It was a case of good news/bad news for attendance in Chelsea Public Schools in December, according to Deputy Superintendent Adam Deleidi. Deleidi presented the district’s monthly indicators of success at last week’s school committee meeting. “As we compare December’s attendance to November’s, we actually had dips in all grades,” said Deleidi. “I can attribute that probably to the holidays. They are slight dips, but they are dips nonetheless.” However, Deleidi said that the good news for the attendance statistics comes in tracking the year-to-date percentages. “We are on pace to beat last year’s total in all grades but grade 9,” he said. “Grade 9 is on pace to be about a percentage point lower than last year.” Deleidi also updated the committee on the drop-out rate for the month of December. “We had three students drop out total,” he said. “One student is signing up to do the Job Corps, which I think is an excellent opportunity, and the other students have been location unknown, which means they likely moved out of the district.” December also saw 56 newly enrolled students in the district compared to 28 students leaving the district. “That adds up to a total for the year of 436 newly enrolled students since the beginning of the school year, with 196 students disenrolling,” said Deleidi. Superintendent of Schools Dr. Almi Abeyta said that currently, the total enrollment for the public schools stands at 6,272 students, which is about 72 students more than the district has been averaging. “We are growing,” she said. Abeyta noted that the enrollment, attendance, and drop-out rate information are part of the indicators of success for the school district that are presented to the school committee on a monthly basis. “These indicators are actually tied to the five-year strategic plan, so if you look at the plan, this is how we are measuring our success over time,” said Abeyta. The monthly reports to the school committee are a way for the district to hold itself accountable for the work it says it’s going to do in the strategic plan, Abeyta said. In other business, the school committee approved a budget transfer in the amount of $1.4 million to move funds from special education and pupil personnel accounts to the facilities and transportation account. Funds are available as the result of salary savings in four schools and the special education department. These funds will be used for one time spending relating to building improvements and furniture.