KALAMAZOO (WKZO-AM) — Wednesday was the first “count day” of the new school year statewide.
Because state funding is dependent on the annual enrollment total of a school district, the official attendance on that day and a second “count day” later in the school year is critical.
Kalamazoo Schools Supt. Michael Rice says, at a time when everything is working against urban school districts gaining enrollment, KPS has seen consistant gains, primarily because of the Kalamazoo Promise.
“There are urban districts in the state that would be delighted to have one year with an enrollment increase in the last decade,” Rice said.
They have seen enrollment increases nine of the last eleven years. They have seen their enrollment total grow by 2,455 during that period and total enrollment is now approaching 13,000.
KPS has grown faster than any other district in the state in the last decade, jumping from the state’s 24th-largest to the 12th-largest.
He said other districts face declining birth rates, competition from charter schools and flight from urban areas.
This year, they are estimating enrollment will be up around 75 students in Kalamazoo. He said it will take a few weeks as absentee slips roll in and other adjustments are made to the attendence figures.
Rice said the enrollment hasn’t been this high since the tail end of the baby boom, about 36 years ago.
