Enrollment rises, still lags last year

Nine weeks into the school year, Richmond County school data show an enrollment jump of nearly 1,600 students since classes began in August -- the largest increase for that time frame in four years.

School officials say the two-month rise came at a good time. The first of three state funding assessments for this school year, based in part on student numbers, occurred Tuesday.

"It's definitely a positive," said schools spokesman Louis Svehla. He said the state's first assessment counts the most, with two other adjustments being made later in the year.

Mr. Svehla said funding based on the latest enrollment count hasn't been finalized. He said state funding is based not only on student numbers but also on the categories of students represented, with special-needs students receiving more funding per pupil.

Richmond County started the school year in August with enrollment of 30,942, down 1,100 from last year's start and about 1,600 from August 2006. As of Oct. 2, enrollment was 32,525, slightly more than 200 below the tally at that point last year, according to school records.

Enrollment increases after the start of school are common because figures are continually updated, but officials say this year the system might be absorbing more private and home school students as parents try to save money.

"In some cases, students are first-time enrollees in the system. It can also take some time to get them entered into the student data system," Mr. Svehla said. "In addition, we do believe that we have had several students who are now enrolled this year that were previously enrolled in a private school or home school program last year. Some of this may be due to the economy, but there are also those who have chosen to enroll back into our system for programmatic reasons."

Jack Hall, the head of school at Augusta Preparatory Day School, said his enrollment is down slightly from a record high of 567 to its third-highest level, 550, this year.

"It appears, from our experience, that younger families with less discretionary funds are choosing not to enroll in private school this year," he said.

Officials of Westminster Schools of Augusta said in a news release that its numbers have been increasing, with 531 at the start of the school year and 541 according to more recent figures. The latest number is 11 more than last year and 41 more than in 2007.

The school designated about 10 percent of its annual budget this year -- more than a half-million dollars -- to meet financial needs of current and prospective students.

"Our financial aid is need-based, and we did experience an increase in need this year," said Erin Lively Kirchhoff, Westminster's director of marketing and communications.

E-mails sent to administrators at Augusta Christian Schools and Aquinas High School weren't immediately returned.

The enrollment increase in Richmond County schools represents a change from the gradual decreases in the past four years, according to school system records.

At the start of the 2006-07 school year, county enrollment was 32,555 -- about 1,600 more than this year's starting tally. By October 2006, enrollment had climbed to 33,357 -- about 800 more than this October.

The school with the highest enrollment this year is Cross Creek High School, with 1,331, eight more than the Academy of Richmond County.

Mr. Svehla said no study has been conducted to determine why enrollment has dipped overall since the 2006-07 year.

During that time, though, there have been fewer school-age children in the county's population. The county's overall population only dropped from 199,775 in 2000 to 199,486 in 2008, but the number of those ages 5 to 19 has dropped from 46,732 in 2000 to 43,765 in 2007, according to the most recent U.S. Census data.

Columbia County's latest school enrollment figure was 22,891, as of September, up slightly from 22,863 at the start of the school year. The system grew by more than 500 students over last year.

Aiken County's most recent 11-day enrollment, 64,699, is down 173 from 2008-09. However, the district was still 181 students over projections for the year.

Staff Writers Donnie Fetter and Julia Sellers contributed to this article.

Reach Preston Sparks at (706) 828-3851 or preston.sparks@augustachronicle.com.