By GINA KINSLOW
EDMONTON — Metcalfe County school officials are reporting a decrease in enrollment.
“Our numbers are down from last year at this time,” said Patricia Hurt, superintendent. “We had 1,734 students at this time last year and to date, we have 1,699 students enrolled in the district.”
Broken down by each school the district’s enrollment is: Metcalfe County High School, 528; Metcalfe County Academy High School (district’s new alternative school), 45; Metcalfe County Middle School, 249; Edmonton Elementary, 569; North Metcalfe Elementary, 150; Summer Shade Elementary, 158.
“Most of the dip in enrollment is at Edmonton Elementary School, while there is a slight downward turn at North Metcalfe Elementary as well,” Hurt said. “Summer Shade Elementary is up in their enrollment, with the middle and high school maintaining their enrollment on average. Simply put, we have a lower number enrolling at the elementary level than in the previous year.”
Hurt said there is some movement in and out of the county and that the enrollment numbers are reflective of that.
“It is not a new trend,” she said. “It is a simple fact that our numbers vary somewhat from year to year due to families relocating in nearby towns and schools. A small percentage of that transient number leave the state and even the immediate area due to employment opportunities and other personal factors of which we are not always aware.”
Matt South, chairman of the Metcalfe County Board of Education, said he thinks the decrease could be tied to several different factors.
He pointed out that enrollment in the district’s migrant program has also decreased, because fewer people moved into the county for agriculture jobs.
South also noted that more southcentral Kentucky farmers are putting their farms into CREP (Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program) and because of that, they don’t need the additional help that migrant workers provide.
One of the county’s factories is set to close this year, but South said he didn’t think the drop in enrollment is due to the loss of jobs at the plant.
“I just think it’s the fluctuation that happens yearly,” he said. “I don’t think it’s really tied to any one thing.”
