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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend March 1, 2006 Oregon school enrollment up from last year; many local districts see decline From staff and wire reports SALEM — The number of elementary and secondary students attending Oregon’s public schools is up over last year but continues to decline in Jackson County, where high housing prices have marginalized young families. An improving economy and a continuing increase in Hispanic student enrollment have fueled the growth statewide, Oregon Department of Education officials said. Jackson County schools also have seen a hike in the number of Hispanic students but generally not enough to offset the exodus of low- and moderate-income families, local school district officials said. The overall rise in general student enrollment to 559,228 students — an increase of 6,900 from a year ago — is placing more pressure on many districts that already have large class sizes, the agency said Monday. State School Superintendent Susan Castillo also said the enrollment increase comes at a time when state aid to local schools isn’t keeping pace with inflation. The combination of increased enrollment and inadequate school funding "makes it even harder for classroom teachers to ensure that every student is successful," Castillo said. Advertisement Dwindling enrollment also exacerbates large class sizes in some schools because under the state school-funding system, the loss of students means the loss of revenue. In Jackson County, enrollment dipped by less than a half of a percent. The number of students decreased by 2.5 percent in the Ashland School District, less than 1 percent in the Central Point School District, 1.4 percent in the Medford School District, 30.3 percent in the Pinehurst School District and 3.1 percent in the Prospect School District. Phil Long, Medford’s superintendent, blamed high housing prices for the erosion in enrollment countywide. "Our concern is if a young family is not already in housing it’s difficult for them to get into housing," Long said. "We think there is an outmigration of young families from the district and the county." Enrollment rose by 3.7 percent in the Butte Falls School District, 2.1 percent in the Eagle Point School District, 1.4 percent in the Talent-Phoenix School District and 5.1 percent in the Rogue River School District. "Percentage-wise, the small districts obviously fluctuate the most," Long said. "Butte Falls gained seven students and went up by 3.7 percent. Medford has 40 percent of the students in the county, and we went down 1.4 percent." Eagle Point is the largest district in the county to experience growth in its student body. "There are housing starts all over the district spurring the growth, and the houses are less expensive in places like White City and Shady Cove, which had some of the highest growth," said Bill Feusahrens, superintendent of the Eagle Point district. In the report Monday, the education agency also said Hispanic enrollment continues to increase, and now totals 84,246 statewide. Department spokesman Gene Evans said the agency has no idea how many of the students are the children of illegal immigrants because under federal law "we are barred from asking about that." "These are students who show up, enroll in public school, and start taking classes," Evans said. "That’s what we know." Evans, however, said education officials believe the overall enrollment jump is a sign that Oregon’s economy is continuing to rebound from the 2002 recession. He said the largest areas of enrollment growth came in Bend, Salem and the Portland suburbs, "places where housing construction is booming" and creating more job opportunities that are attracting those students’ parents to those areas. Castillo, meanwhile, said the latest enrollment increase underscores the need for additional state support for local schools. For the two-year budget, the 2005 Legislature appropriated $5.24 billion, up from the previous budget’s $4.9 billion. But some education advocates insisted that at least $5.4 billion was needed to keep up with inflation and avoid teacher layoffs and larger class sizes in districts around the state. "We urgently need to reinvest in our schools," Castillo said. Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker Custom Build Computers Computer Security Discount Hotel Reservations Debt Consolidation Generic Viagra Windermere Van Vleet Deep Muscle Stimulator Sports Equipment Online Casino Reviews Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Online Casino Fundraisers Sudoku Online Casinos Canada Advertisement s Advertisement