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Enrollment Slide Not As Bad As Predicted

By Elaine Macdonald

Enrollment figures for School District 57 are better than expected. The District had predicted a drop in enrollment of more than 400, but School Board Chair Bill Christie says so far the numbers are below the predictions.

“The figures are very preliminary right now, but so far , if you look at Kindergarten, primary and intermediate classes, enrollment is down by about 200. It will be a few weeks before we have the full count on High Schools, so in all, the picture is much brighter than we had expected” says Christie. The high school numbers are a little slower to tabulate as some students may not return till later in the month.

Some schools are showing gains, others, losses. Here are just a few comparisons:

Austin Road Elementary had 318 students June 30th, they projected they would have 311 this fall, but their registration is already at 326.

College Heights Elementary had 352 students June 30th, yesterday, 376 had registered.

In Mackenzie, Morfee Elementary finished the school year with 256 students, it now has 262.

Bear Lake Elementary had 13 students June 30th, it now has 6.

Hixon had 43, they projected 41 for the school year, 39 have registered.

There is good news on class sizes. Christie says the Board had channeled $1 million dollars into reducing class size, and so far it looks like the average kindergarten class in the District will have 17.56 students ( down from 19) the primary average class size will be 20.19, down from 21 and the Intermediate will be 25.97 down from 27.

The reduced class size means more classes have been created, and that has put some schools under extra pressure for space. Christie says it is possible some schools may have to add a portable.

Board Chair Bill Christie says the District had expected a student loss of 2-3% but so far, it would appear the loss will be about 1.6%.

Each student represents about $6,000.00 in funding.

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