Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, October 7, 1994 TAG: 9410070018
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: VIRGINIA EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
There was a larger increase in school enrollment in Roanoke this year than in either Roanoke County or Salem.
Someone got the numbers wrong, you say? No, the truth is in the statistics.
Roanoke's enrollment increased by 168 students, or 1.3 percent, from 12,740 to 12,908.
In Roanoke County, the increase was 119, or 0.9 percent, as the enrollment rose from 13,566 to 13,685.
The conventional assumption is that the school population is growing faster in suburban counties than in Roanoke and other large cities. That has been the trend for many years, but it might be changing in the Roanoke Valley.
Roanoke also had a larger increase than Salem, where the enrollment rose by 25 students, or 0.7 percent, from 3,733 to 3,758.
Roanoke School Superintendent Wayne Harris said the increase is significant because it shows that the city's schools have gained the confidence of parents and students.
"We like to think that we are drawing students back to city schools because of the good job that we are doing," Harris told the city's Central PTA Council this week.
"This is music to our ears," he said. "We think that we are attracting students."
A larger enrollment means the city will get more school money from the state, because the funding is based on the number of students.
It was the biggest increase in enrollment in Roanoke in five years and coincided with Harris' first year as superintendent.
The city's enrollment increased slightly in 1991 and 1992 but decreased by 69 in 1993.
Harris said the enrollment gains were recorded in both elementary and secondary grades.
For the past five years, there has been a net increase of 232 students in Roanoke.
During the same period, Roanoke County recorded a net increase of 291.
Roanoke's population dropped by about 5,000 in the 1990 census. Roanoke County's population increased by almost 6,000 during the same period, 1980 to 1990.
Harris said the school system has complied with state-mandated student-teacher ratios so it can receive $1 million in school disparity funds.
In 14 schools where more than half the students receive free or reduced-price lunches, the ratio must be 18-to-1 or lower.
The ratio must be 20-to-1 or lower at schools where between 25 percent and half of the students qualify for subsidized lunches.
Although the ratios might be higher in some classes, he said, the averages comply with state mandates. Harris said the mandates allow school divisions to use averages in calculating ratios.
Apart from the state mandates on the disparity funds, the city has decided to reduce class size.
The ratio in middle schools now is 18.1-to-1 and in high schools is 18.7-to-1.
by CNB