Enrollment in Wayne falls by 100 pupils
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on August 5, 2004 1:59 PM
The steady decline of students in the Wayne County public school system continues, with 100 fewer students this year than last.
According to the attendance figures for Wednesday, the second day of school, there are 18,622 students enrolled in the 31 schools. At the same time last year, there were 18,750.
There were 19,170 students at the start of the 2001-2002 school year. That number dropped to 18,898 in 2002.
Preliminary numbers for the new school year could change.
Olivia Pierce, executive director for community relations, said that enrollment tends to fluctuate in the first days of a new school year.
"We typically pick up students daily during the first 10 days," she said.
The 10-day mark is the gauge school officials use to determine if and where additional teachers are needed.
Already, Mrs. Pierce said, there are still some vacancies in the areas of classroom teachers, guidance counselors and librarians. Substitutes or retirees are being used to fill the gaps.
Increased construction in the northern end of the county is reflected in the growth to school populations there. Charles B. Aycock High School's enrollment went from 1,166 to 1,204 and Rosewood High School's rolls are up 73, from 469 to 542.
Norwayne Middle School, however, is down 86 students. Last year on the second day, 944 were enrolled, compared with 858 this year.
Northwest Elementary School also rose, from 708 to 794, while Tommy's Road Elementary's numbers dropped from 626 to 558.
The Spring Creek school numbers were also elevated. There were 67 more students at the elementary school this year, and 59 more at the high school.
Spring Creek High reported 1,009 students and the elementary has 810.
The most marked drops in enrollment were found in the central attendance area.
Goldsboro Middle has 85 fewer students this year, while North Drive Elementary has 67 less and Dillard Middle is down by 50.
Most of the other schools across the county showed only slight variations from years past.