Putnam County School System reported a normal influx of students attending school this year.
Chris Pierce is the Attendance Supervisor for the Putnam County School System.
“In PowerSchool, we have a total of 11,703 students in Putnam County. That is Pre-K through twelfth grade. This number does include some students that have not shown up,” Pierce said. “So this number may fluctuate and will fluctuate the remainder of this week and next week as we figure out who is coming to school and who is not coming to Putnam County or are doing something different.”
Putnam County usually sees a fluctuation in enrollment and attendance throughout the first few months, Pierce said.
“Last year at this time we were looking at about 11,530 students, and so we are up about 173 kids. That translates to a 1.5 percent increase in enrollment from last year,” Pierce said. “Which has been the norm the past few years.”
Pierce said the schools typically see a one to two percent enrollment increase each year.
In order to attend specific schools within Putnam County, students must reside within the zoning limits for the school.
“We are finding quite often that the priority enrollment system that we have had to use to close elementary schools the past few years. People are moving in and wanting to go to a certain school but by zoning requirements, they can’t,” Pierce said. “So we would really like them, if they can, to check with us to make sure before they relocate.”
Pierce said the increase in enrollment may indicate a need for another school.
“Like everyone knows, the school board is discussing those matters. We will actually go back and look at some zoning issues later on this fall to see if some of the lines need to be adjusted,” Pierce said. “Or what would happen if a new school went into a certain area, how that would affect the zoning system.”
