All enrollments rise as school year opens

Robert Galbreath
Posted 9/21/18

INEDALE – One thousand, one hundred and one students attended classes at schools across Sublette County School District No. 1 on Sept. 13, according to a report presented to the Board of Trustees at its first regular meeting of the academic year. This number is possibly the highest level in district history and is an increase from an enrollment of 1,057 students reported on Sept. 14 last year.

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All enrollments rise as school year opens

Posted

PINEDALE – One thousand, one hundred and one students attended classes at schools across Sublette County School District No. 1 on Sept. 13, according to a report presented to the Board of Trustees at its first regular meeting of the academic year. This number is possibly the highest level in district history and is an increase from an enrollment of 1,057 students reported on Sept. 14 last year.

“The current enrollment numbers are the highest in my nine-year tenure here,” said SCSD#1 Superintendent Jay Harnack. “I believe that they are the highest (recorded) for the district.”

Records at the SCSD1 superintendent’s office show an enrollment of 691 in 2003, when the current monthly reports were first prepared for the Board of Trustees. In less than 20 years, the student body in the district has increased almost 60 percent.

Harnack is optimistic about the growth. He told the Roundup that increases in student numbers are “generally viewed as positive” and that the growth in Sublette County only had a minimal impact on overall classroom size. He added that there is no need for additional staff at this point.

Harnack cautioned that a sudden, rapid spike in numbers or a large concentration of students in one grade level has the potential to create issues in terms of space and staffing.

But any growth in enrollment means more revenue for the district.

“Given the nature of the funding model in Wyoming, more students equates to more funding. So the state will provide the needed funding should we need to increase staff.”

Each school in SCSD#1 showed an increase in student numbers from 2017 to 2018. Pinedale Middle School gained the most with 19 additional students in 2018. While eighth grade reported a small loss, sixth grade increased by 18 students.

Pinedale High School’s enrollment increased from 283 in Sept. 2018 to 300 this year. Bondurant Elementary reported the addition of three new students in 2018, bringing the total to nine. Skyline Academy High School also increased by three students.

Pinedale Elementary School reported a slightly higher enrollment with two additional students. The kindergarten class, however, showed the most promise for the future with the addition of 19 students, bringing the total to 90.

Superintendent Harnack was unsure what exactly caused the number of young children entering school for the first time to spike.

“Pinedale is a great place to live and raise a family. Perhaps it’s as simple as that.”