Enrollment declines again as school gets underway

Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Miranda Pedroza delivers her children for their first day of school at East Elementary last week, Amos, 6, who is starting first grade, and Tonio, 5, who is starting kindergarten.

Some came excited, some were apprehensive, but the first day of school for kindergarten and first-grade students last week was a big day for them, as they showed up decked out in their best back-to-school clothes and sporting the latest in backpack fashions.

Outside the elementary schools, teachers helped direct the newcomers to the right classrooms, while some of the "veterans" in the second grade and above also offered their advice -- in between greeting friends they hadn't seen all summer.

But as school got underway last week, officials at the Mountain Home School District office were both pleased and concerned.

They were pleased at how smoothly it went.

"The first week of school was very calm, no big issues," said new district superintendent Tim McMurtrey.

But there was concern as well.

"Our numbers are down again this year," he said, and that could have a major impact on district finances and organization.

Following a trend that has been occurring for the last five years, the district's overall enrollment is less than the year before, and once again the greatest loss has been at the base schools, where there are 18 fewer students at the Base Primary School and 61 fewer students at Liberty Elementary. The base middle schoolwas mothballed several years ago due to declining attendance and those students are now bused into town.

In addition, McMurtrey noted, in October there will be a turnover of military personnel on base, with the district already notified some students there will be leaving, but how many will show up when the replacement military families arrive is unknown.

Enrollment also was down in the town schools, by 54 students, with 40 of those students reducing the ranks of the high school class.

Unlike most school districts, where 50 students in grade 5 means 50 students the next year in grade 6, the military presence in Mountain Home results in a constant turnover of students that makes projecting enrollment difficult for the district.

As a result, the district held six teaching positions open going into the fall, and only filled three of them because of the lower enrollment numbers.

McMurtrey said the trend may be reversing itself, since kindergarten enrollment at East and North elementaries were up 64 and 27 students, respectively, "so if we can weather the storm for a little bit, maybe we can start getting our numbers back up."

Because of the varying numbers, the district has "pockets" of disparity in classroom sizes. At West Elementary, for example, one kindergarten class only has 16 students in it, while a fourth-grade class there has 31, well above the district goal of 22-23 students per class (18 for kindergarten classes).

The declining enrollment is a concern to the district because so much of its funding from state and federal sources, which represent over 90 percent of its revenue, are tied to student populations.

Of particular concern are the loss of students on base because of the funding losses from Impact Aid money the district receives. Impact Aid is a federal revenue source for children whose parents live on base and therefore do not pay property taxes. It usually results in over a million dollars a year in the district's budget. The district estimates a loss of $225,000 this year in Impact Aid money due to the fewer numbers of school-age children on base.

In addition, the bulk of the district's funding comes from the state, based on Average Daily Attendance units. The lower overall numbers for the district represent an estimated loss of $418,000 to the district.

Combined, the district is estimating $643,000 less to spend this year, despite increased curriculum requirements from the state and federal government.

The school board, concerned about the long-term implications of the declining enrollment, has directed McMurtrey to prepare an analysis by February of how the district should reorganize its personnel and buildings to make most effective and efficient use of its facilities and people.

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