Although state dollars per student are down, numbers were up for Student Count Day at Spring Lake Public Schools. Enrollment in Spring Lake schools for the 2011-12 school year is 2,461 for K-12 and alternative education, according to the count taken Wednesday. That's an increase of 35 students over last year. The district will receive $6,880 per pupil, a reduction of $450 per from the 2010-11 school year.

Spring Lake Public Schools officials said the new funding formula for state aid associated with student counts will positively impact their district. Changes are taking place this school year in how official student counts are handled to calculate per-pupil aid from the state. The number of students counted during the fall count day on Oct. 5 will be worth 90 percent of state aid, rather than 75 percent as in past years, The Detroit News reported Monday. A winter count in February will be worth 10 percent instead of 25 percent.

Changes are taking place this school year in how official student counts are handled to calculate per-pupil aid from the state. The number of students counted during the fall count day on Oct. 5 will be worth 90 percent of state aid, rather than 75 percent as in past years, The Detroit News reported Monday. A winter count in February will be worth 10 percent instead of 25 percent. Overall, Michigan's public schools could receive $12.6 million less in school aid this year because of the change.

Calvin College biology professor David DeHeer, 66, died Friday at Spectrum Health Blodgett Hospital in Grand Rapids. DeHeer, who had a long struggle with pulmonary fibrosis, had declined suddenly in recent weeks. A Grand Haven native, DeHeer attended Calvin through 1966, but completed a degree in zoology (with a minor in chemistry) at the University of Arizona in 1968. He earned a Ph.D. in molecular biology with a minor in biochemistry at the same institution in 1972.