There are 1,180 more students sitting at desks in Snohomish County schools this fall.
Kevin Nortz / The Herald
Schools report their fourth-day attendance to the state each year. The county attendance sheet shows enrollment is up 1 percent.
With state money tied to enrollment, that’s about $6 million in new state funding for local schools.
In general, the most dramatic growth continues to be north and east of Everett, where land is more available and housing often costs less.
The Monroe School District is among the biggest gainers, adding 200 students this year. In the last five years, enrollment has surged 10 percent in the district.
Monroe’s new Fryelands Elementary School opened this fall already at its capacity of 531 students. Principal Jeff Presley said the space crunch isn’t likely to taper off.
“There’s lots of strollers being walked into school,” he said.
The school’s kindergarten is three seats away from being maxed out. Any new students after that will have to attend Frank Wagner Elementary School.
Meanwhile, schools in Island County saw enrollment drop nearly 3 percent. In the last five years, enrollment on Whidbey Island has declined by 741 students.
That doesn’t mean those schools aren’t seeing new faces.
Oak Harbor School District added 69 students this year from a military base in Rota, Spain, after their families were transferred to Whidbey Island Naval Air Station. At Olympic View Elementary School, where 85 percent of students last year were from military families, there is a 46 percent annual turnover.
Snohomish County schools saw first-grade enrollment grow 5 percent. At 394 children, that’s more than the last five years combined. But Island County schools saw first-grade enrollment drop 9 percent.
Projecting enrollment is serious business for school districts, which receive money from the state on a per-student basis but must sign contracts with teachers each May. It’s a high-stakes exercise that can spell financial trouble if the number of students falls short.
Arlington School District is one of the county’s fastest-growing, having absorbed more than 560 additional students over the past five years.
Business director Deb Borgens said she is thankful voters passed construction bonds in 2000, allowing the district to open a larger high school and new elementary school. It also built a new Presidents Elementary School, and a second middle school is under construction.
“If we hadn’t built our buildings, can you imagine where we would be?” she said.
You don’t have to go far for the answer.
Marysville School District, which watched enrollment plummet two years ago during the longest teachers strike in state history, is rebounding and expects continued growth.
Already using 117 portables, district projections show more than 3,000 new homes under development or on the drawing board. Marysville-Pilchuck High School, already one of the biggest in the state, could reach 3,000 students within five years. And a whopping 928 first-graders registered this fall.
“It looks to me like the largest first-grade class we have ever had,” Superintendent Larry Nyland said.
But a $171 bond measure is falling short of the required 60 percent supermajority, and the district eventually may have to look at alternative schedules to free up classroom space, such as double-shifting students or a rotating school calendar.
Beneath the district numbers, individual schools see far different trends.
The Everett School District added teachers to most of its south-end schools, where it is seeing the bulk of its growth and is planning for a new elementary school.
Edmonds saw enrollment losses taper off, thanks to growth in its north end, where there is new and affordable housing.
Reporter Melissa Slager: 425-339-3465 or mslager@ heraldnet.com.
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