Enrollment remains steady for SAD 29

By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
    HOULTON — If enrollment figures from the past few years are any indication, families with young children are becoming more plentiful in the communities of Houlton, Littleton and Monticello.
    Superintendent Stephen Fitzpatick informed the school board Monday evening that enrollment figures were remaining steady in the district, which is good news for an area that was once thought to be on the decline.
    “We’ve been between 1,300 and 1,320 for the last three years,” Fitzpatrick said. “It looks like we have gotten over the hump. There was supposed to be a gradual decline in enrollment for the past few years, but we seem to have stabilized that [decline].”
    In June, school officials estimated the total school enrollment to be 1,280 students, based on the numbers at the end of the 2008-09 school year with projected new students factored in. The figures from Oct. 1, however, reveal that the district has 1,306 students.
    The state uses figures from Oct. 1 and April 1 as benchmarks in determining overall enrollment.
    Fitzpatrick attributed the stabilized enrollment figures to new families moving back to the Houlton area, as well as the district’s effort to keep at-risk students from dropping out of school by creating specialized programs.
    “We have done some things to help,” he said. “We’ve created programs, like the Carleton Project, which is an alternative education program for at-risk students who do not respond to traditional educational processes. We have about 15-20 students enrolled in that program, helping them to their goal of getting a diploma.”
    A breakdown of the district’s enrollment figures reveals Houlton High School has the largest number of students with 575 enrolled pupils. That number is down five students from the 580 that were projected on Sept. 8. There are 95 students in seventh grade; 97 in eighth grade; 109 in ninth grade; 88 in 10th grade; 95 in 11th grade; and 91 in 12th grade.
    The next largest enrollment is Houlton Elementary School with 380 students, which is even with September’s projections. There are 75 students enrolled in pre-kindergarten; 82 in kindergarten; 75 in first grade; 73 in second grade; and 73 in third grade.
    At Houlton Southside School, there are 282 enrolled students, which is an increase of one student. There are 102 fourth-graders; 95 fifth-graders; and 85 sixth-graders.
    At Wellington School in Monticello there are 69 pupils, which is down two from projections. There are 15 students in pre-kindergarten, 13 in kindergarten; 15 in first grade; 13 in second grade; and 13 in third grade.
    Fitzpatrick said the enrollment is good news, considering it was eight years ago that the state projected a sharp decline for the district.
    “I was looking over a projection from when the district applied to the state for funds for renovation projects,” he said. “That projection indicated we would be about 150 students less than where we are now.”
    Fitzpatrick said he felt more people were coming into the area due to increased measures at the U.S./Canadian border following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
    I know we are also attracting families back to this area,” he said. “People want to have quality education for the children and a nice place to live. We have worked hard to accomplish that.”
Other Business
    In other business items, the SAD 29 board approved the following coaches: Bill Weber, junior high boys soccer; Karen Gates, seventh grade girls basketball; and Ben Drew, seventh grade boys basketball.
    The board also approved the hiring of Harmony Beaton as school nurse for Houlton Elementary and Houlton Southside schools.
    The board’s next meeting will be held Monday, Nov. 2 at Wellington School in Monticello.