** FILE**The Grande Mariner cruises on the Detroit River next to the city's skyline in a June 14, 2006 file photo in Detroit. In another blow to the Motor City's tarnished image, Detroit pushed past St. Louis to become the nation's most dangerous city, according to a private research group's analysis of annual FBI crime statistics released Sunday, Nov. 18, 2007. The study ranked Mission Viejo, Calif., as the safest U.S. cit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)
More students have enrolled in Detroit Public Schools than officials expected, thanks in part to a program aimed at keeping kids or persuading their parents to return them to the district.
Officials say DPS began Monday with a student enrollment of 85,851 students. But only 83,812 can be reported to the state because some students have not consistently attended a full day of classes.
Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb, district employees and auditors on Monday went door-to-door near King High School on the city's east side to find out why the students are not in school full-time.
Enrollment numbers reported to the state determine how much the district receives in funding. Detroit schools faces a $259 million budget deficit.
The district budgeted for 83,777 students this fall.
