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Tonganoxie, McLouth enrollment heading different directions

By Shawn Linenberger - | Aug 26, 2009

Jimmy Gillispie

The first full day for everyone in the Baldwin School District was Thursday. Here students at Baldwin Junior High School wait to board the bus after the first day of school. Although the numbers aren't official until Sept. 21, but early indications are enrollment is down this year.

Enrollment trends in Tonganoxie and McLouth are heading in the same path respectively — Tonganoxie keeps reporting higher enrollment and McLouth is experiencing continued declining enrollment.

McLouth Superintendent Jean Rush said Monday the district’s unofficial headcount was 503, which is down about 14 students from 2008-09.

She said there’s been a slight decline the last seven years, and noted the district had 581 students in 2004. Some factors in the movement of students, Rush said, were economics, with the loss of jobs and home foreclosures.

But she said the good news to take from the bad is that much of the decline is in the upper grades and that increased enrollment in younger grades normally is more sustainable.

“In most of the elementary grades we saw growth,” Rush said. “We’re hoping that’s a good sign.”

Preliminary enrollment numbers for the Tonganoxie School District, meanwhile, once again show an increase in students.

Enrollment is at 1,898, an increase of 67 students from 2008-09, which equals nearly a 3.7 percent increase.

Earlier preliminary numbers for this school year showed an additional 21 students, but Tonganoxie Superintendent Kyle Hayden reported updated numbers Monday that showed a lower number.

Since the 2005-06 school year, enrollment has climbed every year. From 2005-06 to 2006-07, enrollment increased by 4.6 percent. Between 2006-07 and 2007-08, it moved upward by just 0.8 percent, but increased 2.8 percent between 2007-08 and 2008-09. At TES, there are 685 students; TMS, 603; and THS, 610. All three are increases from the previous school year.

Official enrollment numbers will be released after Sept. 20. That’s the annual date when school districts submit enrollment numbers as of that date to the state to determine how much funding districts will receive per student.