Higher-than-expected enrollment forced the Oak Harbor School District to petition for more funding Monday.

The Oak Harbor School Board approved a general fund budget increase of $884,501.

Superintendent Rick Schulte said the enrollment count came in 160 full-time students higher than budgeted. Last month, the board said the gain was the sign of a new trend — enrollment was generally declining for about eight years followed by a year of slightly increasing enrollment.

The district’s original budget of $48,852,687 for the 2009-10 fiscal year will increase to $49,737,188.

Part of the budget increase accounts for extra state revenue the district receives for each full-time equivalent student, which totals about $5,000 per student. District expenditures also rose in areas such as transportation and school food service.

Schulte said the district will depend on the fund balance to offset expected cuts to both state and federal funding next year. He and Vicki Williams, business manager, will closely monitor expenditures and revenues to make sure the district meets fund balance targets, he said.

“We’ll try to cushion the blow.”

The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction will need to approve the new amount. The budget extension was approved last October.