Schools grapple with enrollment increases

The Alleghany County Board of Education last week grappled with what to do about increased enrollment at Sparta School, particularly the record-setting number of kindergartners coming in this week.

For now, the school has done some adjusting, moving teachers and classes around, or as Superintendent Duane Davis described it, "shoehorning." For the future, board members' and administrators' suggestions ranged from mobile units to a long-range building program.

With the board's meeting held Aug. 6, the same day most pupils returned to school from summer vacation, a cheerful, sometimes even jocular mood prevailed overall. Principals from all four local schools shared their hopes and goals for the 2003-04 year.

"I'm real excited about the coming year," said Davis. He visited three of the four schools on opening day, and "I saw an attitude and spirit that I thought you (the board) should have a peek at."

He also agreed to have the Alleghany County Schools (ACS) staff study and come back with a recommendation on the problem - one he termed a good problem to have, but a problem nevertheless - that of increasing enrollment in the face of limited facility space.

While Aug. 6 marked the first day of school for first through 12th graders, kindergartners were to arrive this week in two phases, with half beginning school Monday and the rest Wednesday.

According to figures released by ACS, as of Aug. 6, Sparta School's enrollment in kindergarten numbered 91, which Davis said was the biggest class ever to come in.

Last year, from figures as of Sept. 16, 2002, Sparta School had 70 kindergartners in three classes. This year, said Sparta Principal Susan Murphy, there will be four classes, including three with 24 each - the legal maximum - and 19 in a smaller room.

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