The public announcement system crackled on throughout Smoketree Elementary School at 8:42 a.m. Wednesday.

“Good morning, Cougars and our guests,” said the voice.” Welcome to 100th day.”

Students throughout Lake Havasu Unified School District celebrated their 100th day of school Wednesday; now there are only 80 days of school left for the 2011-2012 school year.

The day is a critical turning point in the school year in regard to how much state money it will receive for the following school year. A large part of the state’s calculation to determine that is based on the average student enrollment for the first 100 days of the school year. Arizona Department of Education officials said their goal is to give districts a preliminary figure by the end of April that will give them a good base for what their budgets could look like for the following year. ADE’s Director of Policy Development and Government Affairs Stacey Morley explained that one student enrolled for the entire first 100 days would equal at least 1 average daily membership, a measurement the state uses to count students. A student who had been enrolled for 80 percent of the first 100 days would equal .8 ADM, she said. The more ADM equals more money.

LHUSD Superintendent Gail Malay said the celebrations were to help teach students the importance of attendance.

“It’s just been kind of tradition,” she said about the celebrations. “It’s not just about students that day that we get paid for, but it’s very important for students to attend school to learn.”

As part of that tradition, parents were invited to attend Smoketree’s classes. Students wore shirts featuring 100 pieces of macaroni or 100 stickers and paper hats featuring the number “100” were made. A Havasupai Elementary School kindergarten class made necklaces by threading a string through 100 pieces of cereal.

Cecilia Garcia, a mother of two Smoketree students, said it was a great idea to celebrate the day.

“It’s really neat that they do it,” she said. “That’s when they are going to get a lot of attendance. They should do more things like this.”

Due to a decrease in enrollment, the district has lost some state funding in recent years, in addition to the state legislature decreasing its education appropriations and local taxpayers voting in 2009 and 2010 to not renew a local property tax that had help fund the district.

You may contact the reporter at jleatherman@havasunews.com