Enrollment fluctuating with economy

By COURTNEY SERVAES, Herald Staff Writer

Just last week, seven new students enrolled at Wellsville Elementary School.

And Superintendent Denise O’Dea expects this kind of sporadic enrollment to become more common as the year continues because of the economy.

“We’re still seeing students move in,” O’Dea said.

All four area schools calculated enrollment numbers this week, and many of them — including Wellsville — saw spikes in their numbers.

Not only do school districts use these numbers as an official head count, but enrollment numbers impact what is known as the district’s FTE — full-time equivalent students — and weighted FTE figures. Weighted FTE accounts for extra money provided by the state for transportation, vocational technology, bilingual and programs for at-risk students.

Kindergarten and preschool students count as half-time students and receive less state aid per pupil.

Wellsville

The Wellsville School District head count is up by six this year, O’Dea said.

The school reported an official enrollment of 877 compared to last year’s head count of 871 students. O’Dea said 15 more students were added to the district’s FTE list — making it 845 students.

O’Dea said she was not surprised by this year’s numbers, but she expects students to both leave and join the district — even by the end of the week — because many families are relocating.

Ottawa

The Ottawa School District enrollment has been growing since the start of school.

Superintendent Dean Katt said previously that the district’s 2,569 students also are coming and going because of the economy.

“Our elementary numbers have been growing,” Katt said previously.

Katt said the district’s official FTE count was 2,444, up from 2,412 last year.

West Franklin

West Franklin Superintendent Dotson Bradbury says the economy has had a negative impact on his district’s enrollment.

Bradbury reported a total enrollment of 705 students — a drop of 12 students from last year.

“I think once the economy turns around, we will see families once again return to small town, rural living,” Bradbury said.

Central Heights

Central Heights Superintendent Jim Reece says enrollment is down more than he expected.

Reece said he expected a drop of about two or three students this year, but instead enrollment within the district is down by 10, from 538 last year to 528 this year.

Despite this, Reece said the number of at-risk students was up more than 10 percent this year.

“It will be interesting to see if the increased revenue on the at-risk side is more than the decline in enrollment,” Reece said.