School district enrollment exceeds projections

MAT-SU -- The un-audited preliminary numbers of students enrolled in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District for the period ending Sept. 9 have been made public, and there have been some unexpected jumps in some areas and drops in others. While the total enrollment exceeds projections by 107.5 students (projected 14,171, actual 1,428.25) some schools have well more than 100 extra students while others have much less than anticipated.

Each school is required to have all proof of enrollment, including birth certificates, before counting a student as enrolled during the un-audited count. The district will verify these numbers during the upcoming month, and will release the official audited enrollment count some time in October.

While some schools, such as Houston Middle School, have been forced to let some staff go, these staff members have been moved to other schools, such as Wasilla High School, where projection numbers and classroom size have been enlarged.

"We really have had to just balance some stuff out," said chief school administrator Bob Doyle. This includes looking at the shift of students from the district's correspondence school to the home school study program. While the amount of off-campus students is around projection, the district underestimated the amount of home school students and overestimated the amount of correspondence students. Changes in how support for these programs is allocated will have to be changed during the next couple of months.

The details:

F Wasilla High School: Projected: 1,005, Actual: 1,159. Added three core teachers.

F Wasilla Middle School: Projected: 615, Actual: 727. Added two core teachers.

F Burchell High School: Projected: 240, Actual: 277.

F Palmer Junior Middle School: Projected: 683, Actual: 719.

F Larson Elementary: Projected: 477, Actual: 508.5. Added one teacher.

F Finger Lake: Projected: 338, Actual: 389. Added two teachers.

F Home School Support: Projected: 400, Actual: 530.

F Horizon Charter School: Projected: 200, Actual: 141.

F SeeUonline: Projected: 120, Actual: 85.

F Correspondence: Projected: 420, Actual 164.

Other schools, such as Houston Middle School, have been on target with projected numbers, but have had problems with class sizes and teacher distribution. Look for more about Houston in Friday's Frontiersman.