child from high school," Strobel said in an email. "For example, my children graduated in the 1990s, and I am still living in the same house - it has not turned over to a younger family with school-age children."

Virtual schools grow

At the same time, virtual, online K-12 education is showing growth in Wisconsin. Last year 25 virtual charter schools around the state enrolled a total of 4,907 students, according to state data. This year there are 28 virtual charter schools.

The state does not release preliminary enrollment data for charter schools, but of 13 virtual schools that responded to reporters' inquiries 10 reported at least a 15% increase in enrollment over last year, with seven of those gaining at least 30% more students.

Waukesha's eAchieve Academy, a middle and high school, grew to 264 part-time students this year, up 30% from last year's 203 students.

Full-time enrollment at eAchieve grew 16% to 900 students this year.

Christopher Schulteis, logistics and marketing manager at eAchieve, attributed the increase to the school's growing popularity since opening in 2004 and a longer window for the state's open enrollment program.

"We had a big push at the beginning of the open enrollment period, a lull in the middle and a big rush at the end," Schulteis said. "It's the same kind of pattern as other years, but it's just drawn out a little longer."

Wisconsin Act 114 (Senate Bill 2) was enacted in 2011, and extends the open enrollment period from three weeks to three months, beginning in February of each year. Schulteis said adapting to the change was a challenge, but the school was able to add all of the open enrollment students that applied.

Wisconsin Virtual Learning, the charter school in Northern Ozaukee, increased enrollment to 724 students this year, up more than 17% from last year.

Chetek-Weyerhaeuser School District's Link2Learn Virtual Charter School saw the largest increase, more than doubling in size from 26 students to 58. The state's largest online program, the McFarland School District's Wisconsin Virtual Academy, added 906 students for an 85.63% increase.