Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
Enrollment in School District 55 remained steady after the first week, down from last year by approximately 70 students.
But Friday, Supt. Larry Horton decided the district should count the new Sweet Home Charter School in the district total, broken out on enrollment summaries like other schools.
The Charter School is part of District 55, he said.
Without the Charter School, enrollment was down to 2,314 students on Sept. 15 from 2,390 on Friday the second week of the last school year.
The largest class in the district is one third-grade class at Hawthorne with 29 students. The district has 1,226 boys enrolled and 1,088 girls.
With the Charter School and its 73 students, the district is down three students.
Approximately 46 of those students were enrolled in regular district schools at the end of the last school year, Horton said.
In Sweet Home enrollment typically fluctuates during the first couple months of the year and stabilizes after Christmas break.
The district’s 2006-07 budget was built anticipating no change in enrollment. District officials had expected growth to offset students enrolling in the Charter School. The district receives 20 percent of the funding for each student enrolled in the Charter School.
Enrollment numbers suggest about $300,000 less than projected will be provided by the state. That accounts for students moving from regular district schools to the Charter School, which has an enrollment cap of 90 students this year.