January 5, 2011

Greenberg outlines decline in school enrollment

By APRIL GUILMET
Union Leader Correspondent
LONDONDERRY -- In just one year’s time, the district has seen an overall decrease of 181 students, marking a 3.5 percent decline from December 2009 to December 2010, school officials said Tuesday night.During Tuesday’s School Board meeting, Superintendent Nathan Greenberg shared details from last month’s enrollment report, listing each school by its respective numbers.
Overall, the district has 4,992 students in pre-kindergarten
 through grade 12, marking a steady decline in enrollment from preceding years. In December 2009, the district had 5,180 students enrolled. 

As of December 31, 2010, there were 102 students enrolled in the Londonderry Early Education Program (LEEP). 
Moose Hill School had 257 students enrolled; North Elementary, 524; Matthew Thornton, 639; South Elementary, 553; the middle school, 1,174; and the high school, 1,723. 
Seventy-one students are involved in district-based home study programs, while 62 students are enrolled in the adult education program. 
Twenty students are enrolled in special programs outside the district. 
Greenberg said district enrollment has shown a steady decline over the years. During the 2006-2007 school year, the district enrolled 5,447 students. The overall enrollment is projected to decrease to 4,829 by the 2011-2012 school year. 
As school officials prepare for the coming fiscal year, the elimination of 56 district positions is under consideration, with the district’s proposed $63,222,575 operating budget heading to a public hearing on Jan. 13. 
This year’s proposed budget represents a $317,080 decrease over the current operating budget. 
The proposed operating budget would also decrease salaries by a net $918,846. Approximately 56 positions would be eliminated in the coming fiscal year, including 15.8 certified teachers, 4.5 administrative positions and 35.8 support and custodial staff members. 
The district stands to save $2,711,677 via staffing cuts, school officials said, though the use of a $448,270 Federal Ed-Jobs grant could help save eight to 10 district positions at no cost to the district. 

No comments:

Post a Comment