Story originally printed in the Tomah Journal or online at www.tomahjournal.com
Published - Tuesday, August 25, 2009
TSD kindergarten enrollment surges
An unexpected surge of students has put almost every five-year-old kindergarten class in the Tomah School District over capacity.
The Tomah School Board Thursday reviewed preliminary numbers that project this year’s 5-
year-old kindergarten class to be 45 students higher than last year. The board held its regular monthly meeting the Robert Kupper Learning Center.
Superintendent Bob Fasbender said it’s not certain that all 240 students will show up for opening day. Howeve
r, if the numbers hold through the official Sept. 18 census, it would be the largest 5-year-old kindergarten class in Tomah history.
Fasbender said the district has been signing up seven to eight students a day. The first day of classes is Sept. 1.
“It has
just been crazy the past week and a half,” Fasbender said. “We’re getting to the point where we’re bursting at the seams ... this has the potential to be our largest kindergarten class ever.”
The enrollment surge means that 10 of the 11 sections are over
the recommended cap of 20 students. Five sections have 22 students, and the other five have 23. Only the section at Warrens Elementary School is under the cap at 15.
Five-year-old kindergarten accounts for virtually all the districtwide enrollment increase
of 52 students. Tomah Middle School’s enrollment actually declined by 35 students. The high school enrollment rose by 24 students to 1,032.
The district’s total K-12 enrollment of 3,038 is the highest since the 2006-07 school year and the second highest s
ince 2001-02.
The numbers don’t include four-year-old kindergarten enrollment, which stands at 143. The district is offering the program for the first time this fall. Ninety-three students will attend the morning sessions, and 50 wi
ll attend in the afternoon. Class sizes range from 15 to 19 students.
While the enrollment surge may create short-term problems, it will also generate additional revenue for the district. State aid payments are based on local property values and student en
rollment, and the district gets nearly three-fourths of its funding from the state.
“It causes a lot of problems, but there are a lot of schools that would like to have our problems,” Fasbender said.
In a related matter, the board approved the 4-year-old k
indergarten parent-student handbook. The handbook contains the class schedule and vision statement.
All stories copyright 2006 Tomah Journal and other attributed sources.