Sunday, October 2, 2011

Are School District Enrollments Declining?

It appears that the large influx of students into area school districts may be subsiding. In High School District 155 the enrollment figure for this year reached 6,935 for all five attendance locations which include Crystal Lake Central, Crystal Lake South, Cary-Grove, Prairie Ridge and Haber Oaks.

District 155 students are generally coming from grade schools from Cary District 26, Prairie Grove District 46, and Crystal Lake District 47, in addition to parochial schools Immanuel Lutheran, St. Thomas Catholic School, Crystal Lake, Lord and Savior Lutheran School, Crystal Lake, SS Peter and Paul School, Cary, Trinity Oaks Christian Academy,  Cary.

It should also be noted there are parochial high schools in the area including Faith Lutheran High School, and Marian Central Catholic High School. There is tuition costs connected with sending students to the parochial schools.

Dr. John Kasarda, a demographer at the University of North Carolina, had projected that a total of 6,941 students would be filling the seats of the five District 155 attendance locations. The actual sixth day attendance number was 6,935.

Dr. Kasarda, who is also retained by District 47,  forecasts a decline in the District 155 attendance for the next few years shown as follows:

6,738 -- 2012-2013 school year
6,562 – 2013-2014 school year
6,472 – 2014-2015 school year

It should also be noted that two parochial high schools are located in the area including Faith Lutheran High School, Crystal Lake and Marian Central Catholic High School, Woodstock.

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