Enrollment a mixed bag for district
Headcount in the Tonganoxie School District is down five students from 2006’s official numbers, with 1,786 students this year.
However, the district’s full-time equivalent, which is the formula the state uses to distribute aid, is up in Tonganoxie.
Last year, the FTE was 1,716.5. This year, it’s 1,732.
Official enrollment numbers were taken Thursday in schools across Kansas. They are based on both headcount and the type of schooling the students receive.
Students in preschool, kindergarten and special education are counted as halftime students.
Superintendent Richard Erickson pointed out that there are fewer kindergarten students this year, but more 12th-graders, who obviously are full-time students.
Erickson said this year’s senior class at Tonganoxie High School had 157 students, compared to last year’s count of 124.
Overall, 597 students are enrolled at THS, 583 at the middle school (5-8) and 606 at the elementary school (special education preschool through fourth grade)
“We’re happy that we’re up,” Erickson said, referring to the FTE numbers. “It’s always positive to be up in enrollment. We’ve had some good growth in Tonganoxie USD 464 in the last six years. We’re very pleased.”
McLouth
School officials in McLouth report that 569 students are enrolled this year.
That includes 178 at the high school, which is grades 9 through 12; 135 at the middle school, grades 6-8; and 256 at the elementary school, pre-kindergarten through fifth grade.
A year ago, the district reported a headcount of 564 students, according to the Kansas State Department of Education. Headcounts in 2006 were 252 at the elementary school; 129 at the middle school and 183 at the high school.
“It would appear that we are going to be up a few students,” McLouth Elementary School principal Butch Batman said. “Nothing dramatic, but better than a loss.”
Basehor-Linwood
Enrollment numbers are continuing to climb in the Basehor-Linwood district.
Assistant superintendent David Howard reported that 1,863 students are enrolled in Basehor-Linwood schools, up 41 students from last year’s official residential count.
The Basehor-Linwood Virtual School also gives the district’s enrollment a boost. While the majority of Virtual School students do not live within district boundaries and complete their courses online, they still count toward Basehor-Linwood’s total enrollment. The Virtual School reported 338 students for a total of 2,201, still up by 17.5 from last year.
“Our numbers are staying really good, which tells me our program is really solid,” Howard said about the Virtual School.
FTEs also are expected to go up in the district. Howard gave a rough FTE estimate of 2,136, while last year’s was 2,087.
The official FTE will be calculated and reported to the state by early October, Howard said.