Document text
Enrollment barely moves By Vicki Guarino Public school enrollment in Jackson County has remained nearly flat for the past year, according to new student counts released by school districts this week. September enrollment counts are the first official counts districts file for accounting purposes. Funding from the state is based in large part on numbers of students. For the past several years, enrollment overall in Jackson County schools has grown at a modest 1 to 2 percent, with enrollment in the Medford School District setting the pace because of its large size. Rather than growing at 2 percent or so this year, however, Medford school�s census barely changed, increasing just . 3 percent. Medford was the county�s fastest growing district last year; this year Central Point takes the lead. Central Point�s increase fulfills predictions that administrators first made several years ago. Seeing a number of residential developments in the works, and hundreds of housing lots approved in the city of Central Point, school officials expected hundreds of new families with children. Superintendent Candace Manary noted Wednesday that most of the increase � 80 out of 95 students � occurred at Crater High School. Already overcrowded, the high school has had to serve many more students than it was built to accommodate. With some shifting of classroom assignments, Crater was able to place all students in required classes this fall, despite the enrollment increase. This is the first time in a couple of years that Crater has been able to avoid putting students on waiting lists for required classes. Besides the crowds at Crater, the Central Point School District has had a boom in kindergarten enrollment. Manary said additional kindergarten classes had to be set up at three schools � one class each at Central Point, Mae Richardson and Jewett. "This is the first time our kindergarten class has been bigger than our first-grade class," Manary said. Manary said Central Point�s enrollment increase underscores the need for the just-approved $29.8 million bond measure for school construction. Crater, for example, will gain 10 classrooms, plus an auditorium. In Medford, enrollment changes have been sporadic. Superintendent Steve Wisely noted that despite only a slight gain districtwide � just 41 students � enrollment in the two middle schools� seventh and eighth grades rose by 63 students. In contrast, high school enrollment dropped by 31. "In two to three years, we�re going to see a big increase in the number of kids in the middle schools," Wisely said. "That�s when we�re going to need the third middle school." While most districts are growing, the Rogue River School District is continuing a slow decline in enrollment. For several years, the district has graduated classes that are significantly larger than classes at lower grade levels, said Superintendent Charles Hellman. Because enrollment is so closely tied to revenue, the district has had to cut teaching staff to keep its budget balanced. Each student brings roughly $4,500 in state funds, according to funding formulas set by the state Legislature. So far, staff cutbacks have come through attrition. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.