Enrollment up in Tonganoxie by 43 students
Tonganoxie school enrollment has increased by 43 students, the district’s second consecutive increase.
Richard Erickson, superintendent, said this year’s unofficial 20th day count, taken Sept. 20, is 1,522, compared to the official count of 1,479 for the 2001-2001.
And according to the full-time equivalent, Erickson said it looks like that’s going to be up 44.8 over last year.
“I’m real pleased,” Erickson said. “I think it comes at a real critical time with state finances so difficult. I couldn’t be happier about the enrollment increase.”
The Basehor-Linwood also saw an increase in enrollment, said Cal Cormack, superintendent.
The Sept. 20 count at Basehor-Linwood was 2,060.25, Cormack said, up from last year’s count of 2,056.
“We’re only up 4.25 students if we compared head counts,” Cormack said. “But that’s because the virtual charter school is down somewhat.”
The Basehor-Linwood Virtual Charter School is an Internet-based curriculum offered to students throughout Kansas. This year the VCS has an enrollment of 354, down 12 from last year’s 366 students.
“Within the district, resident students, there’s an increase of 16 students,” Cormack said.
McLouth school superintendent Jean Rush was unavailable Monday, but earlier had said she thought the district’s enrollment might have dropped by about five or six students.
At Tonganoxie’s private Genesis Christian Academy, Shelly Gossett, the school’s administrator and kindergarten teacher, said the school has 84 students enrolled in kindergarten through sixth grade. In addition, the school has 67 students attending preschool. A year ago, GCA had a K-6 enrollment of 67.
Gossett estimated that at least half of the school’s enrolled students reside in the Tonganoxie school district. The school, which is in its sixth year of operation, also has students from across the area, including Basehor and Eudora, she said.