VIDALIA, La. — A drop in the number of students has Concordia Parish school officials working to cover a loss of more than $500,000 in state funding.

In Louisiana, the funding a district gets from the state is based on the number of students enrolled in that district on Oct. 1 — although districts have to have their budgets approved by August.

As of Oct. 1, 3,934 students were enrolled in Concordia Parish’s public schools, though the district had projected it would have 3,960 students.

&uot;The reason we’re losing students is economic,&uot;&160;said Superintendent Lester &uot;Pete&uot; Peterman. &uot;Families are having to move elsewhere to find jobs.&uot;

As a result, Concordia Parish’s schools got $558,000 less from the state. And this has come at a time when the district still is not sure when or if it will receive more than $700,000 it is owed by Fruit of the Loom. The company went bankrupt in December and owns a Vidalia distribution center that is Concordia Parish’s biggest manufacturer.

The district, which has a total budget for more than $26 million, will probably end up receiving less than $13.7 million from the state this fiscal year. The district has made up half of that funding gap by not filling nonessential jobs this year. Those included two teaching positions and teacher’s aide, clerical and food service jobs. The assistant superintendent’s post — the position Peterman held before being chosen as superintendent last year — will also not be filled. But the district is not yet sure where the rest of the money will come from, said Tom O’Neal, the district’s financial director.

&uot;They will have to be areas we don’t feel are vitally necessary, and we’ll have to look to areas other than personnel,&uot;&160;O’Neal said.

&uot;We’re already six months into the school year as it is, so we’ll have to decide soon, probably by February.&uot;