The Garden City Telegram
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Some districts seeing more students
Published 9/26/2008 in News : Education
By EMILY BEHLMANN
ebehlmann@gctelegram.com
School districts counting up their student enrollments this week didn't see any consistent, area-wide trends, with some seeing growth and others seeing decline.
In general, though, school enrollment in southwest Kansas is more down than up, and administrators are attributing the changes to factors from societal mobility to limitations on housing.
The enrollment numbers are based on a count of students typically taken on Sept. 20 of each year, though the count was taken on Sept. 22 this year, since Sept. 20 fell on a Saturday. All numbers are preliminary, with the state still working out kinks like a transferring student who might have been counted as enrolled in two districts.
Moving around
Superintendents at most school districts in the area couldn't pinpoint a reason for the changes in their enrollment, but Jon Ansley, superintendent at Deerfield USD 216, has a few ideas.
Deerfield's enrollment is at 294, down 12 from last year, and Ansley said the loss was mainly at the elementary level. The community lost several families with children because of job changes, he said.
"The community appears to be in a transitional stage, with many families having no children of school age in the home anymore, and many families with infants and toddlers not yet in school," Ansley said.
USD 216 also used to receive several transfer students who live out of town, and some of those families are now keeping their kids closer to home because of high gas prices, he said.
Transferring among schools also could have had an effect on enrollment at the school districts in Copeland and Montezuma, which share facilities and students. Collectively, the two lost 11 students from this time last year, and Jay Zehr, superintendent for both, said he thinks some went to nearby private schools.
Susan Scherling, superintendent at Stanton County USD 452, also mentioned transfers as a possible reason her district lost some students this year. But other students had parents who got jobs elsewhere, she said.
"It's amazing how mobile our society is," said Jim Hardy, superintendent at Leoti USD 467. "There's a lot of coming and going."
His district got the positive side of the mobility deal this year, increasing by 11 students to a total of 437. However, Garden City, Greeley County, Healy, Hugoton, Ingalls, Sublette and Ulysses were others to see a decline this year.
Cimarron, Dighton, Holcomb, Lakin, Moscow and Satanta saw growth.
On the brink
Some school leaders are hopeful that trends of decline in their district are about to turn around.
In Garden City USD 457, Superintendent Rick Atha cited the community's overall population as an indicator that the district could soon rebound in its student population.
USD 457's enrollment -- at 7,552 in 2000 -- dropped by about 200 students, mostly at the elementary and middle school levels, just after a fire in 2000 that destroyed the ConAgra beef plant, eliminating about 2,300 jobs. The district's numbers, though fairly steady at the high school level, have been declining ever since.
However, Mayor David Crase noted in his State of the City address last week that the city's population has "bounced back to pre ConAgra fire levels" of more than 29,000 residents.
"If the population in the town is growing, it's just a matter of time before the school district grows," Atha said.
John LaFave, superintendent at Healy USD 468, also is hopeful for a turnaround. His district has been losing students for several years and is down to 75 this year, but he said he thinks the Prairie Fire BioEnergy Cooperative plant starting up there will be just what the community needs. That and a few other opportunities should open up at least 20 jobs in Healy, he said.
"I'm optimistic it will happen," LaFave said. "It's a really progressive community."
Community efforts also could make a difference in Greeley County USD 200, where Christy Hopkins, director for Greeley County Community Development, said residents are working on several initiatives to address a housing shortage and promote the community.
For instance, a housing action team is working with Northwest Kansas Housing Inc., a community development organization, on a grant that could fund two duplexes and two single-family homes in Greeley County, she said.
USD 200 has been losing an average of about 10 students a year in the 11 years Bill Wilson has been superintendent, he said, but he's anticipating a "tipping point."
"We're working on it, but it's a slow process," he said.
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