Saturday, September 27, 1997
Area school enrollments hold steady from '96
By BOB BRUCE / Senior Staff Writer
Big Country school enrollment is nearly in a dead heat with
last year's figures.
A survey of 76 Abilene area school districts indicates that
54,693 students are in class -- only 15 pupils fewer than the
54,708 attending a year ago.
The Reporter-News survey shows increases in junior highs and
high schools but a drop at the elementary school level.
A by-campus breakdown for the area follows:
-- High schools -- 15,858 in 1997 and 15,491 in 1996.
-- Junior highs -- 10,556 this year, 10,536 a year ago.
-- Elementary schools -- 26,238 in '97 and 26,821 in '96.
Lee Nell Gann of the Region 14 Education Service Center in
Abilene expressed surprise with some of the figures.
"I guess I'm surprised that the high school enrollments
are up and the elementary schools are not," Gann said.
She said she would have expected the opposite to be true --
grade schools up and high schools down.
It's too early, however, to pinpoint the reasons, she said.
But the closeness of the total figures -- a separation of only
15 students -- did not surprise her.
"I think in general most of our school districts are steady
or up a little," said Gann, who is deputy director for instructional
programs in Region 14.
The survey also revealed that slightly more than half the districts
-- 38 schools -- reported enrollment increases from last fall.
Most gains were small but that did not displease educators.
"We've had no real dramatic changes. We've been growing
slowly over the last four or five years. And we're likely to continue
to," said Joe Nation, assistant superintendent in Ballinger.
Ballinger reported 1,264 this year, up seven from last year.
In Bangs, where enrollment fell by 38 students to 1,052, Superintendent
Billy Jack Rankin explained the drop: "We've been growing
the last few years at about four percent a year. Last year we
took a 10 percent jump for some unknown reason. This year, 1,052
is about where we were projecting ourselves to be two years ago.
This puts us back on track over the long haul."
The survey showed widespread capital improvements with 34 districts
reporting projects worth more than $35 million.
Three school districts -- Dublin, May and Stephenville -- are
going before the voters with bond elections while Winters and
Goldthwaite hope to build new junior high schools.
Meanwhile, two schools reported excellent results from the
use of state prison inmates doing improvements on their campuses.
Mullin Superintendent Marlene Shelton said prisoners from the
T.R. Havins Unit at Brownwood fenced a playground and added playground
equipment.
"They also did some underpinning on some classrooms and
poured some sidewalks. They did an excellent job and they were
extremely nice. They seemed to enjoy doing the work," she
said.
Shelton said labor probably represented $10,000. "We probably
spent about $5,000 -- and a lot of that was donated."
In Ira, inmates from the Price Daniel Unit near Snyder built
a new concession stand at the football field and probably also
will work on the baseball field.
In Tuscola, Jim Ned High School students moved into a new $4.1
million high school this fall while at Hawley a $1.8 million high
school is under construction.
The biggest area price tag, however, was at Big Spring where
Superintendent William McQueary said improvements totaled almost
$15 million. Work is under way on a $10 million junior high --
due to open next August -- plus $2.5 million in air conditioning
work. In addition, a $1.25 million athletic training center has
just opened, McQueary said.
A rundown on other Big Country projects follows:
-- Albany -- $2.4 million for a high school gym and elementary
school.
-- Anson -- $2.3 million for an auditorium/band ball.
-- Blanket -- A gym, dressing rooms and six classrooms.
-- Brookesmith -- Two portable classrooms.
-- Cisco -- $215,000 for a home economics cottage, music building,
football field lights and converting the home economics room to
a computer lab.
-- Coahoma -- New tile and carpet in the junior high and high
school.
-- Coleman -- $500,000 for four portable classrooms and a four-classroom
annex.
-- De Leon -- $241,188 for a four-room wing at the middle school.
--Early -- A $4.6 million middle school, due for completion
by next September.
--Gustine -- $722,000 for a physicial education facility with
cafeteria and classroom.
--Hamlin -- $200,000 for new field house facilities.
--Haskell -- $80,000 for a remodeled gym foyer.
--Loraine -- $500,000 for a PE facility.
--Moran -- Three classrooms.
--Ranger -- $750,000 for five classrooms, special education
area, science lab and 421-seat auditorium. They are nearing completion.
--Robert Lee -- $375,000 for four classrooms plus air conditioning
renovation and other work.
--Roscoe -- $503,000 for an addition to the elementary school.
--Rotan -- Building a $165,000 track, due for completion by
spring. Plans also are being drawn up to renovate the elementary
school, built in 1947.
--Santa Anna -- $300,000 for a learning center/library.
--Sidney -- $10,000 for a computer classroom.
--Stamford -- $730,000 for a media center.
--Star -- $165,000 for a gym annex.
--Strawn -- $950,000 for a gym, elementary building and science
lab.
--Throckmorton -- $200,000 for a track.
--Westbrook -- $700 for a gym, due to be completed in November.
--Woodson -- $725,000 for a PE facility.
--Zephyr -- $100,000 for a dressing room.
-----
This year's latest preliminary reports indicate Abilene ISD
enrollment is down 23 students from last year's 19,724. Wylie
ISD is up 37 students from last year's 2,572.
AISD deputy superintendent Bob Glover attributed the AISD decrease
to fluctuating birth rates, which he says should increase again
in a few years.
Wylie assistant superintendent Don Harrison said Wylie's figures
reflect growth in Abilene and continued development to the south.
Abilene will make available its first official enrollment count
Oct. 7. The Wylie figures are official.
Complete enrollment figures for area
schools
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Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps Publications
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