LITCHFIELD -- The Litchfield School Board learned during Monday's board meeting that enrollment in the district has stabilized, if not increased.
Superintendent Bill Wold announced during his enrollment report Monday that 1,762 students attended the first day of the new school year. Based on figures from last year's enrollment, Wold said, the district had predicted that 1,741 K-12 students would show for the first day of class.
"This does show some stability in the district, something we haven't had for a while," Wold said, citing the attendance numbers. "We've been losing 20 to 30 kids the last eight years, and we expected to stabilize at this point and it appears that we have. So it was good news."
One reason for the losses, Wold said, was due to larger-than-normal graduating classes leaving the high school.
Much like other districts tallying first-day attendance, this figure is only a preliminary number. A true enrollment figure will be accounted for on Oct. 1, Wold said.
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In comparison to this year, the district counted 1,738 students in May 2007. Wold said the district based its 2007-08 prediction on the number of students it knew were returning, but could not factor in students who might have moved in or out of the district.
Based on the district's figures, the class sizes ranged from 104 to 160 students for the K-12 grade levels. Wold also reminded the board that Litchfield also has St. Philip's Catholic School that houses 91 students. Those students typically end up coming to the district as sixth-graders, Wold said.
"You can see that the numbers are fairly consistent throughout the system," Wold said about the attendance numbers.
In other business during Monday's meeting:
- The board approved a resolution authorizing the issuance, sale and delivery of $3.75 million in aid anticipation certificates, a financial tool to aid a district's cash flow. Wold said this is typical for school districts in the state and allows the district to pay its state and county bills. The district can also invest the certificates to generate income greater than the $3.75 million.
- Updating the status of the Bernie Aaker Auditorium, Wold said the district is still waiting for Litchfield's plans for financing the project. Wold said bids for the auditorium renovation would be put out in January and the renovation would begin in February. The school district, the city and Meeker County all have yet to make final approval of the project.
